Mary Louise Laughton

Heaven welcomed a very special person on June 11, 2021. Mary Louise Laughton, 84, passed away at Pullman Regional Hospital surrounded in love with her daughters, sisters and brother beside her.

Louise was the first child born to Harold and Julia (Boehm) Brown on November 12, 1936, in Billings, Mont. The family moved to Pierce, Idaho, when Louise was a young girl, she attended public school and soon after the family moved to Clarkston, Wash., where she completed her schooling at the Holy Family Catholic School. In her teens, while working at the Melody Inn Cafe in Lewiston, Louise met the love of her life, George Laughton.

George and Louise were married on November 12, 1954, in Lewiston, Idaho, and they made Clarkston their home. They welcomed their first daughter, Lorraine in 1955 and in 1960 their second daughter, Rosa, arrived. Louise started her career as a caregiver in 1962. The family moved to Pullman in 1965 and Louise continued her career as a Certified Nursing Assistant and raised her family. Louise and George later moved to Colfax and then in 1993 to Steptoe where they made their home. Louise, who truly had a commitment to caring, receiving the CNA of the year award, retired in 1998, ending her 32-year career with Whitman Health and Rehabilitation Center.

Louise recently moved to Pullman to live with her daughter. She loved to crochet afghans and created many beautiful ones. She also dabbled at cake decorating and painting. Louise was an excellent cook and her homemade biscuits were a family tradition. She was the one the family could count on to know details and remember – well everything! Louise and George enjoyed time traveling and camping in their trailer. They loved taking their girls every year to Red River Hot Springs, where fun, wonderful memories were made with family and many friends – fishing, motorcycle riding and much laughter. They took daytrips on George's motorcycle. After retiring, they were now able to spend more time RV'ing at Williams Lake, Boyer Park and Granite Lake. They enjoyed traveling to Arizona to visit her brother Bill and sister-in-law Judy and getting to see the many sites of the state.

Louise is survived by her daughters, Lorraine Brannan of Pullman and Rosa McGuire of Spokane; two sisters, Patricia Burcham and Marilyn (Duffy) Duffield; her brother David (Grace) Brown; three grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. Louise was preceded in death by her husband George, two brothers Bruce and Bill Brown and her son-in-law Dan Brannan.

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., June 29, 2021, at Bruning Funeral Home in Colfax, Wash. Please join the family at Best Western, Colfax, immediately after service for dessert. Private interment will take place at the Pullman Cemetery at a later date. Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman, Wash., has been entrusted with arrangements. The family suggests memorial donations to a favorite charity. Online condolences may be sent to http://www.kimballfh.com

"Mom, we loved talking and laughing with you and sharing all the things that may have seemed small at the time – but they're really not...because every moment we spent together brought us closer, and made us love you even more."