She came out to Oregon to do farm work one summer, earning money to pay for her college education, and that’s where she met the love of her life, Arnold James Braat. She started out doing field work for him, picking beans like so many others. He noticed her right away, though, and promoted her to weighing the produce and doing payouts. Not long after that in 1952 theymarried, and began their long life together. They had four kids, three daughters and a son, and lived and worked in Oregon for the rest of their lives. Arnold died in 2004, and Mary Lou lived on until last week.
But those are just facts. They don’t tell you who she really was. How hard she worked, for her whole life. How much she enjoyed a good laugh, especially with her family. How much she loved singing. She was charming and vivacious and known for her pie-baking skills. She was happy to contribute pies to be auctioned for charity, and was pleased when they fetched a good price, as they always did. She had a passion for roses, and was a long-term member of the Boardman Garden Club. For many years, she was member of Hermiston Church of the Nazarene, and of the Boardman Community and Baptist churches.
She sang in the church choirs.She enjoyed making clothes for her children when they were small. She cooked for large farm crews during harvest. In the mid ’70s, she worked as a cook at the smallUmatilla Hospital, which won a prize for having the best food for a hospital of its size in Oregon.
Finally when she began to slow down a bit, she moved to Sun Terrace in Hermiston, where she very much enjoyed relaxing, having plenty of time to socialize, and attending events and activities. She was often accompanied by her new, and dear, friend Jerry.
Her daughter Connie told me that when Mary Lou was asked about her greatest accomplishment, she said without hesitation, “My children.” She died peacefully of natural causes, with family around her.
She is survived by a large and loving family, including her son, Loren Braat of Fairbanks, AK; her three daughters, Lynel Braat of Portland, OR, Gelene Brizendine, of Boardman, OR and Connie Braat of Bellevue, WA, sister: Edith Rhine, California; 2 brothers: Ennis T. Hawkins, Weston, OR, and Willard Hawkins, Colorado; and one granddaughter and three great-grandchildren who reside in Idaho.
There are also many nieces, nephews, and cousins residing across the USA. She will be missed by all of them.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. at the Boardman Senior Center, 100 Tatone St.
Please send condolences at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com.
Burns Mortuary of Hermiston is in care of arrangements.
