Courageous,” “fighter,” “loving mother” and “friend” are just some of the words that our community thinks of when describing Mary Watkines. It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our dear friend Mary after a long fight with cancer.

Mary was a leader. As a founding member of OUR Walmart, she was an instrumental voice in the fight for respect at Walmart and raising the minimum wage across the state of Washington.

Mary was brave. She stood down fear and Walmart’s attempts to consistently silence her from speaking out. After Mary was illegally fired from Walmart for the second time (she had won her job back once already) Mary wrote “I have spent my time advocating for an increased minimum wage in WA state, drawing strength from my faith in God and the power of workers to make change. I work hard every day in my store and did my best to model dignity in the workplace.” Mary Watkines passed away with her Three sons Mark, Kacey and Nicholas.