Marjorie Rose BLEDSOE

1942 - 2020

BLEDSOE, Marjorie Rose Marjorie Rose Bledsoe passed away at her home in Spokane Valley on December 7, 2020 of a rare sarcoma. Marjorie was born on February 25, 1942, to Frederick Raymond Bullock and Cordelia Josephine Bullock of Centralia, Washington. She spent the majority of her childhood on a farm in Centralia and much of her teenage years with her sister Dorothy's family in the Seattle area. On September 1, 1961, she married her high school sweetheart, James Michael Livingston, and moved to Salem, Oregon. Marjorie and Mike had one child, Julie Anne, before Mike died of Hodgkins Disease in 1970. Marjorie met her second husband, Jim Arden Bledsoe, when she attended Oregon State University and subsequently spent a year as Housemother at Acacia Fraternity. Marjorie and Jim married on July 7, 1972, and the family left the Pacific Northwest for Mesa, Arizona and Jim's first assignment in a 23-year Air Force flying career. Their second child, Jason Andrew, was born in 1973. Marjorie made homes for the family in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, Florida, West Germany, Kansas, the Netherlands, and Utah. While in Germany, she learned the craft of traditional European basketmaking and then made and sold artisan baskets at regional markets and fairs for two decades. Marjorie returned to Washington in 1995 when Jim retired from the Air Force and enrolled at Gonzaga Law School. The couple quickly put down deep roots in the Spokane community. Marjorie was a longtime member of PEO Chapter E and served two terms on the Board of Ronald McDonald House. She loved her home, her many cats, her many friends, gardening, and playing bridge with the "Altar Society". She and Jim frequently visited their children in the Portland area and enjoyed cruise holidays to Hawaii, Alaska, Europe, and the Panama Canal. Marjorie is survived by husband Jim; daughter Julie (Bob); son Jason (Tia); granddaughter Alex; niece Jennie (Bob); and sister Marilyn. At Marjorie's request there will be no memorial service, but a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. The family thanks Hospice of Spokane for providing skilled and compassionate care.