MARY LOU (HILL) NEARING

Mary Lou Nearing: September 4, 1926 - December 24, 2025

After a full 99 years, MaryLou Nearing peacefully passed away in Garfield, Washington, at Ladow Court Assisted Living on December 24, 2025. Born on September 4, 1926, to Ray and Dorothy Hill and raised in Tekoa, Washington, she was the second of four siblings. She attended Tekoa High School, graduated in 1944, and went on to work at the J.C. Penney store in Tekoa following graduation.

On December 7, 1946, she married Bruce Nearing of Kellogg, Idaho, in Superior, Montana. Together they lived in Tekoa, where MaryLou worked for 10½ years with the telephone company as a switchboard operator. They had their three children, Monty, Debbie, and Jeff, and later resided in Spokane Valley and on the Palouse.

MaryLou and Bruce spent their time between Eastern Washington and what they lovingly called “Heaven on Earth,” Lake Mary Ronan in Montana, where they spent their summers. MaryLou continued returning to Camp Tuffit and their place at the Lake through 2023.

Always social, she also enjoyed being an avid Gonzaga and Mariners fan, listening to grandkids’ games on the radio, meals out on the town, and making sure her lipstick was on whenever she headed out the door. She was up for new adventures, including a powered paraglider for her 90th birthday and riding in the Dayton Days parade as the “Queen of Dayton” in Montana. 

MaryLou was preceded in death by her parents, Ray and Dorothy Hill; her brothers, Dorsey and John Hill; and her husband, Bruce Nearing. She is survived by her sister Joanne Mumau; Bev and Monty Nearing; Debbie Nearing; Dick Brown; and Jeff and Lorita Nearing, along with a multitude of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25 at the Greenwood Cemetery in Palouse. A meal will follow at the Palouse Community Center.

Kramer Funeral Home, Palouse, WA is caring for the family. Online condolences may be left at www.kramercares.com

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