Mary Martin passed away after a brief illness on Nov. 25, 2011. Mary was born in Ashland, Neb., on April 20, 1926, to Martin and Mildred Ballou. One of six children she was preceded in death by her brother Martin Ballou and sister Jessie Ballou. She is survived by her sister Delores Olson of Atlanta, Ga., and her brothers James Ballou of Fort Collins, Colo., and Eugene Ballou of Coeur d' Alene.

Mary was married to Robert Alig in 1949, and was widowed in 1956, leaving her to raise their three children. She was remarried from 1963 to 1965 and gave birth to her fourth child. Mary dedicated her life to raising her four children alone. Realizing the importance of being at home with her children, Mary took her hobby of knitting and created a career. She started with a small mail order business designing knit garments, writing instructions, and selling the patterns through McCall's Needlework & Crafts & Women's Day Magazine. She later worked as a designer for WorkBasket Magazine, Bernat Yarn Co., and Nomis Yarn Co. Mary continued to design for her own business, The Knitting Needle, up to the time of her death.

Mary was an amazing, loving and generous woman. She loved to laugh and did so every day even during the most difficult of times. She will be greatly missed by her four children, Joe Alig of Boulder Creek, Calif., James Alig of Lehi, Utah, Janice Alig of Coeur d'Alene, and Jeff Shafer of Broomfield, Colo., her nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

We owe many thanks to Hospice of North Idaho who made it possible for her to pass in peace at her home. Through Hospice, we received an amazing amount of support, compassion, and wisdom as we traveled this final journey with our mom.