Mary Louise Pattillo

1922 - 2015

Mary Louise Pattillo
Mary Louise Pattillo passed away peacefully May 2, 2015 with daughter Erin at her side. She enjoyed many recent visits with immediate family to include grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mary is survived by eight children: Michael Francis, Tinker Thomas Patrick, Jr., John Paul, Phillip Anthony, Mary Margaret (Peggy), Timothy Sean, Christopher Gray, Erin Elizabeth, Brother Thomas, Sister Patricia and half-sister Vicki.
Mary was born in Ellensburg January 15, 1922 to Marie Fitterer and Thomas B. Pattillo. She grew up in the creative environment of Kittitas Valley pioneer grandparents Frank and Margaret (Maggie) Fitterer, where family fun included musical sessions which included crooning saxophones of Uncles Leo and Phillip Fitterer. She lived at 610 N. Ruby St., attended Lourdes Academy and arts-oriented Edison School where she learned to draw. Majoring in music, drama and art, she soon studied under Sarah Spurgeon at Central Washington College.
Mary loved to fly. Goals included achieving commercial pilot ratings. By 1944, while serving our nation during World War II, United States Army WAC, PFC Mary Pattillo had already completed solo private pilot training in Yakima.
After assigned duties with flight line ground crews at Victorville Air Base, Mary also performed with a hugely popular all Army Corps song & dance troupe entertaining wounded Veterans returning from the Pacific. At war's end, she married U.S. Army Cavalry Officer, Tinker Williams, Sr., in Fort Knox, Kentucky and began raising a family while living abroad for many years in post-war Europe and Middle East.
Being an Army wife and mother didn't stop her love for art. Continuing her studies at College of Architecture, Kansas State and University of Louisville, Mary achieved her Bachelor of Arts at University of Houston and awarded faculty scholarship to the Museum of Fine Arts School. She taught Art-After-School programs under auspices of Contemporary Arts Museum and membership in Houston Art League.
Mary Pat traveled America's west extensively. Ellensburg was always home but cold winters often found her driving thousands of miles to pitch her tent, raise her easel and create a fresh body of work for weeks at a time in Utah's Canyon lands, Sangre do Cristos or Georgia O'Keefe's New Mexico hills where she painted Ghost Ranch. She loved the breathtaking shapes and spectacular colors of the Grand Canyon. From Texas Bluebonnets to Native American lore; Pacific Coast lighthouses to Flatirons of Boulder; Cascades to Columbia River, Yakima Canyon, Cle Elum and Mount Stuart were among the many places she felt inspired.
U.S. Army wife and mother of eight from Munich to Monterey, Tehran to Ellensburg, Mary Pattillo's journey through life was filled with adventure, love for family and dedication to artistry found in countless private collections throughout America and our beautiful Kittitas Valley.
Memorial services will be held at St. Andrews Catholic Church, 401 South Willow, Ellensburg, WA Friday June 5, 2015 @ 2:00pm. Reception follows. Guests and fellow Veterans are invited to share Honor Guard presentation of Colors, Taps & Veterans Salute with final prayer and moment of silence for Mary at Holy Cross Cemetery, 15th Ave (Dry Creek Rd,) Ellensburg, WA.
Donations: Kittitas County Veteran's Coalition or Wounded Warrior Project www.wwp.org