Mary Ruth Harvey

Mary Ruth Harvey passed away peacefully on July 11, 2017 after a long battle with lung disease. Born July 23, 1946 in Milford, Delaware, she moved at a young age to Washington where both of her parents worked on the Hanford Project, her father as a nuclear engineer and her mother as a lab assistant. Mary and her sister Michelle grew up in Grandview and Richland where they both maintained close ties to the community.

Mary left Eastern Washington to attend Stanford University where she studied journalism and worked on the school newspaper. She graduated in 1973. After working for some time as a reporter, she decided to devote her life to the service of others by becoming a physician. She graduated from the University of Washington, School of Medicine in 1977.

She completed her residency in internal medicine and emergency medicine at San Francisco General Hospital, before going on to teach medicine at the University of Alabama. She gave birth to her only child, Alexis, in Birmingham. The family moved back to Eastern Washington and Mary raised Alexis in the same community she grew up in. Mary owned a family practice clinic in the Tri-Cities for some time, and later worked as an emergency room doctor at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

After her retirement, she continued her life of service through regular volunteer work at home and abroad. In Seattle, she worked with Operation Nightwatch, a non-profit committed to reducing the impact of poverty and homelessness. She also taught medicine in Russia and helped to establish public health clinics in Kenya and Mexico.

She spent her last years at Aljoya Senior Living Community in Seattle, where she was proud to serve as an elected representative on the board of the resident association. She was an active and vibrant part of the community and felt deeply connected to the many friends she made there. She particularly loved hosting parties, attending a wide variety of continuing education classes, traveling around the state with her friends, and attending the Seattle Opera of which she was an avid supporter. Her first and only grandchild was born in April of 2016. Mary was with her daughter and daughter-in-law for the birth of their daughter, who was given the middle name Ruth in Mary's honor. Mary was a devoted and adoring grandmother, or "Bubbe" as her granddaughter will grow up calling her.

She is survived by her daughter, Alexis Michelle Rado (Elizabeth); granddaughter, Klara Molly Ruth Rado; sister, Michelle Harvey Merlino; nephews, Douglas (Tracey), David (Carlene), Nik (Gina) Merlino; great nieces and nephews, Madison, Makenna, Cassidy, Dylan, and Evie.

Celebration of Life will be held Tuesday, July 18th at 4:00 PM at Aljoya Senior Living Community 450 NE 100th Street, Seattle 98125

Hoffner Fisher & Harvey
Guestbook at harveyfuneral.com