Mary Louise Hall-Rutherford, beloved wife, mother, grammy, sister, and friend, age 70, of Auburn, Washington passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family and friends on January 13th, 2022. A celebration of life will be planned for the spring.

She is predeceased by her parents Wilber A. and Barbara J. Hall; her older brother Dewight; her sister-in-law Brenda Hall; brother-in-law Robert Rutherford; and most beloved aunt Frances Ferguson. Mary is survived by her husband Stephen Rutherford; two daughters Miki (Scott) Elms of Brookline, New Hampshire and Teri (Dan) Greene of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts; an older brother Micheal Hall and his sons Jamie and Greg Hall; two grandchildren Gavin and Westin Elms; and friends that were as close as family: Alisha Harwood; Bob, Dena, Rod & Jacob Swanson and their families; Marty & Jim Scobee and their children; Robert Plumber and his family; Stanley & Damiah Saloy and their children; Deb Flug; Barb Baguhn, and many, many others.

Mary was born in 1951 in Coos Bay, Oregon, and in her early life lived in every corner of the country with her family: Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, New Jersey, Louisiana, and California, before returning to and settling in the Pacific Northwest. She graduated from Aloha High School in Beaverton, Oregon in 1970.

Mary worked hard at creating a life for herself and always found it easy to make forever friends. She loved rock-and-roll and shooting pool and in her 20s was deeply involved in the Seattle music scene, designing and creating wardrobes for her friends' bands. She met her husband Stephen in 1980 and in 1982 they began their 40 year marriage. In 1984 they welcomed their first daughter Miki, followed by their second, Teri, in 1988. Later in life, she was blessed with two beautiful grandchildren that brought her so much joy. She was also able to travel with her husband to many places, their favorite being Hawaii, as well as trips to spend time with family in South Carolina, Florida, and New England. Her family, especially her grandchildren, and her dogs were her world.

In 1992 Mary survived a workplace accident that changed her life. After a series of extensive surgeries she found a place for herself in community activism and volunteer work. Among a list of other things, she organized haunted houses to support the food bank, brought together her neighborhood for their famous 10-block long garage sale for over three decades, built gardens at the local elementary school, was instrumental in getting an emergency service station in her underserved community and kept the neighborhood kids safe by advocating for speed bumps to be installed on her high traffic road. With her family Mary also raised Guide Dogs for the Blind for over 15 years, followed by volunteering with Reading with Rover to help teach children to read in local schools. She supported Soldiers’ Angels, many dog rescue organizations, and toy drives for children.

Mary will be remembered for being loving, kind, persistent, and wonderful at gathering people, even until her last days.

In lieu of flowers her family asks that you kindly donate to one of the non-profits Mary was involved with.

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