Linda Lee Mason, age 72, passed away Sunday, March 17, 2019 in Kirkland, WA.  She was born June 7, 1946 in Seattle, Washington to Florence and Aubrey Mounger.  Linda was always a free spirit, willing to explore life, and was fearlessly protective of her family.   In 1975 she married Gregory Mason.  She had two sons, Tracy and Jeffery.

Early in life Linda was quite an athlete.  She was an outstanding baseball player but unfortunately there were no leagues for girls at that time.  She enjoyed the outdoors and would hike and fish the streams with Greg when they were younger.  She loved having family and friends around and was known for hosting great pool parties.  She also loved to garden.  Her yard was always full of flowers but her vegetable garden was her pride and joy.  She was a great cook and having fresh, home grown ingredients was always a priority.

Linda is survived by her husband, Gregory Mason; son, Jeffery Mason; brother, Gary Mounger; sister, Virginia Riemath; and nieces, nephews, other family and friends.

Linda was preceded in death by parents, Florence and Aubrey Mounger and her son, Tracy Mason.

A celebration of life will be held by family and friends on Sunday, March 31, from noon to 3:00PM at the Mason’s home in Woodinville.  In lieu of flowers, please donate to Evergreen Hospice Center in Kirkland, WA.

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By Linda’s son, Jeff:

In this life there is one love that we all hope and should have no matter what. The love of a parent is and always has been the most important love of all. Linda Lee Mason, née Mounger was and is the most important woman in my life, she would never have it any other way.

She was born June 7 1946 to Aubrey W. Mounger and Florence H. Mounger. She was preceded in death by both her parents and her son Tracy Mason. She was a lifelong resident of Washington state and loved the beauty the Pacific Northwest had to offer. She passed away on St. Patrick’s Day surrounded by family and friends.

Her life always revolved around “Her Boys” which would be myself Tracy Dad and our dog Toby. She made sure everything was in order and took care of all the daily routines like any loving mother would.

You were never allowed in her kitchen except to have food, that was her happy place and I loved how she would make sure we knew the vegetables came from the garden when she made her salads. We were never hungry or unhealthy, her cooking inspired Tracy to say Mom should have opened a restaurant called, Mommy Mason’s Exquisite Cuisine.

Mom loved sports and always supported baseball most of all. She watched the Mariners as much as Dad, and supported her two boys in little league, even if yours truly didn’t much like the sport except for the important time being with his Dad the coach and manager.

She had fun no matter what, whether it be going to Trout Lake in Spokane with the family friends we made through Lake Washington High School baseball, or having pool parties at our house during the summer complete with the best fireworks show in our neighborhood. We would go to beaches and campgrounds between Montana, Washington and Canada, the views were amazing and the memories even more so.

She was a wife mother sister and aunt officially, but was an honorary aunt and mother to so many more. You could count on her to be there for any sport activity that her family was involved in and that you were always welcomed in her home for a day or a lifetime.

I will miss her singing “Just A Spoonful of Sugar”, when giving me that awful cough medicine as a kid. I will miss her telling the barber how to cut my hair, just little longer on top slightly flattened and round in the back, and her expression when I in act of defiance decided to go bald one day.

While she hated shopping at the mall, we always did our annual school clothes and supplies at Belle Square and Lamonts every year, she never wanted me to go to school dressed as a bum and thankfully I never got hand me downs since Tracy and I were 10 years apart.

She always had everyone’s back no matter what the situation, and she showed how mother bear she could be when she knocked the wind out of a bully who went to attack me. She showed this same spunk when she jumped on a kid who stole her bike and took it back.

I cannot ever remember a time where Mom wasn’t in my life, and it’s going to be really hard knowing she is not here with us in person, but will always be there in spirit.

Thank you Mom for saving my life, for defending me and for raising me as your own, you don’t have to have been born to a parent to know the true love of one, and yours always so genuine, I love you and I always will.