Mary Nicholson Sheriff
September 3, 1932 – July 12, 2013
Mary Nicholson Sheriff, beloved Wife, Mother, Mummo, Aunt and Friend went to heaven on July 12, 2013. Mary was born September 3, 1932 at Swedish Hospital in Seattle, the youngest child of Dr. Elmer and Ruth Nicholson. She attended Garfield High School, class of ’49. Mary went on to attend the University of Washington (class of ’54) where she graduated as a Registered Nurse.
Mary married Lawrence Daniel Sheriff, her high school sweetheart, in 1953 and they celebrated 60 years of marriage in June of this year. Mary and Larry have 3 daughters – Cindy (Karl Hutter), Celia (Larry Bradley) and Kelcie (Janet Mayr) and 5 grandchildren – Gabrielle Hui-Hutter (Gabriel Hui-Hutter), Seppi Hutter, Ty Bradley, Torrie Bradley and Sara Mayr-Sheriff.
During the first two years of their marriage, Mary practiced as a nurse in Black Hills Hospital, Rapid City, South Dakota where Larry was stationed in the Air Force. After returning to Seattle, she went on to work for more than 8 years at the University of Washington in the Division of Medical Genetics.
Mary had a tremendous Christian faith and spent a great part of her life serving others through ministries such as Campus Crusade for Christ, Philippian Ministries, Elijah House and through foreign missions. She also played a significant role in other people’s lives through a ministry of Christian prayer counseling.
Mary enjoyed playing bridge with her bridge club for over 40 years, numerous friendships, travel and reading. However, the greatest joy in her life came from her deep faith in Jesus and activities and closeness with her family members.
Mary suffered from Alzheimer’s for 13 years and passed away peacefully under the care of her family who adored her, Grace Alzheimer’s Adult Family Home and Evergreen Hospice. A family memorial service was held on July 14th.