Thurston County WA Archives Obituaries.....FUSCO, Marie Belle WILLEY June 2, 2008 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wa/wafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Stephanie Wrightson swrightson51@gmail.com February 12, 2009, 8:12 pm The Olympian, Thursday, June 5, 2008, pg B2 Marie B. Fusco, great granddaughter of one of the first families of Olympia, passed away on June 2, 2008 at the age of 100. Marie was born the second daughter of Minnie and Samuel Willey, whose father, Captain Lafayette Willey owned and operated the Willey Steamship Company - five large magnificent paddle wheel steamers that plied Puget Sound, transporting passengers, freight, and mail on a regular schedule between Olympia and Seattle. Her great grandparents, Samuel and Lydia Willey, came overland in a covered wagon from Maine, and homesteaded 160 acres of prime farmland in Tumwater, extending from what is now Capitol Way to the Deschutes River. Marie granduated from Olympia High School in 1926, lettering in four varsity sports and became one of the most socially prominent young ladies in Olympia. In 1935 she married Steven Fusco. Their first home was in Chehalis briefly and fifteen years in Tacoma, where her husband leased and operated the Medical Arts Garage and then entered into heavy construction. They had three children in Tacoma before moving to California for four years, and then returned permanently to Olympia in 1955. Marie's belief in physical exercise greatly paid off in terms of general health and longevity. She diligently walked two miles a day and played golf until age 90. She was a past member of the Olympia Golf and Country Club and the women's group of the Delphi Golf Club. She was an acocomplished bookkeeper in her own right, working initially for her husband's business and later the Mutaual of Omaha Insurance office in Tumwater, the YWCA, and two of her civic/social groups, the women's league of the United Churches and the Amity Capter of the Children's Orthopedic Guild, an affiliation that lasted over 40 years. Marie was preceded in death by her husband in 1984. She is survived by her three children, Dennis Steven Fusco and Carol Marie Greer, of Olympia; and Steven Michael Fusco of Cortez, Colorado; a niece, Gail Marie Tracy, of Tumwater; as well as five grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are by Mills & Mills Funeral Home, with a memorial service scheduled at United Churches at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2008. Interment will be in the Willey family plot at the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Tumwater. Death Notice: The Olympian (WA) - June 4, 2008 Deceased Name: Fusco, Marie Belle, 100, Olympia, died Monday, June 2, 2008, at home. Mills & Mills Funeral Home, Tumwater. Additional Comments: VITALS: Marie Belle WILLEY b.12 Dec 1907 Olympia, Thurston, WA; m.15 Sep 1935 in Olympia to Steven George FUSCO; d.2 Jun 2008 Olympia, Thurston, WA; bu.Odd Fellows #1 Memorial Park Cemetery. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wa/thurston/obits/f/fusco810gob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wafiles/ File size: 3.3 Kb