Margaret Mary Mawson

December 10, 1961 – November 2, 2024

Our darling Mimi left this world in peace on November 2, 2024 — All Souls Day— with her beautiful soul joining the universe with which she was always so aligned.

The cause of death was uterine serous cancer.

Mimi was born in Joliet (IL) on December 10, 1961, surrounded, she later said, by the love of a large family, a calm and happy father and an eccentric mother. Her loving and beloved brother Brian was born a few years later, and Mimi was forever grateful that later in life Brian, his wife Diana and their three sons followed Mimi to the Pacific Northwest and lived just an hour away.

Mimi graduated from St. Francis Academy in Joliet in 1980, appreciating the values and the friends bestowed upon her there.

For more than a decade, she loved living in Hawaii, where she earned her undergraduate and law school degrees at the University of Hawai‘i and met her lifelong partner, Scott —a man just as kind as her father, she said.

Once Mimi and Scott discovered the mountains and beaches of the Pacific Northwest, they never looked back. They established a law practice in downtown Bellingham, focusing on helping others in stressful times and spending more time together in work and life than Mimi ever thought possible. 

Her greatest joy was their daughter Haleh, such a bright light always with her halo of goodness and wisdom rare in a young person. Mimi treasured for Haleh the Waldorf education and community that nurtured Haleh for  many years and was so proud of Haleh’s work in marine biology, including winning the European Union’s prestigious two-year Erasmus Mundus scholarship in that field.

Mimi found peace in walking and in the wooded views on the land where   she and Scott built their warm and welcoming home. She also loved camping, hiking, fires with neighbors and traveling to explore new places and meet new people.

We once counted how many countries Mimi had visited: some 38. Several (especially Thailand, where her dear cousin Tom McManamon lived) she had visited multiple times.

During her second round of chemo this year, Mimi researched and planned a summer of travel: to her beloved France, to Turkey, to Palm Springs and twice to Greece—once on a cruise and once to stay in the village where Haleh had studied on her EU scholarship. Mimi delighted in visiting Haleh’s favorite restaurant and sites in the village. 

A firm believer in cherishing each good moment in life, Mimi frequently noted simple pleasures for which she was grateful: being home by the fire in her chair, wrapped in a fluffy blanket; lovely sheets on the bed; winter snows; waves on a beach; her beloved dogs Kahu, Samui and Kekoa; notes from clients she had helped, several of whom became dear friends; and her Volvo car, which she researched and claimed in Sweden with Scott and Haleh through an amazing deal that included a vacation there paid for by the car company!

Mimi also was deeply grateful for her dearest friends, especially Erica Steele Beebe, who was Mimi’s closest friend in Hawaii and who moved to the Pacific Northwest to join Mimi. Erica’s sister Julia also moved to the PNW and she and Mimi had many adventures together hiking at Mount Baker. Both sisters bought land near Scott and Mimi.

Mimi’s gratitude extended  to her husband and her large, generous family who she felt were always there for her: siblings Mary Kay Blake, Joanne Softcheck, John (Karen) Softcheck, Barbara (Alan) Kaplan, Dan (Mary Sue) Softcheck, Jeanne (Jose) Diaz, Tom Softcheck, (the late) Rocky Softcheck, and Brian (Diana) Softcheck. 

She was always solicitous toward her many nieces and nephews:  John Thomas Softcheck  (Katherina “gil”), Jeffrey Robert Softcheck (Theresa), Sean Daniel Softcheck, Suzanne Margaret Softcheck Succoso (Ross), Patrick Stephen Softcheck, Damon James Softcheck (Maria), Brendan Michael Softcheck, Kieran Blake Diaz, Jordan Chase Diaz, Gavin Kai Diaz (Henna), Ryan Thomas Softcheck (Korie Banning), Theodore “Teddy” David Softcheck, Jack Bain Softcheck and Brian Boru Softcheck; and great-nieces and nephew Faith McKenna Softcheck,  Rylan Kai Diaz and Emilia Addison Softcheck.

Mimi always believed that actions speak louder than words and that living life with intention according to one’s values was the highest calling. This was her deeply rooted spirituality.

“Don’t wait to live your life or to be kind,” she urged those around her in the months before her passing. “Life is precious. Cherish and enjoy each moment.”

Before Mimi left us, she asked that those who wish to remember her not send flowers but plant a tree, give time or money to their favorite cause, volunteer, and smile at a stranger.

“I have gratitude for all,” she said. 

“I have lived a truly wonderful life.”

Rest in well-deserved eternal peace, darling girl.