Mary Viola Friedman Van Volsem, loving wife, mother, and grandmother, went home Thursday, February 2, 2012, at the age of 79. She died peacefully, with her family by her side, at her home in Lakebay, WA. She will be sorely missed.

Mary was born June 12, 1932, to Lawrence Aloysius Friedman and Christie Mabel McEachern (Baun) Friedman in Mountain Home, ID. She grew up there with her two brothers, Clifford Baun and Gene Friedman, and two sisters, Helen Friedman Ward and Donna Rose Friedman Michaels. On June 22, 1949, she married Roger Ernest Van Volsem in Mountain Home. They were married 56 years and were living in Gig Harbor, WA, when Roger passed away in 2005.

Together they raised four daughters, and their life was very busy, involving many moves to new places and much closeness as a young family. Mary was so young when she became a mother that her older girls still recall her playfulness and innocence while they were children.

Mary worked in the library in Mountain Home, and her girls have many fond memories of being permitted to sit in the children’s section where she worked, with access to all those books! Mary herself was an avid reader, something that she passed along to all of her daughters. She also enjoyed crocheting and made beautiful blankets for her grandchildren. In her later years, she worked as a teller in a bank in Tacoma, WA, where she was a favorite with her customers. She loved her little dog, Gracie, who has gone to live with Christine.

Mary is survived by her daughters, Christine Mary Van Volsem and her husband, Charles, of Vashon, WA; Barbara Romine of Santa Ana, CA; Cathrine Lynn Frombach and her husband, Don, of Vashon, WA; and Joanne Lisa Johnston and her husband, Dean, of Lakebay, WA. She is also survived by her granddaughter, Brandi Sloane, with whom she was especially close, along with a total of 12 grandchildren, who will miss her greatly. There are also 19 great-grandchildren who survive her. Mary’s sister Donna is still living and resides with her husband, Charles (Mike) Michaels, in Idaho.

She was preceded in death by her husband, father, mother, two brothers, one sister and a niece.

No service is planned. The family would especially like to thank Vic, Nadia, and Deena at Bethany Adult Family Home in Tacoma, WA, along with the rest of the staff. The daughters also want to acknowledge Group Health Hospice, thanking them for all of their help, as well as many others who were so kind. They would also like to thank Father Bailey of St. Nicholas Church for his services.

Paid Obituary.