Remembering the recently deceased in the Archdiocese of Seattle.


Gary Lee Doty

PUYALLUP — Gary Lee Doty died of cancer Jan. 27, 2024, at his home in Puyallup. He was 82.

Born Feb. 16, 1941, in Lewiston, Idaho, to Samuel and Norma Doty, he graduated from Potlatch, Idaho, High School as valedictorian in 1959. He attended the University of Idaho through the ROTC program, graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry.

He entered the U.S. Air Force as a second lieutenant and was sent to the University of Utah, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in meteorology in 1964. His first weather assignment was to Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany, where he met his future wife, Beatrice Elizabeth Beeson. They were married Dec. 15, 1965.

His 23 years of military service included a tour in Vietnam, additional postsecondary education, multiple commander assignments (including Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan) and multiple military decorations before he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1987.

He then worked for The Boeing Co., where he managed engineering and preflight testing programs. He retired in 2012.

He was a member of All Saints Parish in Puyallup, where he was a lector and extraordinary minister of holy Communion, as well as serving on the parish council and as president of the finance council. He was also active in his parish while living in Okinawa.

An avid runner, he competed in marathons for decades; in more recent years when running was no longer possible, he and his wife became avid walkers, logging miles that were the equivalent of crossing the United States and well beyond. He also coached youth soccer and Air Force baseball, and enjoyed gardening and fishing.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years Beatrice, son Jeffrey (Liisa) Doty, daughter Suzanne (Tim) Plante; siblings Barbara Doty, Cheryl (Lee) Kopf, Darlene (John) Smith and Randy (Michelle) Doty; six grandchildren, a great-grandchild and many nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated 11 a.m. Feb. 24 at All Saints Church in Puyallup, with a reception following. Interment will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 24 at Gethsemane Cemetery in Federal Way.

Mary O’Brien

SEATTLE — Mary Kathryn O’Brien of Seattle died Feb. 2, 2024, at her home in Seattle. She was 99.

Born Oct. 22, 1924, to Ella and Frank Schwarz, she was the youngest of five children. She was a lifelong resident of the Rainier Valley area of Seattle.

A lifelong parishioner of St. Edward Parish in Seattle, she graduated from St. Edward School and attended Holy Names Academy, graduating in 1942.

She worked at Crown Zellerbach Paper Co., where she met John L. O'Brien, a St. Edward parishioner who was the state representative for her district. They were married in 1952, and built a home in the Seward Park neighborhood, just a mile from their childhood homes and their parish. They had six children.

The couple started having Seafair parties in the 1950s to coincide with the annual hydroplane races on Lake Washington. She acquired the nickname “Seafair Mom,” a name that was displayed on all the hydroplanes later owned by her son John.

She enjoyed playing softball, basketball, volleyball and tennis, and loved snow skiing, fishing and digging for clams. She sang in choirs with friends and was a card player, with bridge as her mainstay. She was a lifetime member of the Rainier Valley Historical Society, an emeritus member of the Washington Athletic Club and honorary member of Rainier Golf & Country Club.

She is remembered as a woman of great faith whose life was all about family.

She was preceded in death by her husband John, daughter Mary Ann Suver, brothers Frankie and George Schwarz and sisters Barbara Koch and Florence Hosterman.

She is survived by her children Laurie (Mark Jensen), John Jr. (Mary), Karen, Jeannie (Ken Selander), and Paul (Mikel); her son-in-law Paul Suver; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren (with another on the way) and three step-great-grandchildren.

A rosary was recited Feb. 16 at Columbia Funeral Home. A funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 17 at St. Edward Church.

Memorial donations may be made to the Mary K. Schwarz O'Brien ’42 Endowment Fund at Holy Names Academy, 728 21st Ave. E., Seattle, 98112 or to St. Edward Parish, 4212 S. Mead St., Seattle, 98118.

As a free service to the Catholic community, Northwest Catholic posts online the obituaries of Catholics whose funerals are held in parishes in the Archdiocese of Seattle or at Catholic cemeteries in the archdiocese. Submit an obituary here.