M. Mae (Stingley)(Eccles) Connaghan

M. Mae (Stingley)(Eccles) Connaghan, 93, long time Kittitas resident, died Feb. 23, 2007, at Kittitas Valley Health and Rehabilitation Center.

She was the second child in a family of six born to William Mason Stingley and Mary Jane (Carter) Stingley. She was born May 14, 1913, in Malaga, near Wenatchee, and raised on the family homestead located between Quincy and Burke in the Columbia Basin. On the 80-acre farm they raised cattle, horses, pigs, chickens and rye. Her father also rounded up wild horses and sold or traded them. As a young girl she rode horseback to school in Quincy, helped dig wells by driving the mule which hauled out the buckets of dirt to the surface, picked fruit, sorted potatoes and gathered sagebrush for fuel to cook and heat their home. Her childhood nickname "Toots" would stay with her.

On Dec. 7, 1935, she married Harold Eccles in Ephrata. They lived and worked in Coulee City because the only jobs around were at the Grand Coulee Dam and many of their relatives also worked there. After moving to Moses Lake in 1942 to raise their family, she continued work as a telephone operator and in pharmacies. She moved to her mother's home in Kittitas the summer of 1963. She loved garage sales and antiques and for many years worked at the Friendly Place in Ellensburg.

Grandma "Tootie" as she was lovingly called by her grandchildren, was completely devoted to her family and loved to have her home filled with grandkids and relatives at every holiday. Pinochle was her favorite card game and after every holiday meal the table was cleared and everyone played. The losers washed the dishes but all pitched in to help so dessert could be served. She was an excellent dancer, especially the waltz.

She was preceded in death by her mother in 1958 and father in 1974, sister Hazel and brothers Fred (Bud), Chet and Pres. She is survived by her sister Juanita (Gene) Thompson of Yakima, daughters, Kay Smith, Moses Lake and Gail (Walt) Farrar of Ellensburg; grand-children, Dirk (Rhonda) Farrar, Richard Farrar, Cynthia Farrar, Tracy Miller, and Larry (Kasee) Smith; nine great grand-children, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Services will be held Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. in the chapel at Pioneer Memorial Cemetery in Moses Lake.