Mary Ellen Beyer died on June 8, 2017 at Bayview Health Center at the age of 96.
Mary, the eldest of three daughters, was born on November 17, 1920 in Portland, Oregon, to Mary Udavilla Stanchfield and Julius Charles Beyer. After a short time in Portland, the family moved to Queen Anne in Seattle, where Mary attended St. Anne School, Queen Anne High School, and graduated from Seattle University in 1942 with a degree in Philosophy. She began her graduate studies in the School of Social Services at Saint Louis University in Missouri in 1946. She earned a Master in Social Work from the University of Washington in 1951.
Most of Mary’s life was spent in San Francisco working for the City of San Francisco as a social worker. She loved living there and made many lifelong friends. During World War II she served in the U.S. Navy and the American National Red Cross, training in New York City and serving in the Philippines and Japan. She traveled extensively throughout her long life and especially loved her numerous trips to Europe, once even traveling by ship across the Atlantic to England.
Mary will be remembered for her enduring love and support of her relatives and friends and commitment to staying connected through thousands of cards and letters and telephone or face-to-face conversations. We will miss her humor, intelligence, honesty and openness, ability to listen and discuss any topic, and her passion for politics. She valued personal relationships and experiences much more than material possessions and had a true zest for life that was inspirational. We are lucky to have had her in our lives.
She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews and their spouses, many grandnieces and nephews, and one great-grandniece.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 15 at 2:00pm at Butterworth Funeral Home on Queen Anne at 520 West Raye St., Seattle, 98119.
