In Memoriam

This website is dedicated to the memory of my great-aunt, Mary Jo (Plymale) Brown, who passed away on December 19, 2003 after a brief battle with cancer. Mary Jo will be missed by many. She was born on January 1, 1929 in Medford, Oregon, the daughter of Ben and Vera Plymale. Sadly, Mary's father, Ben Plymale, died only 6 weeks after she was born. Mary was raised in Medford, Oregon, where she spent her earliest years. In 1941, she moved with her mother and brother to Portland, Oregon. Mary Jo was married to Paul W. Brown in Portland, Oregon in 1947. Soon after that, they moved to Seattle, Washington, where they settled in the Beacon Hill area. They had two daughters: Tracy and Margaret (Maggie) Brown. At times Mary Jo also worked as an assistant secretary for schools in the area. She was a wonderful woman. Perhaps her life could be more accurately portrayed by an excerpt from the obituary written by her loving husband Paul: "She lived life to the fullest and enjoyed a wide variety of activities and friends, including travel, theater, gardening, and most of all, garage sailing. She was the consummate Samaritan and her greatest joy came from helping others. She was a special friend to all she met and touched the many people she knew with her joy for life. A born charmer, she could light up a room with her smile. We will always be grateful that you were part of our lives. Our hearts are reeling. May your spirit take flight and soar with the angels."

Mary Jo was quite helpful in my genealogy research and a great deal of the information on this website in the Merriman and Plymale branches can be attributed to her. Not only was she happy to provide information, documents, photos and help, she had many stories to tell about our early family members and encouraged me in my research.