November 12, 1939 - December 04, 2009
Mary Ward Key Obituary
(Age 70)
Passed away December 4, 2009. She was born November 12, 1939 in Portsmouth, VA to Henry Handley Ward Sr. and Bonnie Parks Ward. Mary moved out to Palo Alto, CA at the age of four where she then graduated from High School. After two years at Linfield College, where she met the man she later married, Jerry Key, she transferred to Stanford University and completed her B.S. in Nursing. Upon graduating she moved to Seattle, WA where her husband was attending medical school and worked as a nurse at the University Hospital until her son Bryan was born in May 1964. After Jerry's graduation from medical school in 1965 they moved to Indianapolis, IN where their daughter Kathy was born in March 1966. It was at the end of 1967 where Mary was introduced to the autoimmune disease Wegener's Granulomatosis which ultimately took her life. In 1971 she moved to Spokane where she remained. Once her children were in high school she resumed nursing at Valley General Hospital. Mary also became very involved with her church, First Presbyterian, as both an elder and a founder/leader of their Divorce Recovery Group. Though her life was a constant struggle with her illness, she was determined to minimize its influence as much as possible. While her generosity was boundless, she struggled with being a burden to others. On Valentines Day 2002 her sister Virginia donated one of her kidneys to Mary, graciously providing nearly eight more years for Mary to help raise her grandchildren. Mary truly was "the gift that kept on giving". She is survived by her daughter Kathryn Axtell of Spokane; son Bryan Key of Spokane; sister Virginia (Cliff) Wilkening of Alexandria, VA; brothers Handley (Millie) Ward Jr. of Alexandria, VA and Gilbert (Mary) Ward of Coarsegold, CA; grandchildren Maxwell and Alyssa Axtell of Spokane. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother Donald Ward. Memorial Service 10:00AM Saturday, December 12, 2009 at First Presbyterian Church, 318 S. Cedar St., Spokane 99201 and Memorial Contributions may be made to the church.
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