Ratay-Johnstone Ancestors - Person Sheet
Ratay-Johnstone Ancestors - Person Sheet
NameLouise M. LONG 
Birth14 Nov 1920, Washington
Death29 Jun 2006, Seattle, King County, Washington
Occupationtelephone operator; welder (WWII); violinist Seattle Philharmonic; mother of 2 children
EducationBachelor’s Degree
Spouses
Birth23 Apr 1920, Seattle, King County, Washington
Death13 May 2013, Seattle, King County, Washington9022
FatherTom Jones PARRY (1894-1955)
MotherMary Josephine HEILY (1893-1992)
Marriage8 Dec 1946, Seattle, King County, Washington
Obituary notes for Louise M. LONG
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) - Friday, July 7, 2006
Deceased Name: LOUISE PARRY: 1920 - 2006 SEATTLE WOMAN WAS PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST
Louise Parry was one of those gray-haired activists who seemed to be at every left-wing rally - the type who held a picket sign while others crocheted.
Parry, who died June 29 at age 85, worked as a welder during World War II and as a telephone operator.
"She always thought of herself as a worker and part of the working class," said her husband of 60 years, Will Parry, who was usually with her at protests.
She was active in the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, a group of progressive retirees of which Will Parry is president. He said Louise was never one to lead an organization, but she was always one of its most committed members.
"Picket line duty, demonstrations, organizing food for meetings, coming early and setting up chairs, she was always there," Will Parry said.
Louise Parry also played violin in the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra for 30 years. Marilyn Swafford, a cellist in the orchestra, said that about six years ago, the philharmonic played a piece that had to do with the history of Chinese immigrants building the transcontinental railroad.
Parry had retired from the philharmonic by then, but she showed up with a poster on the history of the Chinese railroad workers. "It had photographs and an article. We put it on an easel in the lobby," Swafford said.
"I just remember her clear sparkling eyes. She always had something interesting on her mind."
Parry was born Louise Long and grew up in West Seattle. She liked to say she was born a year after Seattle's General Strike of 1919, which paralyzed the city for five days. Her mother was a violinist, her father was King County Superior Court Judge William G. Long, and the political conversations at the table were often animated.
Parry was working as a telephone operator in Seattle when World War II broke out, her husband said. "She saw an ad in the paper (offering) welding for the Navy for landing ship tanks. They paid more money."
But when men returned home after the war, "she went back to working, quote unquote, women's jobs," Will Parry said. "A telephone operator, garment worker, child care worker, with low pay and no benefits."
She later worked as a secretary in the admissions office at the University of Washington School of Social Work, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1970, and as a secretary at the diabetes research program at the Veteran's Administration.
Ultimately, in 2002, she was honored by the Washington State Labor Council for her lifetime of service.
In the past few years, she was involved in the fight to oppose attempts to privatize Social Security.
In a 1999 article in The Stranger about the retiree group's predecessor, the Puget Sound Council of Senior Citizens, Louise Parry said about continuing to be an activist late in life: "Lots of people, my friends, are not into the struggle, and I feel sorry for them in a way.
"It's wonderful and nice that people can amuse themselves, but life has a point to it."
Louise Parry is survived by her husband; son Jonathan; daughter Naomi; brother William Jr.; sister-in-law Eileen; and three grandchildren. The family plans to hold a memorial service later this summer.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, 2800 First Ave., Room 262, Seattle WA 98121.
Deceased Name: LOUISE PARRY: 1920 - 2006 SEATTLE WOMAN WAS PROGRESSIVE ACTIVIST
Louise Parry was one of those gray-haired activists who seemed to be at every left-wing rally - the type who held a picket sign while others crocheted.
Parry, who died June 29 at age 85, worked as a welder during World War II and as a telephone operator.
"She always thought of herself as a worker and part of the working class," said her husband of 60 years, Will Parry, who was usually with her at protests.
She was active in the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, a group of progressive retirees of which Will Parry is president. He said Louise was never one to lead an organization, but she was always one of its most committed members.
"Picket line duty, demonstrations, organizing food for meetings, coming early and setting up chairs, she was always there," Will Parry said.
Louise Parry also played violin in the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra for 30 years. Marilyn Swafford, a cellist in the orchestra, said that about six years ago, the philharmonic played a piece that had to do with the history of Chinese immigrants building the transcontinental railroad.
Parry had retired from the philharmonic by then, but she showed up with a poster on the history of the Chinese railroad workers. "It had photographs and an article. We put it on an easel in the lobby," Swafford said.
"I just remember her clear sparkling eyes. She always had something interesting on her mind."
Parry was born Louise Long and grew up in West Seattle. She liked to say she was born a year after Seattle's General Strike of 1919, which paralyzed the city for five days. Her mother was a violinist, her father was King County Superior Court Judge William G. Long, and the political conversations at the table were often animated.
Parry was working as a telephone operator in Seattle when World War II broke out, her husband said. "She saw an ad in the paper (offering) welding for the Navy for landing ship tanks. They paid more money."
But when men returned home after the war, "she went back to working, quote unquote, women's jobs," Will Parry said. "A telephone operator, garment worker, child care worker, with low pay and no benefits."
She later worked as a secretary in the admissions office at the University of Washington School of Social Work, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1970, and as a secretary at the diabetes research program at the Veteran's Administration.
Ultimately, in 2002, she was honored by the Washington State Labor Council for her lifetime of service.
In the past few years, she was involved in the fight to oppose attempts to privatize Social Security.
In a 1999 article in The Stranger about the retiree group's predecessor, the Puget Sound Council of Senior Citizens, Louise Parry said about continuing to be an activist late in life: "Lots of people, my friends, are not into the struggle, and I feel sorry for them in a way.
"It's wonderful and nice that people can amuse themselves, but life has a point to it."
Louise Parry is survived by her husband; son Jonathan; daughter Naomi; brother William Jr.; sister-in-law Eileen; and three grandchildren. The family plans to hold a memorial service later this summer.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans, 2800 First Ave., Room 262, Seattle WA 98121.