Mary Catherine McHale Obituary (1922

Mary Catherine was born in Pocatello, Idaho, as the first child of Charles T. (Red) McHale and Olga Schmidt McHale. The family settled in Bremerton, where it grew to seven; Mary, Rose, Francis (Toni), Terry Couse (all deceased), Charleen Zettl, PJ Lund (Bremerton), and Edward (Camarillo, CA). An alumna of Star of the Sea elementary school and Bremerton high school (class of 1940), she headed to Chicago to attend Mundelein College, including study abroad in South Hampton, England. In 1943, Mary joined the U.S. Army out of Ft. Lewis, Washington. She supported the war effort until its end in 1945 and returned to college at Seattle University. In 1950, after a few years in the private sector, Mary returned to active duty with the Army and was stationed in Ft. Ord, California. The Monterey Bay area became her life-long home and she made a 44-year long career out of administrative support for the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio there (this included a 10-year stint in Washington, D.C.). She was a life-long member of Altrusa International and the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. Her Catholic faith was unwavering and demonstrated by her excitement to bundle up in her winter-woolies and stand at 4:00 am, in the freezing winds of Laguna Seca to see and hear Pope John Paul II. Travel was a passion for her. If a friend suggested a trip to Europe, South America, or the Vatican, she was packed and ready to go... always toting a 35mm camera and a bag full of film. She had friends and a large, extended family all over the United States and would visit them regularly. She was an oral historian and could give you details of your own hometown that even you didn't know. The constant adventurer, Mary would never take the same route home from anywhere. Between the St. Angela Merici parish and the family home in Pacific Grove, it could take hours, with a cruise along the bay, or 17-Mile Drive, through the Presidio, up and down Prescott Avenue, or even a stop at Dennis the Menace park. Her nieces and nephews were always entertained and scared to death by her lack of attention to the road. Mary moved back to Bremerton in 2006 and spent the last four years at Later Years Adult Family Home. The owner, Tammy and staff took wonderful care of her and enjoyed her feisty nature. She was an independent person, doing as she pleased until the end. Her family would like to thank everyone for their compassion. Besides her two sisters and brother, Mary (Auntie Cathie to many of us) is survived by twelve nieces and nephews and thirteen great nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be conducted Friday, June 28, in the chapel at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Bremerton with recitation of the Rosary at 10:00 a.m., followed by Mass at 11:00. Interment at Forest Lawn Cemetery will follow. Military honors will be rendered at the graveside service.