Marie Claire Martin

Obituary Marie Dooley Grebe-Martin Marie was a warm and caring person who was always open to a new adventure with her family and friends. She was interested in the lives of her cousins, nieces and nephews and from the time they were born they always looked forward to a visit to or from "Aunt Rio" as they called her. She generously supported their childhood activities until graduation and after they began their own careers. Marie was born on April 18, 1916 to Martin Dooley and Margaret McNerney in Centralia, Washington and passed away on June 15, 2014 at the age of 98. Shortly after she was born they moved back to Tacoma, Washington. Marie graduated from St Leo's H.S. in 1934 and Knapps Business School and began working at Manke's Jewelry in about 1936. On May 1, 1940 she married Paul Grebe and for 36 years they managed Grebe Lumber in South Tacoma, moving in 1950 to Pacific Highway S. in Federal Way until Paul's death on June 19, 1976. Paul was born in Opolis, Kansas on October 31, 1909 and moved to Washington State in 1939. Marie was actively involved with her Catholic Church Parish's at St. Martin of Tours in Fife, St. Vincent De Paul and St Theresa in Federal Way for years. She was also a supporter of community activities such as the annual Federal Way Salmon Bake and was president of the Brookdale Garden Club. She and Paul were members of the Auburn Elks and Tacoma Eagles. Prior to the death of their spouses, Marie (Paul) and Lawrence (Judy) were both active with the Driftwood Dance Club and several bowling leagues at Secoma Lanes from 1960 to 1980. After both of their spouses died, Marie and Larry were on a cruise around South America and fell in love. They were married on October 1, 1982 and were married for 32 years. They enjoyed taking cruises and took them annually until their health necessitated them to remain at home remembering the many trips they had taken together. Marie is survived by her loving husband, Larry; her only daughter, Paula (Robert) Elsdon; sister, Margaret Sweeney (Jim) of Saratoga, California; and various cousins, nephews and nieces. Marie is preceded in death by her brother, Martin; sister, Betty Dougherty (Mike); and first husband, Paul. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 11:00am at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Federal Way (www.sttheresafw.org). A Rosary will be recited on Wednesday, June 25, 2014 at 7:00pm at Gaffney Funeral Home in Tacoma. Interment at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the charity of your choice. Please leave online condolences at www.gaffneycares.com. Arrangements by Gaffney Funeral Home, (253) 572-6003.         Marie Claire Dooley Grebe Martin Marie was born in Centralia, Washington on April 18, 1916 to Martin Dooley and Margaret McNerney. She was the oldest of 4 siblings; 2 sisters and one brother. The family went through the depression and eventually lost their house. They had to move into an apartment near Wright Park in which my Grandmother took care of in lieu of rent. My mom attended school at St. Leo's in Tacoma on 13thand Yakima. While in school, she formed lifelong friendships - one of those friends is still living today. Mom's graduating class consisted of only 30 girls. After graduation, my mom and 6 of those girls formed a "Girls Club". My Uncle Jim called it "The Old Hens Club". They met once a month on a Thursday night, taking turns whose house it was at. When they retired, they met in the afternoon. After graduation, Marie attended Knapp's Business College for bookkeeping and got a job at Manki's Jewelry in 1936 as a bookkeeper. When the store was busy, she would come out and work with customers. My mom met my dad, Paul, on a blind date. After they were married, my mom quit working at the jewelry store and did the books for their lumber business. My dad used to say "No one can take care of the books and business better than Marie!" We had some hard times, but by 1972 they were on "Easy Street" as my mom used to say. My mom used to say to my dad "We can't eat land!" but when mom told dad she had bills to pay, somehow he would come up with the money they needed. Mom and dad had quite a few rentals. Once, when one of their renters were behind on rent and couldn't pay that month's rent, two of my dad's workers asked if they could borrow his truck. They filled the truck with a load of mink manure and took it over to the house where they dumped manure at the front door, the back door and outside the bathroom window. It was the middle of summer so you can imagine how that smelled! Needless to say, the renters moved out a very short time later. It wasn't until afterwards that they told Mom and Paul what they had done. Paul and Marie were married for 36 years. During their marriage, Mom enjoyed dancing, bowled for nearly 25 years and loved working in her flower gardens. My dad passed away on June 19, 1976. Mom was left to run the lumber yard and tend to the vegetable gardens. We always had large gardens. One year Mom and Dad had planted 30 tomato plants - it was a good year for tomatoes and I think we ate BLT's 4-5 nights a week! We also put a box out to let people take them when they came in for lumber. My dad's wishes, before he passed, were for Mom not to do anything with the lumber yard and to stay put for at least one year. Being raised there, I knew how to run everything. On weekends, if someone came in and needed lumber loaded onto their truck - I did it. I am sure many of the customers didn't think I could do it. I went to provincial school since the 3rd grade and we were in a car pool. My dad always picked us up (but never on time). There were many times Mom and Grandma had to walk to the Poodle Dog Restaurant after Mass at St. Martin's in high heels and carrying me. There we would find Dad, sitting at the counter drinking coffee and talking to whomever was sitting next to him. So once when one of my mom's friend was over, she said her daughter was going to driving school and offered to pick mom up and taker her. My dad was a little skeptical. My mom was 50 at the time. Deep down my dad didn't think Mom would ever be able to pass a driving test - but she studied the driving manual while she ate her breakfast. Dad even set up 2 piles of lumber for her to learn to parallel park and he told me if you see Mom driving around the yard, to get into the front yard. I was 13. Mom passed the exam with a 98%. My dad was shocked! I followed in my mom's footsteps and went to St Leo's from grade 9-12. I even had 2 of the same teachers she did when she was a student there. My parents were good friends with Larry and Judy Martin for over 25 years. My mother remained single for 5 years after Paul's death. Larry, who had lost his wife, Judy, several years prior, came to see if Mom would like to go on a cruise around South America with him. My mom was hesitant but a friend said she would also go with her. When that friend backed out, my mom thought she should also back out. She was afraid of what her friends might think. After some persuasion, she decided to go. She fell in love with Larry Martin on that cruise and when they got home, Larry came to me asking for my blessing to marry Mom. Funny thing is he had already bought the ring in Rio! Throughout their marriage, they enjoyed taking cruises and traveling. For many years, they took one cruise a year until their health slowed them down which made it necessary to remain home and reminisce about the trips they had taken together. Larry and Marie also enjoyed traveling to Arizona for Seattle Mariners Spring Training, visiting her sister, Marge, in California and going to the casino - except if she lost $5.00 to $15.00 dollars, she would be done! Marie also enjoyed gardening. When her eyesight was better, Mom loved to play cards, watch movies and read. Unfortunately, over the last few years, her eyesight deteriorated and it was very hard for her to do those things. These are just a few of the many stories I could tell you. In closing, I want to thank everyone for coming here today to celebrate 98 years of a great lady's life. She was a very loving, thoughtful and caring lady. Mom was my best friend. I will have a void in my life now but I will always have the memories of the good times with Mom. I am grateful that she did not suffer in the end and it warms me to know that she is in Heaven with my Dad, her parents, sister, brother and the many friends that went before her. I know that Mom is looking down on me right now and helping me through this time.   Rest in peace Mom, until we meet again   I love you very much. Â