Mary Loff

Mary Colleen Loff, age 64, of Spokane Valley, WA, passed away Saturday, March 20, 2021, at the Spokane Hospice House after an extended illness with cancer.

Mary was born to Robert and Colleen (Wilhelmi) Loff on June 6, 1956, in Langdon, ND. Her childhood was spent enjoying both the plains of North Dakota and the mountains of northwest Montana. After graduating as valedictorian of Edmore High School class of 1974, Mary attended the University of North Dakota School of Nursing where she met her lifelong best friend, April. During breaks from college and after earning her RN degree, Mary spent many summers working at Lake McDonald Lodge in Glacier National Park. Nights were spent playing guitar and singing songs around the campfire. She loved Glacier and made many trips back to “her mountains” for reunions and visits over the course of her life.

Mary’s career in nursing started in a hospital in Grafton, ND, and at Glacier in the nurse cabin. She eventually settled in Spokane where she made her home at “The Little House by the Freeway”. She had a broad range of experience in nursing, spending many years working in home health care and case management. She was not only a nurse by trade but one by heart and was a mentor to many. She cared for her patients at work and her kitties at home, rescuing many from local shelters.

Music was a lifelong passion of hers, and her alto voice was a part of many groups. It began with the “Loff family choir” at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Nekoma, ND, and continued with Allegro at UND, and Choreteur in Spokane. She also got to sing in a choir for the Pope in Rome. Wherever there was a jolly sing along, whether it be with family, friends, or strangers, Mary was there in her element.

Mary lives on in our memories as a loving sister, aunt, and friend. She commanded respect from her seven brothers, first in childhood by her toughness and by her loving and generous heart throughout her life. She is irreplaceable, and we believe she has reunited with her brother and parents in heaven.

Mary is preceded in death by her brother, Timothy; her mother, Colleen; and her father, Robert. She is survived by brothers: Michael (Beverly), Thomas (Kathryn), Douglas (Wanda), Dennis (Kathy), Mark (Jill), David Loff; twelve nieces and nephews; and an extended family of relatives and friends.

The funeral mass will be held at St. Alphonsus Church in Langdon, ND, on Thursday, July 15, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. Inurnment will be at St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Nekoma, ND.