Mary Marilda Steele

Mary Marilda Anderson was born to George L. and Minnie E. Anderson on December 17, 1916 in Cashion, Oklahoma and passed away August 26, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. She was married to Carl A. Whipple in 1936. They were the parents of 3 daughters: Joan (Walters), Faye (McGough) (pronounced Mc-Gew) … and Carol Lee (Smith). Mary had 11 Grandchildren, 16 Great grandchildren and 8 Great-Great Grandchildren. Mary was widowed in 1967. In 1970 she married Paul V. Steele and was widowed in 1987. Mary was the eldest of 3 sisters, having a long and loving life of 97 years and 8 months. She was pre-deceased by her parents and, her sisters, Alice Irving and Eunice Fuxa. She was very bright, graduating from high school at age 15. She entered a 2-year Christian College in McPherson, KS at age 17, from which she was graduated. All her life she was a consummate reader, and in recent years, enjoyed several devotional books in addition to her well-used Bible. For years, until very shortly before her death, she worked cross word puzzles, was a sharp word game player and loved to beat others at Scrabble, Bananagram, “Left/Right” or Indian Train Dominoes! During their early years of marriage, Carl and Mary relocated frequently to accommodate his work as a boilermaker in the US oil refineries. When the girls reached school ages, they settled down, first in MO, and later in KS. It was from the tiny burg of Galesburg, KS , where they lived 10 years, that Mary and her husband moved to Tulsa. She lived here about 48 years, during which she was widowed twice. Mary was one of the hardest working people you could meet. Married quite young, she wore many hats as he wife of Carl Whipple, including wife, mother of three active (and strong willed) girls, farm helper, gardener, food preserver excellent seamstress, outstanding cook, including 9 years during which time the Whipples operated a combination drug store/café in Galesburg, KS…this included over a year during which a new school was under construction and she cooked 10 pies per day in addition to all the food for the large construction crew. Known for her delicious gooseberry pies, they were always requested for school fund-raising events. Though initially a rather quiet and shy person, she surprised and delighted her 3 girls when, together with other moms of Galesburg students, she showed up in black bloomers, to compete in a basketball game to raise funds for some school activity. They called their team The Bloomer Girls…and she was very good at making baskets from an underhand throw! After school, Joan and Faye would arrive “home” to the store (the family had living quarters in the back)..to find the huge kitchen table stacked high with heavy café dishes…which had to be washed and put away. Needless to say, it was not a favorite task and, frankly, they were not pleased to be so “put upon”…Looking back, it’s apparent what a heavy workload Mary had put in before that time. Since Carol Lee was so young, she could just look cute and charm everyone and didn’t have “dish duty”. The store was open 6 days a week, but never on Sunday. That was the Lord‘s Day. The family was active in the Galesburg Christian Church, including VBS, Church Camp, Christian Endeavor (youth group), music and Youth Rallies. During that time period, Revivals were common and at least one per year was held there. Mary always provided the meals for the visiting preachers. After moving to Tulsa in 1955, Carl and Mary were active first in East Tulsa Christian Church, then Cincinnati Ave., After his death and her remarriage, she was part of Sandusky Ave. CC from 1982 to 2003. She loved, and was loved there, always faithful in attendance and brought the greatest cakes to her classes social events. While living in Tulsa, Mary first took a job, where else?.. in the food service of a school. During that time, she also enrolled in business school and did very well. Later she worked for Mayo Furniture Store and, finally, at The Silvey Company, from which she retired. She eventually moved into an apartment, living there several years until her daughter Carol Lee convinced her to move to Seattle and live with her. She made friends in their townhouse community and quickly found the loving, Puget Sound Christian Church, where she loved being the oldest member for the past few years. This brought her special hugs and recognition. She also enjoyed Carol Lee’s circle of friends and attended numerous activities from plays to festivals in the Seattle area. She drove until she was 90+ years old, and walked a mile a day into her early 90s. Over the years, Mary was generous in support of her church(es), a Bible College in Mexico, and. Cookson Hills Christian Children’s Home. In one of her final acts of generosity, she provided funds for a handicap ramp into Puget Sound church, as she realized how difficult it was for her (using a walker for some time) and others who couldn’t climb the steps. They are calling it “Mary’s Walk”. Mary enjoyed travel and visited Germany for “The Passion Play”, Australia, Hawaii and one or two other countries. A gifted seamstress, she made many of her daughters’ clothes, took a tailoring class and made a beautiful suit for herself and coats for the girls, a formal and even wedding dresses for Joan and Carol Lee. It was special when she could attend the 50th wedding anniversary of Joan and John, and be seated beside the dress she’d made ….she lit up and enjoyed that recognition. She also made numerous beautiful quilts, giving nearly all of them away, mostly to children and grandchildren. Never one to be idle, she embroidered countless sets of dishtowels, pillowcases and table cloths, and crocheted many items…most of which were gifted to others. For her 80th birthday, her family surprised her with a weekend celebration in her honor in Branson, MO, where her name was in lights on the hotel marquee. It was a small way to show how a very special mother, mother-in-law, grandma, grandmother-in-law was valued. She prayed for each of her family members every day. No doubt, the first thing she heard after taking her last breath and entering Eternity was “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Moore's Eastlawn Chapel 918-622-1155 Moore's Eastlawan Chapel 918-622-1155

Mary Marilda Steele

December 17, 1916 - August 26, 2014