"Mary-My-Love, this journey of exploration will be the beginning of a lifetime of your dreams and the culmination of your desires to escape the bounds of life on Earth. May you find all that you have hoped and longed for, and be fulfilled by the wonders you will undoubtably encounter. Travel comfortably and happily on this trip sweetheart. Thank you for all the wonders you brought into our lives during your way too short time with us."
Mary Catherine Weight passed away under the loving care of her husband on February 26, 2023, at her home in Murray, Utah, after a long, brave fight with a terminal illness.
Mary was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on March 17, 1944, to Wilbur Franklin Cox and Catherine Agnes Zunic. Wilbur served in the Navy during World War II and was out to sea when Mary was born. The family moved to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, when she was 5, where she resided through high school, graduating in 1962. Mary received multiple scholarship offers based on her high school performance and chose to accept the offer from Wake Forest University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English on 6/6/66 with the intent to be a school teacher. She quickly found that student teaching completely removed her desire to be a teacher.
After graduating from Wake Forest, Mary moved to Washington, D.C., to work at the Veterans Administration, where she received her first assignment to work with a computer. This started her life-long love of computers. It is also where she met Ray Whiting.
Mary and Ray Whiting were married in 1969. They moved to the Bay Area in California and later divorced. She worked for Lockheed, a major weapons manufacturer, during the week. On weekends, she sold candles in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco and marched in war protests.
Mary then moved to Denver, where she worked for a large bank and helped create the first credit card processing program. Then, she worked for a subsidiary of Fischbach Corporation in Denver, following which she moved to Dallas, Texas, to work in the main offices of Fischbach and Moore.
Mary visited Salt Lake City in 1983 to install computers and train a new subsidiary of Fischbach and Moore on accounting software, where she met a dashing accountant, Merrill Weight.
Mary chose to quit her job and move to Salt Lake City to be with Merrill. They were married on June 8, 1984, with Merrill bringing five kids to the marriage and Mary bringing one Dalmatian.
Mary accepted an offer from the University of Utah in 1985 to join their computer analysis group as an internal computer auditor. During her time at the university, she joined the Computer Auditors Association, a national foundation, and served in various capacities, including a year as president. She also earned her certification as a computer auditor during this time. Mary retired from the university in 2011.
Mary enjoyed caring for her Dalmatians, reading in many genres, working in the yard, and traveling to historical sites.
Merrill and Mary have enjoyed sharing many adventures in their 38 years, including hiking together, various cruises, and a recent capstone trip to Scotland to visit filming locations from the Outlander series.
Mary is survived by her husband Merrill, stepchildren Wendy (Kym) Foster, Todd (Yumiko) Weight, Joel (Crystal) Weight, Robyn (Todd) Bingham, and Aaron (Ardis) Weight, 20 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Rose.
