- Mary Agnes Reed, 95, formerly of Cottonwood, died Thursday, March 12, 2009, at the Magnolia Adult Family Home at Seattle, due to infirmities of age. Born Jan. 21, 1914, at Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada, Mary was the eighth of 13 children born to August and Lena Seubert Kopczynski. The family moved to Cottonwood when Mary was a year old. Mary attended St. Joseph's Grade School at Cottonwood and was in one of the first classes to graduate from St. Gertrude's Academy. Later she boarded with the sisters at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lewiston (now St. Joseph Regional Medical Center), working at the hospital for room and board while attending Mounce Beauty School.
On July 2, 1939, she married Lester David Reed of Greer, Idaho. They had six children, David, Judy, Peggy Dorf, James, Miriam Hansen and Patricia, who died shortly after birth.
Before marrying Lester she worked with her sister, Alvina Kopczynski Wimer, in a beauty shop on Main Street in Cottonwood. She later owned and operated Mary's Beauty Shop in the family home for more than 50 years.
Throughout her life Mary was known for her prayer life, rock walls, flower gardens and family covered-dish dinners. Her oil paintings hang in the rooms of many of her relatives and friends. She enjoyed crocheting, reading, playing piano, visiting with her family and friends, and hiking to the top of the hill behind the Monastery of St. Gertrude's. Her great joy was singing alto in St. Mary's Catholic Church choir.
She was past prefect of St. Mary's Christian Mothers, was a long-standing member of the Catholic Daughters, and was one of the original members of the Sunshine Club.
After having both knees replaced at age 85 she made a remarkable commitment to physical fitness and was able to spend eight hours walking around the Vatican in Rome two years later. Mary was seen almost daily walking around Cottonwood. At age 89 she hiked up to the Heaven's Gate lookout in the Seven Devils and was told she was the oldest person to sign their guest book. She participated in Cottonwood's Buggy Whip Coyote Run at the grand age of 90. In her 94th year, she rode a rail bike on the Camas Prairie.
Mary loved traveling. Besides camping in the Northwest and traveling the continental United States, she visited Hawaii, cruised to Alaska and visited her ancestral home in Wimmelbach, Germany. She was a guest in the home of Costa Rica's former president, Luis Monge. She visited the Holy Land, including Masada, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth, as well as visiting many other European countries.
She moved to Seattle in October 2008 due to declining health and to be near her daughter Miriam. With her cheery disposition she continued to inspire and delight the other residents and caregivers of her adult family home with her piano playing, singing, reading aloud and leading prayers. Her rosary beads were her constant companion throughout her life.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Lester Reed; daughter Patricia; parents August and Lena Kopczynski; sisters Johanna Engel, Alvina Wimer and Claire Sager; and brothers August, George, Stanley, Jake, Bernard and Merle.
She is survived by her sister, Doreen Jacobs of Ellensburg, Wash.; brothers, John of Grangeville and Ray of Albany, Ore.; and by her children, David Reed and Mary Jane Hamilton of Carmichael, Calif., Judy of Earp, Calif, Peggy and Spike Dorf of Grangeville, James and Carol of Portland, Ore., and Miriam and Michael Hansen of Seattle. She was also "Grammy" to six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with another on the way.
A memorial Mass in her honor will be celebrated at 2 p.m. today at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 5816 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle. The Revs. Lyle Konen and William Peterson will officiate celebrating the Mass. A later celebration of Mary's life and burial will take place June 20 at Cottonwood.
Memorial contributions in honor of Mary may be made to St. Gertrude's Monastery, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID 83522.
The Reed family may be contacted via Miriam Hansen, 939 NW 52nd, Seattle, WA 98107.
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1914 - 2009 (95 years)
Obituary
