Maureen Cooley Bibler's Obituary
Maureen Rozilla Cooley Bibler passed away Sunday, November 25, 2018 at the age of 96 in Puyallup, WA. Maureen was born September 15, 1922 in Claremont, SD.
Maureen is remembered by her family as a caring, devoted mother and as a gracious, warm, and sincere personality. Her easy laughter and her attentive, generous qualities as a neighbor and hostess are memorably recalled by those fortunate enough to have known her. She was welcoming to friends and new-comers alike. Bright, conversational, and nonjudgmental, she was remarkably adept at drawing people into a conversation, especially those who might be shy or overlooked by others. A devoted member of the Methodist Church in Fircrest and United Methodist Church in Puyallup, she was guided by her faith and by the teachings and moral instruction of Jesus Christ.
Maureen was raised, along with her brothers Sylvester and Sherwood and sister Phyllis, in the small rural farming community of Claremont, SD, where her mother, Sarah Rozilla Cooley, taught school and her father, Robert Strong Cooley, sold insurance after losing his farm in the Depression. During her school years, she received many awards for her declamatory performances of essays and poetry. She studied journalism in high school and honed her writing skills as editor of the school paper and yearbook, earning “spending money” as a Claremont correspondent for the Aberdeen newspaper. Graduating as valedictorian from her high school in 1940, she enrolled that autumn in a one-year secretarial skills program at Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen, SD, and worked nights as a movie theater usher. Maureen then found several secretarial positions in Aberdeen, at Socony-Vacuum Oil Co., Oldsmobile, and at Ezra Baker’s law offices, where she worked as a legal secretary. From this work experience, Maureen earned several positions at academic institutions in subsequent years, working as a secretary to the Dean at Ohio University in Athens, and as an administrative assistant to Dr. Thompson, President and later Chancellor at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA, and then to the Dean of the University of Puget Sound Law School.
Maureen moved from Aberdeen to Denver at the age of 20. She met a dashing young army Captain, Nevin Bibler, at a church social in 1945. As the war concluded, Nevin departed Denver to enroll at Ohio University only to return by train in December with a proposal of marriage. Maureen and Nevin were married in Denver on August 17, 1946.
Together, Maureen and Nevin always maintained a cohesive group of good friends, enjoyed frequent socializing opportunities, hosting dinners, dining out, playing cards, seeing plays and movies, and attending UPS basketball games. They liked to dance and enjoyed traveling with friends. Maureen was the consummate gracious hostess at her Fircrest home, inclusive and always eager to feed people, qualities that she retained until the end of her life. Her children fondly recall an abundance of home-baked goodies to be shared with all-comers – bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies, cakes, and hot dishes of all varieties – and her tendency to offer generous second helpings of food while turning a deaf ear to protestations of fullness. You would be served.
Maureen loved children, and she befriended many children in her neighborhood. She had always wanted to be a teacher, following the path of her mother and grandmother. As a parent, she gave her children unwavering support, even when Janet relocated Maureen’s very young grandchildren, Haley and Quinn, to the other side of the globe in Indonesia so that Janet and her husband, Tracy, could teach school there. Maureen was positive, cheerful, uncomplaining, hard-working, and ambitious, and she took great pride in her work. She was an exceptional administrative assistant, praised for her precision and organizational skills.
Maureen’s wisdom and courage was evident early in her life. Her high school valedictory message was delivered to her classmates on May 22, 1940, when Fascism was rising across the globe, our European allies were under a seemingly unstoppable Nazi assault, and the United States was on the brink of entering a world war. Maureen told her schoolmates,
… Our school days have been happy ones, perhaps it was the most carefree period in our lives and when we think of the uncertainties of the future, we will long to return to the security which we felt in high school.
Certainly the past looks brighter than the future at this time of international strife. To be students in a land that has for its ideals universal education, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and press and equality for all is a rare privilege.
Today we realize it more than ever before. It has been said that a nation is as strong as the youth of that nation. Perhaps the challenge is thrown to us to prove that we represent these ideals by holding them steadfast.
May we go forth with the other young graduates of our land, determined that nothing shall deprive us of these privileges. Though we may face a crisis in the history of our nation and of the world, the education we have received may be used to glorify and perpetuate the liberties we now enjoy….
Maureen’s loving husband of 59 years, Nevin Bibler, died in 2005. She is survived by her sons, Robert Bibler (Carol) of Salem, OR, Todd Bibler (Maureen) of Bishop, CA, daughter Janet Wolcott (Tracy) of Puyallup, WA, grandchildren Haley Sebens (Justin), Quinn Wolcott (Gillian), and great-grandchildren Charlotte Maureen and Grant Sebens. Maureen was beloved Nana to the children of John and Cindy Sitton, Courtney, John, Stephanie, and grandchildren Preston, Ainsley, Olivia, and John.
A Celebration of Life service will be held Wednesday, December 12, 10:30 at the United Methodist Church in Puyallup. Memorial gifts may be given in Maureen’s name to the American Heart Association or Puyallup United Methodist Church. Remembrances may be shared at www.mountainviewtacoma.com.
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