“Mary was awesome. Trustworthy, honest, forthright, kind, funny…I could go on and on.  She set a high bar for administrators…”

Mary Smith, who served as assistant director and administrator for JISAO from 2003-2018, passed away on September 12. She was 72 years old.

In her 15 years as assistant director, Mary was an exceptional leader and staunch supporter of JISAO’s researchers and staff. She was instrumental in many initiatives and oversaw so much change at JISAO including the launching of an education and outreach program (in particular the summer internship program), the institute’s first time competing for the NOAA cooperative agreement, a total restructuring of the Institute’s relationship with its NOAA lab partners, and the huge expansion of JISAO’s website.

Mary was someone who cared deeply about both the work itself and the people she worked with. She was always someone you could count on to have your back. Mary was also a longtime dog lover, fostering many unwanted pups over the years. For Mary’s family, friends, and everyone she worked with, she will be be deeply missed.

Here’s some additional information about Mary as well as some memories from her family and the many colleagues she touched over the years.

• Started at UW in 1982
• Spent time in the Oceanography department where she led research cruises from the Canary Islands
• Spent a number of years working the the Seattle YMCA
• Married her husband, Larry Marsters, in 1999. The ceremony took place in front of the columns in the UW Sylvan Grove
• Her son, Jesse Smith, was born in 1988 and she adopted him soon after he was born
• She grew up in Seattle and went to Lincoln High School
• She finished her BA in Spanish while working at JISAO
• She was involved with Cavalier Rescue for many years
• Recently became a big fan of the Seahawks
• A huge supporter and lover of musical theater, a passion she shared with her son Jesse
• When she was young her favorite fib was to tell the other kids that her family owned the Smith Tower

“Mary was a wonderful person, and she is already truly missed.”

“She was a powerhouse, support system, and large contributor to our group. I’ve always valued my Fridays at JISAO/CICOES where I get to know JISAO as a UW group and not just PMEL. I’m glad I had a chance to know her.”

“In addition to Mary’s professional accomplishments, I always enjoyed working with her.”

“She was so good and so kind. Losing her is shocking and beyond words.”

“Mary was always kind and supportive to me. She sometimes still reached out to me to say hi and see how I was doing after she retired. I always thought this was very sweet of her to keep in touch. I will miss her.”

“Mary was so nice about helping me through the maternity leave process years ago, and then she helped me in adopting our second child. I recall she came right over to PMEL to sign papers we needed for the adoption, – she was so supportive, and her rapid response helped us in speeding up the long adoption process. I recall her telling me fondly about her own adoption of her son, how thankful she was to have found him and how happy and successful he was… I’m sad to know that she only had a few years to enjoy retirement before she passed away, but I’m thankful and unsurprised that she created such a positive legacy!”

“I felt like Mary really was my champion, even for hardly knowing me.”

“She really put people first.”

“Mary’s care for people shined through in each and every interaction that I saw.”

“I always enjoyed interacting with her, in D&I meetings and during Friday coffees at PMEL. She was friendly and approachable and brought positive energy to everything she did.”

“I loved being a passenger on the way to lunch with Mary. She’d always drive unusual routes while sharing stories from her life and Seattle’s history along the way. She had so many great stories! I told her she should start a company called Smith Tours: Seattle as Mary Remembers It. Those were good times.”

“She will be missed by so many.”

“Mary was awesome. Trustworthy, honest, forthright, kind, funny…I could go on and on.  She set a high bar for administrators and I always felt a little guilty that I didn’t pour more of myself into my job like Mary did.”

“When she  first came on board, she really had her work cut out for her and she had to do it all on her own. It was a stressful time for her, but she never complained, and it wasn’t long before she started to impart her own style to the way JISAO’s administrative affairs where being conducted, and would be for a long time to come. My term as Director came to an end just as that was beginning to happen. I remember how we shared a love of the canine species and the day she came to work bandaged up because the dog she and Larry were fostering at the time had attacked her when she tried to gently discipline him. Evidently, that didn’t discourage her.  I remember how fondly she spoke about their son Jesse, who, if my memory serves me correctly, was first beginning to show some real aptitude for acting.”

“Mary was a lovely person.”

“Mary helped and supported me so much through so many difficult situations during my JISAO years, that it is hard to articulate a meaningful thought about her right now. She’s someone I really held a profound appreciation for.”

“I worked only briefly with Mary but I’ll never forget her. I know she made a huge impact at JISAO and contributed to its existence today as CICOES.”

“Mary was the first person I met at JISAO when she interviewed me for my job. She asked more questions than I ever remember being asked in an interview before. Although I don’t recall any specific questions, looking back I can see she was trying to get to know the real me—not the superficial persona I was presenting at the job interview. When I got the job, I do remember a friend asking me what my new boss would be like. She’s a little intense, I said, and really nice.  And she loves dogs.”

“I know her name as a legend.”

“Mary was already at JISAO when I become the director and we worked closely together for the best part of a decade. JISAO changed a lot in that time – a new 10-year renewal with NOAA, the move back to the campus, substantial growth in people and budget, changing relationships with NOAA and particularly PMEL, inclusion in the new College of the Environment, and new emphases on outreach and diversity. Mary played an important role in all of these changes and we would not have been successful without her efforts. She loved JISAO and all the personnel. I always appreciated her willingness to do “battle” with the University over HR issues and the time she was willing to devote to sorting out personnel issues. I want to especially remind us all of her commitment to diversity issues and her determination to make our hiring and promotion practices fair and transparent. She was a big supporter of our intern and post-doc programs and pushed us always to be more inclusive in our recruitment and selection processes. I think it fair to say that some of our most remarkable successes in the intern program can be credited to Mary.”

“I feel very sad and yet very lucky to have spent time with Mary this summer. She will always have a special place in my heart. Mary did a lot of good for the institute in the years I was there. I personally benefited from her leadership and support. It was because of her vision and leadership that the institute has such a fine outreach program today.”

“She was a staunch supporter of JISAO, and an important advocate for its employees at the Sandpoint Lab.”

“She was a mentor, someone I could always rely on to know what the right thing to do was, and a friend. I missed her a lot when she retired. I’ll miss her even more now.”

“My mom led a life of service. She raised dozens of puppies and gave them the best life they could ever have. And she sacrificed all that she possibly could to raise one extremely lucky boy into manhood. Mom taught me to always express my feelings, and be extremely liberal in telling my love ones how much I care about them! I’m glad she did because it means that my last words to her were: “I love you!” I love you, momo! I always will!”