Dear North Olympic Peninsula Friends and All who Knew Her:
It is with great sadness that I am writing to tell you of Mary Meyer’s passing.
She was born Mary Frances Quillian in Seattle on January 28, 1937, the second child of Whitcomb and Frances Quillian.
Mary spent her early years in Ballard and Fremont, learning competitive tennis from her dad and brother Bill, who became a Davis Cup player. She attended John Day and Lincoln schools and went on to earn her counseling and teaching degrees at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound.
For the many years after graduation and until her retirement in 1978, Mary taught Geography and Social Studies at the Nelson Middle School in Renton.
That same year she invited me into her life and home on Alki where we began our adventures together, eventually marrying in 1991.
Mary introduced us to dingy sailing in 1980 which resulted in the purchase of a bigger boat and the decision to liveaboard and become cruising sailors.
After 20 years of sailing aboard “Norseman” and then “Gypsy”, including cruising the Pacific Northwest and Canada, two trips down to Mexico and the Sea of Cortez and one out to the Hawaiian Islands, we moved ashore in 2000 to take care of Mary’s health.
Bremerton, then Port Angeles, then Sappho, and finally to Clallam Bay chronicled our moves until 2022.
These years saw Mary become an accomplished guitar player and wonderful singer, performing with the Windy Ridge and Crescent Blue bluegrass bands for many Peninsula audiences.
On a beach walk one sunny day in 2018, her love of sailing got us back into a boat and on the water once again!
Then, in December of 2022, Mary’s declining health took her to an adult family home on Vashon Island where she passed away peacefully on April 21st.
She is survived by myself, her son Jay Meyer and his wife Gloria, and her grandson, Mark.
Mary’s independent spirit, dry humor, love of challenge, courage when things got tough, and the ability to graciously accept and embrace what life brought her has made being her husband one loving and continuous adventure.
In the words of her son: “We don’t get to choose when we die, but we do get to choose the manner in which we live. Mom lived her life loving what she did and living what she loved.”
My love to you all in her memory,
Barney Munger
P.S.There is to be a Celebration of Mary’s Life beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 19, 2023, at the Sekiu Community
Center. Please bring a dessert potluck to share. Live music will be provided by the Loose Gravel and Therapy Session bands and, as Mary might say: “Don’t forget your dancing shoes!”
Remembering her, donations can be made to The Mercy Ships and to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), both of which she was a longtime contributor.
