Obituary of Mary Henrietta Harmon

Henry and Mae Betzler welcomed their newborn daughter, Mary, into the world in Tacoma, Washington on April 24, 1910. She had two older sisters, Florence (Erpelding) and Pearl (Rothmiller) and later a sister Mamie (Booth) and brother Harry Betzler who all preceded her in death. In 1926 she married Howard S. Harmon whose family lived a block from her home. They had three children: Leona (Lyda), Howard and Philip Harmon. In addition to her children, Mary is survived by, 7 Grandchildren, 9 Great Grandchildren, 16 Great Great Grandchildren & was predeceased by 1 Granddaughter. While Howard worked for the Metropolitan Park District in Tacoma, WA, Mary cared for her children, participated in the activities of the McKinley Hill Friends Church & the Olympic View Friends Church, including teaching children's classes and singing soprano in the choir. They purchased the Puyallup Greenhouses in 1942 where Mary worked long hours beside her husband raising flowers to sell both in retail and wholesale. She became a master flower arranger of bouquets, corsages and wedding flowers. In 1951, Howard accepted the position as Director of Horticulture for the Metropolitan Park District overseeing the growing and planting for the parks. Mary was known as a gracious hostess as she assisted in arranging the flowers for the many public events during those years. Following retirement they moved to Seattle and then to the Warm Beach Senior Community, Stanwood, Washington. After Howard passed away, Mary moved to Friendsview Retirement Community in Newberg, Oregon, where she died peacefully December 23rd at one hundred and one years old. Mary loved the Lord, her family, and always had a radiant smile for everyone. A memorial service will be held at the Newberg Friends Church on January 14th at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Twin Rocks Friends Camp in Rockaway Beach, Oregon or the Friendsview Residents Assistance Fund.