Mary Miles Obituary

Mary Louise Miles, Beaverton, OR returned to her heavenly home on Thursday June 12, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was 74 years young.
Mary (or "Mary Lou" as she was affectionately called) was born on February 2, 1951, in Tacoma, WA, where her father was stationed at McChord Air Force Base. Not long after her birth, her family returned to South Dakota, their home state. While growing up in SD, Mary attended three different schools located at Forestburg, McIntosh, and Northwestern in Northville, where she graduated in 1969. She enrolled at Northern State College in Aberdeen, SD, graduating in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Education, majoring in speech and drama. She began teaching at Arlington High School and taught English and Speech, as well as directing high school plays until 1978. Wanting to live a life of service, she accepted a position in Vancouver, WA for two years as Coordinator of the Vancouver's Rape Victim Advocacy Program run by the YWCA. She later relocated to Portland, OR where she was hired by Central Point Software in Tigard, OR in 1982 and worked there for 10 years. During this time, she also worked extensively with recovering alcoholics and drug addicts striving to achieve sobriety. In 1989 she entered ministry school at The Living Enrichment Center, Wilsonville, OR, where she became a licensed minister in 1993 and was ordained in 1994. In addition to her regular ministerial duties, she and 2 associates were trained by a Barnum and Bailey clown and spent a year visiting children's hospitals and cancer wards with magic and face painting. In 1995 Mary developed her own ministerial program with a karaoke format and spent 20 years bringing music to facilities all over the Northwest including assisted living, nursing homes, and Alzheimer's wards, therapy needed to help bring out the elderly's singing skills many had sadly lost. In 1997 Mary was hired by Merix Corp., an offshoot of Tectronics, where she worked for 16 years. She retired in 2018. In 2024 she fulfilled her lifelong dream of traveling to Europe, where she was able to tour many beautiful cities, including her beloved Paris.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Quentin C. Miles (2018) and Lila M. Remily Miles (2012), as well as a brother Terence J. Miles (2024). She is survived by her other siblings, James (Kathy) Miles, College Station, TX, Patrick (Karen) Miles, Fair Oaks, CA, John Miles, Watertown SD, Michael Miles, Watertown, SD, Maureen Miles, Cedar Rapids, IA, Mark (Jane) Miles, Grand Haven, MI, Myra (Jeff) Maxwell, Grand Haven, MI, Casey Miles, Mesa, AZ, and Marta (Troy) Huls, Hartford, SD, in addition to many beloved nieces and nephews.
At her request, no memorial or funeral service will be held. Her ashes will be interred at St. Boniface Cemetery, Clark, SD alongside her beloved parents.
Furness Funeral Home is assisting the family with burial.
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