Marianne Tyson Vetto

Marianne Tyson Vetto, RN was born January 29^th, 1928, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Walter and Matilda Tyson. One of six siblings, Marianne was part of a closely-knit family who lived in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. She attended Immaculate Conception Grade School and spent summers on the Atlantic Coast, where she developed her lifelong love of swimming. She attended Little Flower High School and became active in the Red Cross during World War II where she developed her desire to pursue nursing.

She attended nursing school at St. Mary’s Hospital in Philadelphia, graduating at age twenty. Joining the Red Cross, she developed expertise in using the iron lung in polio patients, including her time in Little Rock, Arkansas. She pursued nursing further in the Navy and was stationed at the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, Oakland, California, continuing to work as a pediatric nurse and with polio patients. There she ran into an old friend from St. Mary’s Hospital, Dr. Robert Mark Vetto. They were married on September 17^th, 1951.

She then moved to Bremerton, Washington where Mark was transferred with the Navy, where their first son was born. Her family then moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where Mark pursued a six-year surgical residency at the University of Cincinnati. Three more children were born before Marianne moved with her young family to Portland, Oregon, where her husband had accepted the Chief of Surgery position at the VA Hospital. The last two of her children were born in Portland, completing the Portland Vettos.

Marianne was a devoted wife and mother. Her family and Catholic faith were central to her life. She was actively involved with volunteering at her children’s schools and practiced her nursing skills through working and volunteering in the community. She also went to college at UC Berkeley, University of Cincinnati and eventually graduating from PSU with a major in history. Marianne learned to ski in her forties along with her husband Mark and skiing became a favorite family sport. She enjoyed time with her family in Sunriver as well as at the Oregon and Washington Coasts. In later years, she and Mark took many trips together including to Europe, China, and Russia, and enjoyed time in Palm Springs during the colder months.

Marianne was a devoted grandmother, who spent countless hours taking care of her grandchildren. She was known by her grandchildren to have a well-stocked cookie drawer and made holidays fun. Marianne loved to engage people in conversation, had a wonderful sense of humor, and a sweet tooth.

Marianne and Mark enjoyed sixty- nine wonderful years, until his passing in 2021. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her siblings, James McNelis Jr., Eleanor Laun, Walter Tyson Jr., and Joseph Tyson SSJ.

She is survived by her brother, Harry J. Tyson of Philadelphia, her sons, Robert Mark Vetto Jr., Dr. Thomas Vetto (Nora), Dr. John Vetto (Irene), her daughters, Dr. Anne Vetto Dolan (Patrick), Gretchen Vetto Dann (Jim), and Jane Vetto Dawson (John). She is also survived by nine grandchildren and numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins on the East Coast and in Seattle.