Obituary of Mary Louise Blanchard-Parker

Mary Louise passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family on December 20, 2019. Mary was born on April 20th 1945 to Richard and Avis Blanchard. She was the youngest of three children. The family moved to Salem in 1953. Mary graduated from South Salem high school in 1963. Mary began working for the State of Oregon at the Department of Justice as a child support case manager in 1980. She worked there for 29 years and retired November, 30th 2009. Mary was deeply devoted to her family. She adored her grandchildren and helped raise them. She was a strong and independent woman. She was the backbone of her family and she never gave up on anybody. Mary enjoyed watching Hallmark movies and she loved the holidays. She also loved cooking and baking goodies, and she was very good at it. After retirement, Mary became an avid pool player and she played on many teams. She belonged to the STOP and APA Pool Leagues. She was often the score keeper. She made many friends from her pool leagues. Mary was also a member of the Keizer Elks club. She will be dearly missed by all those who loved her. Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Richard and Avis, Avis’s 2nd husband Earl Wheeler, and her sister Wilma Blanchard. She is survived by her brother Loren Blanchard of Culver, OR, husband Chuck Parker of Salem, son Jimmy Blanchard , daughter Tina Babb , and son Donald Smith all of Salem.Granddaughters Nichole and Courtney Babb of Salem, three great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. On Friday, December 27th there will be a viewing at Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A graveside service will be held at 3 p.m. at Belcrest Memorial Park at 1295 Browning Ave. Salem, OR. A celebration of life will be held at Jake’s Bar and Grill on January 25th from 11:00 am. Until 2:00 p.m. followed by a pool tournament in her honor.