Martha Elizabeth Parrish, 101 years old, passed away at Heritage House in Morton, June 16, 2014 after a brief illness. She was born at Dr. A.W. Bridge's Lumberman's Hospital in Eatonville on February 25, 1913 to William and Elizabeth (Muery) Breuer. She grew up on her parents' farm on Ohop Lake and attended school in Eatonville where she graduated in 1931. She met Preston Parrish, her future husband, on her walk to school. After High School she attended business college in Seattle and returned home to Eatonville where she worked at Malcolm's Meat Market keeping books, wrapping meat, working at the counter or anywhere else she was needed. She married Preston Parrish in August of 1935 at Montesano, Washington. They settled down on a piece of land at the confluence of the Mashell and Little Mashell Rivers, where they built their own home and raised their three children, Donna, Florence and Raymond. Preston passed away suddenly on May 26, 1971 shortly before he was to retire. Martha never remarried. She always said she had the very the best in her husband, Preston. In Martha's lifetime she was a busy wife and mother. She participated in many fun activities with her husband and children that included hunting, fishing, camping and traveling. Martha was active in 4-H, Girl & Boy Scouts, Preschool, PTA and Orthopedic. Martha loved gardening and was one of the primary organizers and first president of the Eatonville Dogwood Garden Club. Besides her garden club projects, she planted and tended many personal gardens through the years, both for the beauty and to preserve food for her family. After the loss of Preston, Martha picked up in earnest, an old hobby from childhood'drawing. She spent many years taking art courses all over Western Washington in various media including oil, pastel, acrylic, chalk, charcoal, and water color. Martha painted many pictures, giving most of them to family and friends. Martha loved Eatonville and her view of Mount Rainier, but she also enjoyed exploring the world. She began traveling as a child when her mother would take her to California to see her grandmother and other relatives and she traveled by train with her parents to Elbe to attend services at Elbe Lutheran Church. Martha and Preston enjoyed camping and fishing in Washington and Oregon and traveled parts of the US in their camper. They visited Hawaii together before Preston passed away. She went on several driving tours across the United States and Canada and she visited Alaska twice. She took a four week tour of Australia, New Zealand and Fiji with friends and visited for three months in the Philippines with her good friend, Margaret. Martha was preceded in death by her parents, William and Elizabeth (Muery) Breuer, her brother Alfred Breuer and her husband Preston W. Parrish. She is survived by her two daughters, Donna (Terry) Kust of Morton and Florence (Wayne) Bernard of Eatonville and her son, Raymond (Cheryl) Parrish of Eatonville. In addition to her children, she leaves behind nine grandchildren, sixteen great grandchildren, four great-great grandchildren and one step-great-great grandchild, two nieces and many other relatives and friends. A Celebration of Martha's Life will be held at the Eatonville Community Center on Saturday, July 12th from 1:00 to 3:30 PM. Her family invites you to share your memories of her while joining them for cake and coffee.
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