Mary Elizabeth Butler Wolbert

Mary Elizabeth Butler Wolbert succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease on the morning of January 25. A memorial is planned at 1pm February 18th at the Hope Community Church, 2425 Black Lake Blvd SW, Olympia.

Mary is survived by her six children, Gary Wolbert, Diane Helke, Eric Wolbert, Jonathan Wolbert, Lisa Saner, Julie Rohr, 15 grandchildren, 15 great grandchildren and four brothers and sisters which reside in Georgia where she was born and raised. She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Warren Wolbert.

A longtime resident of Thurston and Lewis counties, she spent her working life as a Bell system employee. She retired in 1986 after 35 years of service. She spent her retirement years in the service of others.

Mary was born in Milledgeville, GA on May 16, 1931. Upon graduation at the top of her class she went to work for the Bell system as an operator. She worked to help her family financially and start making her own way. Upon leaving home she rented an apartment with some co-workers and friends. They would occasionally go to weekend dances put on by the USO. It was at one of those dances where she met her husband of 62 years, Warren Wolbert. As luck would have it he was a good dancer and it was that ability which initially attracted her. They were married on June 7, 1952 and began their family the following year.
His military service forced some moves around the country and when he was stationed overseas she moved to Tacoma and lived with Warren’s parents for a time. She continued her career with the Pacific Northwest Bell.

Mary worked full time while raising her family in challenging financial times. She would work split shifts in order to be with her children whenever possible. She received help from her in-laws and a live in child caregiver, Gwen Clawson. Her work career spanned 35 years and she eventually retired in 1986.
Her retirement years were spent primarily in the service of others. She served as a board member of the Lewis County Salvation Army, was a past president of the Telephone Pioneers and the American Business Women’s Association. She was integrally involved in the philanthropic activities of these groups and early in her retirement seemed always on the move in those tasks. She was also involved as a house mom for the Safe Family Ministries, a faith based drug rehabilitation program for single mothers. She was also a prime mover in her church, Dayspring Baptist Church in Chehalis.

Mary rejoiced in her ever expanding family. As her children began having children of their own, she and her husband began hosting what they called Cousins Camp at their home on Rice Rd. in Chehalis. With the help of her daughters, in particular Diane Helke, they put together various games and activities in which Mary and Warren were team captains and active participants. The kids camped out in tents in the yard and the adults, although joyful were always happy to see them turn in after an exhausting day. Mary and Warren saw them all grow up and those memories have become family legends that lived with them for the rest of their days, and live with their family to this day.

About 5 years ago Mary was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and lived at home under the care of her husband and family. Upon Warren’s death she was cared for primarily by her granddaughter Danielle Rohr who moved here from Ohio for that purpose. This allowed her to live at home for almost one more year. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease and it became apparent that her family could not adequately care for her. She was moved to the Garden Courte memory care unit approximately 19 months ago. This afforded her the kind of care she needed and she was well attended to by her caregivers there, and her family members in particular her daughter Julie Rohr who was her most frequent attendant.

The family invites you to celebrate her life on February 18th at 1 pm at Hope Community Church, 2425 Black Lake Blvd, Olympia, WA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation in her name be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.