Mary Anne Moss Phipps

Mary Anne Moss Phipps of Chewelah, died of cancer. She slipped away quietly in her home surrounded by family on Thursday, June 2. She was born to Hile Vernon Moss and Marjorie Lorraine Smith in American Falls, Idaho, on May 6, 1946.

Her father was a rancher in the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, area who died when Mary Anne was only a few months old. Left with baby Mary Anne and her two-year-old brother, her mother later married a widower with three children.

With the later addition of two more sisters it became a “his, hers and ours” family.

The family moved to the picturesque coastal town of Pacific Grove, California, where Mary Anne grew up. She later related fond memories of childhood, learning to swim in the icy ocean water and camping with her family at Big Sur every summer. After high school she attended Ricks College in Idaho.

While working near Monterey, California, she met and later married her husband of 50 years, William E. Phipps Jr. This began a grand lifetime adventure with him and their eventual 10 children, courtesy of his military career. They lived all over the U.S. from Alabama to Alaska, later retiring in Washington.

Along the way Mary Anne gave a life of service to her family and church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She loved gardening and became a WSU certified Master Gardener. She was not afraid of hard work and putting her shoulder to the wheel was a way of life whether in service to others, teaching, gardening, or packing up and moving again. Mary Anne had an infectious sense of humor and a creative mind; always a project to do. She successfully taught her children to love and respect each other, as well as others.

She is survived by her husband and her 10 children, Stephen, Laura, Daniel, Jennalee, Deborah, Rebecca, Melissa, Clifford, Robin and Katherine; 41 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Calvin, and sisters, Carol, Barbara, Virginia, Wendy and Diane. Now in God’s tender care, she is sorely missed.

A Memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 11, at the Chewelah, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Chapel. If one wishes, memorial contributions may be given to the American Cancer Society.

Please visit the online memorial and sign the guestbook at http://www.danekasfuneralchapel.com.

Danekas Funeral Chapel and Crematory has been entrusted with the arrangements.