Mary Elaine Rudarmel - 1927 - 2019

Mary Elaine Rudarmel began her life on May 23, 1927, in Bend, Oregon, born to Lauretta and Fred Whittaker. When Mary was eighteen months old, her birth father Fred was killed while hunting, and Edward Moser became her forever father when her mother remarried several years later. Mary grew up on a chicken farm near Stafford, Oregon, and graduated from West Linn High School after moving to Gladstone. In high school during The Great Depression, Ed gave his yearly shoe allotment to Mary for roller skates, knowing he could always find her skating at Oaks Park.

Mary met William (Bill) Rudarmel, from a German immigrant family, on a blind date on New Year’s Eve and they married in August of 1947. She and Bill raised a family in Portland until Bill’s retirement, when they built a home in the woods of Sumpter, Oregon. They lived for years under the stars and snow in the quiet view of the Blue Mountains from their deck. In the '90s, they traded their adventure in the Eastern Oregon forest for the peaceful and welcoming community of McMinnville, Oregon, where they shared a home with Mary’s mother. Mary took care of Bill and Lauretta in the final stages of their lives and lived on her own in the house they had shared until her recent move in March to Eugene when she could no longer care for herself.

Mary was active and engaging, determined and bold, at times brash and fiery, treasuring friendships and family and her independence. As an athlete, she competed in volleyball and basketball, and her favorite, softball at Montavilla Park in northeast Portland. She journeyed by bicycle through her neighborhoods as a young mother in Portland and during her senior years in McMinnville. She harvested and processed the fruit and vegetable bounty of the Willamette Valley so her family could afford summer vacations exploring Oregon. Mary was a seamstress and quilter extraordinaire, finding a community of fellow quilters at the McMinnville Senior Center. She is remembered as good company, with a contagious laugh, easy smile and wicked sense of humor.

Mary is survived by daughter, Linda Dievendorf and husband Mark Dievendorf; granddaughters, Kala Dievendorf and Rhiannon Leonard and husband Ben Leonard; and great-grandsons, Cadence and Julian. Also surviving Mary is her granddaughter, Sarah Rudarmel; great-grandson, Uzi Michaela; granddaughter, Brooklyn Ochoa and her children, Josiah, Thaliah, Moises and Thiago; and Mary’s son, Michael Rudarmel.

The family’s sincere appreciation to Mary’s McMinnville neighbor, Lyn Giammanco, for her friendship, support and care that made it possible for Mary to live independently and to her Meals-on-Wheels friends, Rich, Patty, Ginny and Mary from the McMinnville Senior Center, who delivered much more than food. Linda and Mark wish to thank the loving and caring folks with Eugene’s Sacred Heart Hospice, who gave Mary comfort and support in her last days.

Mary passed away peacefully the evening of April 11, 2019.