Mary Ann Wilson

Born to Matt and Anne Minerich in September 1934, Mary Ann passed away peacefully on October 20, 2021. Mary’s earliest years were spent with her family in Ronald, Washington—a town well-known for its coal mines and Croation heritage, which she embraced her whole life.

The family moved to Renton while Mary Ann was in elementary school, and they continued to live and thrive in Renton for the next 50 years. Mary Ann continued through the Renton school system and made many lifelong friends, including Atha Price, Carolyn Calhoun, Diane Plano, and others. She loved her friends and the time she spent at Renton High School. She was always eager to attend the next reunion and visit with her old friends.

After high school, Mary Ann worked at Kenworth Truck Company—where she met and married Paul Wilson. They married in the late 1950s and honeymooned in Havana, Cuba. Mary Ann told amazing stories of their time in Cuba, and they were some of the last Americans to visit Cuba prior to the revolution. That trip was the first of many they would take on their life together as they both loved to travel. They took amazing family trips around the country, with Maui being their favorite spot.

Eventually Mary Ann and Paul started a family and purchased a home in Maplewood Heights. They raised their sons in this neighborhood and had amazing neighbors and friends over the years. Mary Ann loved to cook and entertain, and she would often have her high school friends up for cocktail hour and dinner parties. Her kids are still jealous of the parties she used to throw. Mad Men had nothing on Mary Ann.

Mary Ann worked in the housewares department at Frederick & Nelson in South Center Mall, often taking advantage of sales and keeping her basement almost as well stocked as the store itself. Whenever a wedding present was needed, the family could always peruse “Mary’s Warehouse” and find a suitable gift. During this time, Mary Ann became interested in real estate and began her self-education in the field. She purchased a duplex in Lakeridge and never looked back. From there she moved on to condos, houses, apartments, and later warehouses—the Marianne Business Park. It was quite a site to see Mary Ann, all five-foot nothing of her, wandering around a machine shop talking up the workers. She was an amazing businesswoman and her family marvels at all she accomplished.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by Paul many years ago. A short time later, while attending a Renton High School Reunion, she met Don Carlson who she’d known years earlier. After a short courtship, they married and spent a happy 25-years together traveling around the country in their trailer and vacationing in the desert.

Mary Ann is survived by her siblings—Patricia, Richard (Dianne), and Joni (Bob)—her sons—Mike (Pam), Greg (Janet), and Marc (Christine)—her grandchildren—Thomas (Emily), Michael (Christina), Cameron, and Carly—and her great grandchildren—Henry and Michelangelo.

A special thank you to the wonderful staff at the Weatherly Inn memory care facility in Kent where Mary Ann spent her last three years. They are nothing short of amazing and the family can’t thank them enough for the love, care, and compassion they’ve shown Mary Ann and the Wilson family.

Per Mary Ann’s request (she always hated funerals), there will not be a public service. She will be entombed at Greenwood Cemetery, next to Paul.