Mary Ellen Norris

Mary was born on August 4, 1946 in Sterling Colorado to Merle “Bud” and Marianne “Annie” (Flaherty) Spafford. The family moved from Colorado to New Plymouth Idaho in 1954. While attending high school, Mary and her sister, Donna, worked in the family owned New Plymouth Dry Cleaners, which laid the foundation of her strong work ethic she portrayed her whole life. Mary graduated from New Plymouth High School in1964 with a GPA of 4.0 and was a proud member of the National Honor Society. After high school, Mary worked various jobs including the Ore-Ida factory in Idaho. After 2 years at Ore-Ida, Mary found her niche in the finance and budget analyst sector of the US Government. Mary excelled and earned numerous accolades and awards in her 36 total years of service and dedication to the US Government. Her ultimate goal, in her professional life, was to advance to a GS13, which she accomplished several years before her retirement in 2014.

Mary loved her family, hummingbirds, roses, cooking, watching home improvement shows, shopping, animals (especially her beloved dog Boomer), sewing, gardening, house plants, country music, beach sunsets and life in general. Mary had an amazing green thumb and could make anything grow with her attention and love.

Over the years, Mary lived in various parts of the country which included Virginia, Hawaii, and Maryland and overseas in Japan. However, after living in San Diego for over 34 years she called it her home. Mary is survived by her sister Donna (Mike) Pullen of Bruneau Idaho, daughter Kobe (Steve) Pryor of Centreville Maryland, her son Andrew Norris of Imperial Beach CA, grandsons Austin Pryor, Garrett (Shauna) Pryor of Centreville Maryland, granddaughters Andrea and Kathryn Norris of Imperial Beach California, her niece Lisa Pullen and nephew Bob Pullen, her close friends Bonnie and May and her best friend and cousin Andy Smith of Ft Collins Colorado. A Celebration of Life for Mary will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at The Chapel of Roses, Glen Abbey Memorial Park East Entrance. The service will also be televised and a link will be provided. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Father Joe’s Villages, 3350 E Street, San Diego, CA 92102, or at (my.neighbor.org) and follow the “donate” link.