Mary E David
Obituary

Mary Estelle David was born on August 10, 1934 in Hopkins, Missouri. The ninth child of farmers Hiram Lester David and Opal Marie (Messner) David, she and her family soon moved to Riverbank, California, where she worked in the summers picking fruit. After high school, she landed a full-time job as a telephone switchboard operator. She saved diligently to move into her own apartment and buy herself a prized red and white Chevrolet. Through neighbours, she met Air Force airman Russell Lloyd Nelson, who she married three weeks later by eloping to Reno. Two years after that, in 1959, their only child was born, a daughter, Cynthia. Military life meant the family of three moved frequently: to Alamogordo, New Mexico; Biloxi, Mississippi; Edinburgh, Scotland; Darmstadt, Germany; Ostuni, Italy; San Antonio, Texas; then ended up settling in Seattle, Washington in 1972. Mary worked as a switchboard operator at Northwest Hospital and later, after her marriage ended, as a receptionist in the hospital’s Speech and Hearing Clinic. She remarried, briefly, then moved to Burien, where, on a golf course in 1996, she met the man who would become her partner for life, Eric Morgan. Mary’s main passions in life were shoes, wine, novels, carnations, and golf. Cheeky and funny, and often obstinate about getting her way, she was a talented seamstress who loved bright colours, wild outfits and humorous clothes. Her huge, beautiful laugh was unforgettable. On April 29, 2026, Mary passed away peacefully at home after several challenging health struggles, which she faced with bravery. Mary is survived by her partner, Eric Morgan; daughter, Cynthia Nelson, and daughter-in-law, Tricia Dearborn; sister Etta Mahaney; brother Herschel David and sister-in-law Joyce David; niece Claudia Zaehringer and her husband Stan; and many other relatives.