Obituary of Mary Elizabeth DeBoever

MARY ELIZABETH DEBOEVER May 28, 1924 – August 22, 2010 Mary DeBoever joins her Lord after touching countless lives in an ever caring and positive way. She was born in Vancouver, WA, and passed away peacefully at age 86. Mary met Ray DeBoever in Camas, WA, and they were married Sep 7, 1944. They settled on a farm and she gave birth to seven children. Mary postponed the rest of her college education to be the great mother she was. At age 43, she resumed college and attained her degree in sociology in 1968 while still raising a family. She then started a career in Child Protective Services in Stevenson, WA. Two years later, Mary transferred to Vancouver, continuing the same challenging work for eight more years. In 1978, she began a position that was tailor-made for her, that of coordinating adoptions. She helped over 400 families adopt children over 22 years. She retired in 1999 at age 75 with 32 years of exceptional service. Mary was extremely honored to be among a select few to receive the 1993 YWCA Women of Achievement award. "I think my faith has played a major role in being able to do this for 32 years. God does have a plan for every child." Mary and Ray were well known for their U-Pick strawberries on the farm. In earlier years, Mary drove and directed the work of a bus load of young strawberry pickers from the Camas area to the VanLaeken Strawberry farm in Felida. She was a 4-H leader for many years and served tirelessly at St. Thomas Catholic Church, helping with weddings, funerals, church dinners, etc., and she was a Eucharistic minister. Mary was preceded in death by her beloved sister Anna in 2003 and her husband Ray in 2005. She is survived by her daughters Kathy Zimmer Ed, and Chris McIvor Kelly, her sons Dan, Dave Nancy, Joe Kathie, Bill, and Jim Julie DeBoever, grandchildren Amy Liller, Brian, Joni, Jessica, Dan, and Kati DeBoever, and Sean and Sam McIvor, and great grandchildren Ashlyn and Karen. Special thanks to the MountainView House for the wonderful care provided. Visitation will be in Camas at Straub's Funeral Home on Friday, August 27th from 9am until 5pm. A Rosary will be recited at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Camas on Friday, August 27th at 6:30 pm. Funeral Services will also be at St. Thomas Church on Saturday, August 28th, at 10am. Burial will follow at the Camas Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Catholic Family Services or Hospice SW. Please sign Mary's guest book at www.straubsfuneralhome.com or www.columbian.com/obits.