Mary Elizabeth Plauson

Mary Elizabeth Plauson

May 4, 1938 – July 8, 2025

Mary Elizabeth Plauson was born on May 4, 1938 in Binghamton, New York. She passed peacefully on July 8, 2025 in Fresno, California.  She is survived by her three children:  Kathryn, Deirdre and Stephen; five grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.

Mary was a kind and compassionate woman.  As a bright and precocious child, she skipped two grades in elementary school and chose to go into nurses training after high school since she was not interested in secretarial work, a common occupation for women at that time.  She met the love of her life just before Christmas of 1955 when a close friend of her mother's asked her if she would make some cookies for her nephew (Richard Plauson) at college since he needed a little treat.   When he received the goodies, he told his aunt he wanted to meet Mary to tell her how good the cookies were. To do so he asked her out on a blind date, and as Mary would say, "The rest is history."

Mary and Richard were married September 1957.   They then left New York and headed to Maryland where Richard was starting a new job.  Over time Richard pursued jobs in California and they moved there in 1958, eventually arriving at the Navy base in China Lake, California.   This was the beginning of their travels in the United States.  Each summer the family would travel and camp throughout the US:  hiking, visiting museums and connecting with other family members and friends along the way.

In December 1972, Mary's husband died in an accident on the base.  This led to the family moving to Ridgecrest.  Mary had been working on base before the accident.  She started out as a secretary and eventually became the Financial Advisor for the Aircraft Weapons Department and for the Ranges. In 1994 the China Lake Naval Weapons Center was putting together a team to work with other financial personnel from Point Mugu and Patuxent Navel Center on a financial system that was to incorporate the needs of all three bases. Coworkers have shared that Mary always worked with, trained and supported staff in all of her positions in the Budget Department.

When Mary retired, it made sense to move to Fresno, CA where a daughter and son were living.  Mary continued traveling the world in her retirement and created many photo albums sharing the wonders of her travels.  Over the years, Mary was able to navigate her travels around the world with visits to 100 different countries! Many times, she would include her children and grandchildren in these travels. When she wasn't traveling Mary was involved in clubs and fundraising organizations in her spare time.

Mary's presence will be missed beyond measure, but her spirit will forever live on in the stories we share and the love and memories we carry forward.