Mary Louise "ML" Smith

Smith, Mary Louise 'ML' (Calkins) 93 Aug. 11, 1918 June 01, 2012 Mary Louise died June 1, 2012, at Terwilliger Plaza where she had lived for the last 11 of her 50 years in Portland. ML was born to Harry Simpson and Kathleen Norman Calkins on Aug. 11, 1918, in Spokane. She was the second of four children. ML attended Whitman College where she joined Delta Gamma and met her husband, John Malcolm. During the War years, while Malcolm was in the service, she moved to the family ranch at Nine Mile Falls, Wash., milking cows and caring for orphaned fawns. Mary Louise and Malcolm lived in Washington D.C., and Chicago before moving to Spokane. They had two sons, John Malcolm Jr. "Mac" and Christopher Simpson "Chris." The family eventually established itself in Portland, where ML's great-grandparents, the Sherlocks, had settled in 1857 and founded a thriving leather business. Malcolm was the Executive Manager of the National Hardware Association, and Mary Louise took an active interest in planning its events and conventions. She devoted herself to creating a beautiful home and supporting all her boys' activities. ML lost her husband and both sons within a tragic five-year period. Her strong spirit enabled her to move forward, creating family out of friends and maintaining a keen interest in the world. She eventually remarried and shared 16 years with Alan Mann before his death in 2006. Mary Louise was predeceased by her older sister, Kathleen Beard, and brother, John Bartlett. She is survived by her family-sister, Harriet Calkins Smith of Mound, Minn.; sister-in-law, June Calkins of Wauwatosa, Wis.; numerous nieces and nephews from around the country; as well as those Portland friends she loved like family, especially Sheri and Bucky Sheffield and their sons, David and Johnny; and her 'adopted' son, Paul Schlesinger; and other cherished friends, old and new. The family wishes to thank the staff of Terwilliger Plaza and the devoted caregivers of Mary Louise's final weeks for their kindnesses. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 23, 2012, in the chapel of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Chapel, 147 N.W. 19th Ave. Memorials should be sent to Doctors without Borders or a conservation organization.