Mary Ella McClure

Mary was born in Heppner, Oregon to Patrick and Elsie Mollahan. She was the salutatorian of her class at Heppner High School. She graduated from the University of Oregon where she majored in English literature. Mary met Don, the love of her life, while at university. They married in Heppner on February 26, 1955. Together they raised four children, first living in Heppner, and later, in Ashland, Oregon.

Mary was warm, caring, and kind. Her children and later, her grandchildren, knew they were loved without reservation. She always listened. She always made time. And she was funny. With a gentle smile and a mischievous glint in her eye, she was a shameless punner. For most of her ninety-one years, Mary read voraciously. She was always caught up on current events and ready to discuss what was happening in the world.

When her youngest was in grade school, Mary earned a library science degree at Southern Oregon State College. She worked as a high school librarian in Eagle Point for twenty years. She loved the school. She loved the kids who came to her library. She loved teaching essay writing.

Mary and Don were inseparable partners in life until Don’s death in 2015. As empty nesters, they purchased a camper and later a 5th wheel. The two loved to travel. They popped over to the coast for weekends. They caught U of O football games in Eugene. And they made epic journeys across the US and Canada. Later, they traveled with their two daughters to Ireland. Mary got to meet her cousins and visit the house where her father was born. It was, she often said, the trip of a lifetime.

After retiring, Mary and Don moved to Seattle to be near their children and grandchildren. She babysat her grandkids when they were little, changing even more diapers (Don didn’t do diapers). She was there for older kids before and after school, going through backpacks and making sure that homework got done. And she could talk sports like a sportscaster with her grandchildren, although perhaps with some bias toward her Oregon Ducks. Even as she slowed down in her late eighties, she loved to hold her great grandbabies. She loved to watch them toddle. Mary was a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She will truly be missed.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Robert, her brother John, and her husband Don. She is survived by her brother Larry, her children (Kathy Alkire, Terry Claggett, David McClure, and Doug McClure), her 8 grandchildren (Tom, Steve, Kevin, Brianna, Ryan, Wesley, Emily, and Alex), and her 9 great grandchildren (Dylan, Emmy, Ethan, Isaac, Ellery, Adelaide, Iris, Reid, and Jackson).