Mary Jane Desirey

Mary J Desirey, age 87 passed away on 8/16 in Sandpoint, Idaho and is now resting in the arms of her savior.

Mary retired after 23½ years of service as a rural letter carrier with the Sandpoint Post Office. She had also been an LPN nurse, an EMTD with the Sandpoint ambulance, worked for a realtor’s office, was a commuter bus driver, drove truck, was a volunteer firefighter, mother, grandmother and wife. As well as a number of other jobs, Mary used to say she was a Jane of many trades and a master of some.

She enjoyed her children of which she gave birth to four, two boys and two girls, vacationing with her husband of 50 years, knitting, crocheting, doing knitted lace, and recently went back to oil painting. Something she had done when her children real small. Mary enjoyed any kind of craft. The more challenging, the better. She enjoyed the challenge of learning a new endeavor.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Florence D. Rasmussen of Sagle and James C. Goodwin Sr., of WA.

She was a graduate of CV High in Verdale, Washington. She went to work at age sixteen at Deaconess Hospital while still going to school and night school, to help her family of ten, 5 step-siblings and 2 siblings and her parents.

After she marred, she moved to Oregon, for 17 years After 9 years on her own with her 4 children, she met her forever love. She then moved to Pocatello, Idaho to be close to her widowed mother and married the love of her life, her present husband, whom had followed her there. There she worked in a laundry, doing mending before moving to Sandpoint in 1977. She was born and raised in southern Idaho, until the age of 14 when she moved to Veradale, WA to reside with her father and continued school until she married her children’s father.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 50 years Doran D. Desirey, and her brother Joseph R. Goodwin, of Utah and 4 children. Of those the farthest away were her oldest, Ronald D. Jennings, who moved to Alaska when he was 17 and she has only seen once since then and her youngest, Leslie Wolf of Sandpoint, whom she rarely got to see since she went into the Air Force after graduating High School because of the distance, but has always kept in touch with both via phone. She is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren, and brother Jamces C. “Cliff” Goodwin Jr., of Idaho. Both her daughters went into the service. The oldest in the Army and the youngest in the Air Force.

Mary’s final resting place will be at the Westmond Cemetery with her husband Doran, where her mother is also at rest. A grave side service will be held at noon on September 19th.