Mary Lou Ledbetter passed away peacefully on May 31, 2019, at her home on Mercer Island, Washington. She was 92 and had enjoyed a full, active life. She was a wonderful woman and a loving wife and mother.

Mary Lou was born on January 18, 1927, in Enid, Oklahoma, to Viola and Schuyler Weier. She was the oldest of two daughters and sister to Violet. Mary Lou spend her childhood in Oklahoma and after high school attended Oklahoma State, where she met her first husband, Lionel Tietze. They shared a love of Alaska and in 1951 they were married in Anchorage where they homesteaded a property near the Old Seward Highway that later was developed and became the Dimond Center.

In 1954 Mary Lou became a young widow with two small children when Lionel was tragically killed in a plane crash. She met her second husband, Charles Ledbetter, in Anchorage and they were married in 1955. They were blessed with a third child and raised their family in Anchorage.

From 1955 to 1990 Mary Lou and Charles lived in Anchorage. During 1990-2004 they lived in San Antonio. In 2004 they moved to the Covenant Shores retirement community on Mercer Island, WA. They loved the time spent in each of these communities.

Their marriage lasted 59 years and they now have six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. The family spent many happy summers at the family cabin at Rocky Lake, Alaska, which Charles designed and built in the 1960s.

Mary Lou was a volunteer extraordinaire, both in Anchorage and later in San Antonio. She enjoyed volunteering in the children’s schools and later became a museum docent, leading tours at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, and later at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio. Favorite past times included spending time with family and friends, reading, gardening and watercolors, which she took up at the age of 88. She was a member of many clubs at Covenant Shores.

Mary Lou is survived by her son, Norman (Catherine) Ledbetter of Seattle, WA., grandson Peter (Kate) Ledbetter, great grandson Elliott of Shoreline, WA., granddaughter Emily Ledbetter of Los Angeles, CA; grandson Andrew (Julie) Ledbetter of Austin, TX., granddaughter Brooke (Luke) Hugman, great granddaughter Georgia of San Antonio, TX.; and daughter Priscilla (Charles) Padgett, grandsons Andrew Padgett and Matt Padgett, all of Mercer Island. She was preceded in death by her husband Charles in 2015, and her son Frederick in 2017. She will be missed by many friends in Anchorage, San Antonio and at Covenant Shores.

A memorial service of Mary Lou’s life will be held on Saturday, July 13th, 2019, at 2pm at the Fellowship Hall at Covenant Shores on Mercer Island. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a charity of one’s choice.