Mary Gurney was born in the family home, in the Ballard District of Seattle, on June 4, 1919. She joined a 13 month old sister, Elva. Her parents, Harry and Freda Bergman, were immigrants from the Medelpad Province of Sweden. They were married in Vancouver, B.C. In 1920 Mary's parents sold their home in Ballard and bought a "stump farm" in Sterling - now called Rolling Ridge Estates. The farm included a livable house, a barn, fruit trees and a very photogenic cow - but neither running water nor electricity. Mary's dad removed all the stumps with TNT and the help of a neighbor with a team of horses. He made shingle bolts out of the good cedar and sold them to home builders and the new Burlington Hospital. He added a few cows, planted hay and shipped milk to Darigold. He bought a used logging truck and hauled milk for Darigold. His route was in the Clear Lake area. By 1926 the family had a new house built. It was equipped with modern conveniences. A son, Jack, was born in 1927. Harry worked for Skagit Steel until the start of The Great Depression. He was working for Skagit County Road Dept. when he died of pneumonia in 1930. He was 39 years old. Mary attended Sterling Grade School and graduated from Sedro-Woolley High School in 1937. With the help of Pan Hellenic and William E Mowrer Scholarships and part time jobs at the college, through NYA; she completed a Junior College program at Pacific Lutheran, earned a Bachelor's Degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield Minnesota, and complete the year of graduate work required for a Secondary Teaching Certificate, at the University of Washington. She taught in Elma and Issaquah before coming to Mount Vernon High School in 1946 as an English and Latin teacher. There she met her future husband, William Gurney, Sr., who had returned to teaching in Mount Vernon in the Spring of 1946 after being drafted into the army in World War II and serving four years - mostly in the European Theater. William and Mary were married in 1951 and Mary became a full time home maker. They had four children. Her passions were love of God and family. When all her children were in school, Mary worked with AAUW, Mount Vernon Library Board, Hospital Guild, Ann Carlson Orthopedic, church women United and her own Salem Lutheran church Women and the Synodical Unit. Her favorite volunteer work was with Adult Literacy. She taught reading to adults who had Fallen through the cracks" in their schooling. She also taught English as a Second Language to immigrants and followed up with courses in the U.S. History and Government to help them prepare for citizenship. Going with them to take their exams and receive their final papers was very rewarding. William Gurney, Sr. died in 1987 after he had been retired for 12 years. Mary and her daughter made several trips to the Mid West and south to visit her sons and families. They also had a very enjoyable trip to Sweden where they met many cousins and experienced Mid Summer Festivals and the Mid-Night sun in Stockholm. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, her sister and two nieces. She is survived by her brother Jack and wife Jody, three sons, Bill Jr. and wife Barbara, David and wife Melissa, Jim and wife Sue and daughter Katie. She had four grandchildren, Deann Krupich, Ben Gurney and wife Anna, Brian Gurney and Blake Gurney and five great-children Amanda and Jacob Krupich and Reagan, Logan, and Esther Gurney. Memorials maybe given to Salem Lutheran Church Scholarship Fund. A graveside service will be held Saturday, March 21, 2015, 1:00 p.m. at Hawthorne Memorial Park , followed by Memorial Service at 2:00 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church, Mount Vernon.