Mamie Thirion

March 23, 1913 – September 21, 2013

Mamie Thirion (DeLeo) passed away on September 21, 2013. She was 100 years old.

She was born on March 23, 1913 at the family farm in Coalfield, WA (now known as May Valley). It was Easter Sunday morning, so she was named Pasqualina Dominica, which means Child of Easter, belonging to God. She was the 5th child born to John and Louisa DeLeo, there would ultimately be 12 (10 girls and 2 boys). No one is quite sure how she came to be known as Mamie. She finally changed her name legally at the time she started working and applied for her Social Security number.

Mamie graduated from Renton High School in 1933. She and her sisters walked the 7 miles from the farm to RHS or caught rides on the milk truck to downtown Renton in order to attend school.

On Nov. 17, 1934, she married Numa Thirion, a coal miner from Newcastle, WA. They adopted a daughter, Marie, in 1943. Numa died in the coal mines in 1953. In 1956 Mamie and Marie moved to the Renton Highlands where Mamie lived until this year. She was currently residing at the Chateau at Valley Center, until her death.

Mamie was a faithful member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the Renton Highlands.

Mamie is survived by her daughter Marie McPeak and her husband Russell; granddaughters Jeanette Hinesley and Jennifer Fassbender (husband Mark); 3 great grandsons (Zachery Hinesley, Owen Fassbender and Evan Fassbender); 4 sisters (Antionette Bassett, Mickeline Lapsansky, Rose Lapsansky and Margaret Woods) and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1024 Monroe Ave NE, Renton, WA at 10am. Burial at Greenwood Memorial Park, 350 Monroe Ave NE, Renton, WA, will immediately follow the funeral. There will be a reception luncheon following the burial at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.