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Marie Louise (Cray) O’Leary, 90, passed away peacefully at home on August 19, 2021.
Marie was born on December 1, 1930, in Lebanon, Oregon to Elliott and Leonie (Lyonais) Cray. She was the sixth of nine children. Marie attended elementary school at Stolz Hill School, and sixth grade in Shaeville, Oregon where her sister Ruth was teaching. She graduated from Lebanon Union high school. Marie went on to become a proud alumna of Marylhurst College in Portland, Oregon where she majored in elementary education and minored in art.
After college, Marie taught second grade in Vale, Oregon, and Lakeview, Oregon. Along the way, she met John O’Leary, her future husband and the love of her life, at a Summer Lake Grange Hall dance. They were married on August 18, 1956. Marie spent the rest of her life on their ranch in Paisley, Oregon, where she and John raised their six children. She shepherded their robust Irish brood with a prayer (and sometimes a loving sigh). She never met someone she couldn’t visit with and welcomed all to her home.
Marie was an active member of her community and the St. John’s Catholic Church. Always a teacher, she instructed both 4-H sewing and CCD. Always an artist, Marie enjoyed painting watercolors on Wednesdays with the Paisley art group and regularly exhibited paintings in Lake County.
Marie was the quintessential homemaker. She loved gardening, sewing, hosting holiday dinners, and branding lunches alike. She especially enjoyed being a grandma to her thirteen grandkids, and eleven great-grandkids. Marie was the family documentarian and photographed everything. In her later years, she treasured looking through old photo albums, over tea, with loved ones.
Marie is preceded in death by her husband of 60 years John, and her oldest son James Michael O’Leary. She’s also preceded by her siblings and their spouses Lucille (Jim) Montgomery, Ruth (Cameron) Cliff, Frank (Pearl) Cray, Rose (Ray) Sedivy, Mike Cray, and Johnny Cray. Marie is survived by her sister Betty (Paul) Young, brother George (Nancy) Cray, sister-in-law and dear friend Kathleen O’Leary, sister-in-law Hannah Jones, brother-in-law and sister-in-law Dan and Patty O’Leary, brother-in-law Don Richey, sister-in-law Luella Cray, and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition, she is survived by her children and their families: son, Jerry, and daughter-in-law Kari O’Leary, their children Jim (Shaylynn) O’Leary, and Hannah O’Leary; daughter, Maureen O’Leary Hall, her children Brenna (Brian) Fredrick, Dennis (Heidi) Hall, Riley (Candace) Hall, and Maddie Hall; son Mike and daughter-in-law Mary O’Leary, their children Megan (Jason) Kruse, Jack O’Leary, and Tess (fiancé Keith Baker) O’Leary; son Dennis and daughter-in-law Mollie O’Leary, their children Julia (Bill) Lindquist, and Ashley O’Leary; daughter Theresa and son-in-law John Taylor, their children Christine (Billy) Bugenig, and Jeremiah Taylor; and eleven great-grandchildren with one more on the way.
She is remembered as a warm and gentle soul who loved John, her family, and her faith.
Memorial contributions can be made in memory of Marie to the Paisley Disaster Unit, PO Box 208, Paisley, OR 97636 also to St.Patrick's Catholic Church, PO Box 29, Lakeview, OR 97630, or to the charity of the donor's choice.
A Rosary will be held on Monday, August 23, 2021, at 6:00 PM at St. John's Catholic Church in Paisley, OR. The Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, at 11:00 AM at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Lakeview with a committal following at the Sunset Cemetery.
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