Maralee Layman Waidner was born on February 27, 1936 at St John's Hospital, Tulsa, Oklahoma to Andrew Herbert "Herb" Layman and Grace Florence Hodnett Layman. She was their youngest child and only daughter. Her brothers, Andrew Hodnett "Andy" Layman and Thomas Clinton "Tom" Layman were 18 and 16 years older than she was and they were doting big brothers to her in her young years.
Mary attended Monte Cassino Grade School as both a boarding and day student. She attended Marquette High School graduating in 1953. It was there that she met her husband, Al Frampton. They married in 1955 and by 1963 had seven children. She graduated from Tulsa University in 1956 and was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She participated in multiple charitable volunteer works through The Junior League of Tulsa, Philbrook Museum, Cerebral Palsy Association and Tulsa Boys Home.
In 1966, Mary earned her M.A. in English at Tulsa University and completed her Ph.D. in English Literature there in 1973.
She married H. Frew Waidner III in 1971 and in 1976 they had a daughter, Katherine Desiree Waidner. Frew died just months later. Mary and her young daughter lived in Aspen, Colorado until 1987 where she volunteered for the Aspen Music Festival and made lifelong friends while enjoying the beauty of the natural surroundings that so stirred her heart.
After moving back to Tulsa, she worked at the Tulsa City-County Library starting in 1991. She retired from her job as Collection Development Selector for the library system in 2009. During this time, she earned her Masters of Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma.
She is survived by her children: Mary Beth Frampton, Alfred Clement "Fred" Frampton IV, Grace Katheryn Sheehan, Theresa Anne Shannon, Barbara Garold Blanchette, Laura Lee Frampton Doyle, Thomas Andrew "Tom" Frampton and Justice Desiree Waidner-Smith. She leaves 12 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. She will also be missed by countless friends.
Maralee died at Saint Francis Hospital, Tulsa, on Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 12:19pm. Family was by her side.