Lorraine Christine Mulroy Obituary (2025)

Lorraine Christina Mulroy was born on Dec. 31st, 1936, in North Dakota and passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sept. 26th, 2025, in Washington. She was the second of five children of Peter and Elizabeth Tormaschy, the family moved from North Dakota to Oregon and then settled in Yakima at the age of six. She and her older brother, Robert, were both born in a sod house that her grandmother built on the farm in North Dakota. She attended St. Mary's Catholic school in Oregon, and in Yakima, she attended St. Paul's Cathedral School, later graduating from St. Joseph's Academy. At the age of 16 she acquired her first job as a telephone operator at Pacific Bell, but because she was a minor her boss needed permission from her parents to hire her. He went to her house and asked her parents for permission which they granted. And since he needed to be able to reach her by phone, he needed to install a phone in her parent's house. At first her father said no as the phone would be too expensive but when her boss explained that the phone would be free for the whole time of her employment her father then said, "well, install away" and that is how the first phone was installed in her parents' house much to the delight of her mother and siblings. She worked for 43 years for Pacific Bell up until her retirement in 1995. Lorraine had many interests and hobbies that included taking her sons to every Disney and Star Wars movie when they were younger, the Eagles Bowling League, playing horseshoes, volunteering through Catholic Family Volunteer Services, Watching and listening to her favorite teams the Mariners and Seahawks, crocheting, stamp collecting and birdwatching. She loved playing bingo at St. Joseph's Bingo Hall with her family and every Wednesday at the memory center. She enjoyed watching her MeTV shows: Bonanza, The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, MASH, Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons. Volunteering to drive people to Dr.'s appointments, or wherever they needed to go, was a joy to her. And there were many evenings at Minda Lanes where she bowled her heart out. She was very talented at crocheting and would make blankets, scarves, quilts, potholders and give them to family members or donate them and she even crocheted little hats and mittens for the newborn babies that she would donate to the hospitals. All these passions of hers kept her busy even to the end while still crocheting washcloths to give to others. She always had a smile on her face and was never without her crochet hook, yarn and bingo daubers. Lorraine's travels, which were many, took her and her two sons, Kevin and Nathan, on many trips to the zoo, parks, Mississippi, Victoria, BC, California and road trips in the good ol' Delta 88 Oldsmobile. Visits included seeing family in North Dakota with her aunts, uncles and cousins and to Mississippi to visit her sister Jeanette, brother-in-law Gaither and their family. She went on a special trip with her younger sister BJ with a church group to Rome and France. They traveled to a papal audience in Rome with Pope John Paul II, to the Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal and to France where they prayed at the grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes and the relics of St. Bernadette. She enjoyed traveling with the senior center to mystery destinations and getaways, and one trip included a trip to Germany. The holidays were a joy for her and she always had her Christmas cards ready to send out. She had her Bradford Exchange Christmas item ordered by September. She would have the best gift during our Chinese Gift exchange, and many family members fought over the rights to own it as it was a pretty damn good gift. Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving usually were celebrated at her parents' house. They had the big yard, and we all squeezed in the house with love and laughter. Walking into her mother's home on Thanksgiving day, you could smell the aroma of turkey, duck and stuffing coming from the kitchen. Lorraine, not missing a beat, would put her veggie tray contribution on the table and head straight to the living room to watch the football games. If it was a good game, she would give up her seat at the grown-up table and get the metal TV tray out and eat in the living room. Oh, the Tormaschy memories. Other fun family memories are 4th of July out at the Gleed home and birthdays celebrated in parks, especially one year at Eschbach Park where the kids would float on the rafts and Robert would cliff dive off the rocks. Some of Nathan's best memories growing up are going to a hockey game in Vancouver, BC, Old McDonald's farm and the Flintstone's theme park in Bridal Falls, BC. They traveled through Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks on their way to the Grand Canyon. Visits to relatives in North Dakota included stops at Jackson Hole, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills Mining Museum. Kevin remembers driving through the forest on trips to Mt. Rainier and Lake Chelan and visiting relatives in Spokane, company picnics at Eagles Park and a fishing derby at Wenas Lake. But it didn't matter where because they always had fun. She was a great woman of Catholic faith and strength and full of generosity. Her and her sister BJ used to make rosary's and donate them to children and churches around the world. Her smile and laughter demonstrated her joy for her family, friends and a life well lived. She enjoyed her recent phone call with her cousin Doty. They reminisced about family memories and the good ol' German strudel recipe. Lorraine had collected the genealogy of her family history through the North Dakota family members, which gave our family a rich history with pictures and stories to pass down to the next generations. Lorraine has now crossed over to meet with her parents, Peter and Elizabeth Tormaschy; her siblings brother Robert Tormaschy, her sisters Carol Ann (who died as a toddler), Jeanette Horn and Betty June Becker. The family is now all together. She is survived by her two sons Kevin Rikerd (wife Sheila) and Nathan Mulroy (wife Kristy); her six grandchildren Lorisa Wildman (husband Scotty), Amanda Yeager (husband Christopher), Gavin, Parker, Kiersten and Violet Mulroy and her three great-grandchildren Skyler, Alex and McKenzie Wildman, her sister-in-law, Karen Tormaschy; brother-in-law, Gaither Horn and many other nephews, nieces and family. Our family would like to thank the staff of Riverview Manor for their care and compassion in taking care of our mother these last couple of years. Her soul is now free from the grips of her dementia; may she rest peacefully in the arms of our Lord. Shaw & Sons Funeral Home is caring for the family.