Mary Helen was born October 29, 1944 in St. Louis MO to Helen Dorothy [nee Antoine] and Ralph Downing.  Mary was the 3rd of 5 children.

Mary passed away peacefully on November 26, 2020 in Anacortes WA.

In 1951 Mary's family traveled from St. Louis MO through Dallas TX, then on to areas of California, including Venice, Santa Monica, and Topanga Canyon, where they finally settled in Canoga Park in 1960.  Mary went to high school in Canoga Park California where she met Fred Herpich.

After graduating in 1963, Fred and Mary married in June of 1964 and the couple welcomed their first child, Timothy William on March 17, 1967. Charlotte Antoine came along on February 28, 1968.  Fred and Mary later divorced.

Mary worked at a toy store in Canoga Park.  At this time, she met Donald Thomas Childs and they  married on August 15, 1970.  They lived in Ventura and Simi Valley.  On February 8, 1973 Thomas Irwin joined the family.  In June of 1974 Don and Mary moved their family to Anacortes WA, following the footsteps of Don's family.  They found a wonderful home on Cap Santa that provided hours of fun for the children to roam the woods.  On occasion, the whole family could be found hiking the trails, discovering the hidden, grass amphitheater and enjoying the phenomenal views over the bay.  Mary found work at the Whitney Fidalgo fish cannery and became involved in a women's group, Beta Sigma Phi.  Soon, many family members also relocated to the Anacortes area, including Don's brothers: Victor, James and John; Mary's mother Helen Grisbeck, her best friend Sharron and husband John Prosser, and Mary's sister Louise.  It was wonderful for the young family to have so much family and friends in their new small town. In 1982 Don and Mary bought a restaurant in Anacortes and named it "The Best Little Restaurant in Town".  It was a well- known, much-loved breakfast diner.  Don and Mary divorced in 1992.

Mary stayed in Anacortes and started exploring her passion for photography. She worked for small retail magazines taking pictures of homes and apartments, but she enjoyed taking any type of photograph.  She enjoyed having her first grandson, Andrew, over on weekends – together they enjoyed taking walks and cooking.  About this time, she also started a small sewing business, doing alterations for her friends and others.  She met Tim Rogers who worked at Radio Shack and the two became good friends. Mary and Tim married on July 29, 1994.  Mary enjoyed quilting, making small quilts for family members and as wall decorations. Mary and Tim enjoyed traveling to see family and friends, camping and being active members of St Mary's church in Anacortes.

Mary loved people and always made folks laugh.  She will be greatly missed by those who loved her.

Mary is preceded in death by her father Russell (1987), her mother Helen (2005), her brothers James (2001), Billy (2014), and Irwin (2016), and her husband Tim (2015).

Mary is survived by her 2 sons, Timothy William Childs and Thomas Irwin Childs, her daughter Charlotte Antoine Childs, her daughters-in-law: Heidi and Stephanie, 7 grandchildren (Britteny, Larrisa, Ashley, Alex, Victoria, Glory and Andrew).

To share memories of Mary, please sign the online guestbook at https://www.evanschapel.com