Mary Louise “Mary Lou” Miles, 74, of Beaverton, Ore., passed away on Thursday, June 12, 2025, after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

At her request, no memorial or funeral service will be held. Her ashes will be interred at St. Boniface Cemetery at Clark, alongside her parents.

Mary was born on Feb. 2, 1951, in Tacoma, Wash., where her father was stationed at McChord Air Force Base. Not long after her birth, her family returned to South Dakota, their home state. 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, 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 and directed high school plays until 1978. Wanting to live a life of service, she accepted a position in Vancouver, Wash., for two years as Coordinator of the Vancouver’s Rape Victim Advocacy Program run by the YWCA. She later relocated to Portland, Ore., where she was hired by Central Point Software in Tigard, Ore., in 1982 and worked there for 10 years. 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 in Wilsonville, Ore., where she became a licensed minister in 1993 and was ordained in 1994. In addition to her regular ministerial duties, she was trained by a Barnum and Bailey clown and spent a year visiting children’s hospitals and cancer wards. In 1995, Mary developed her own ministerial program with a karaoke format and spent 20 years bringing music to facilities all over the northwest, such as assisted living, nursing homes, and Alzheimer’s wards. 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.

Mary is survived by her siblings, James (Kathy) Miles of College Station, Texas, Patrick (Karen) Miles of Fair Oaks, Calif., John Miles and Michael Miles, both of Watertown, Maureen Miles of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Mark (Jane) Miles and, Myra (Jeff) Maxwell, both of Grand Haven, Mich., Casey Miles of Mesa, Ariz., and Marta (Troy) Huls of Hartford, and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Quentin C. and Lila M. (Remily) Miles, and a brother, Terence J. Miles.