Merilee Valate Evers, 70, a resident of the Hillsboro community, passed away on September 22, 2025 at the Providence St. Vincent Hospital in Portland.

Merilee was born on June 30, 1955, in Hillsboro, OR. She was the only child born to William and Valate (Webb) McClellan. She was raised on a small farm in West Union. There they had many animals they kept as pets like rabbits, chickens, and a horse. A self-proclaimed Trekkie and Parrot Head, she attended Hillsboro High School and graduated with the Class of 1973. Following high school, Merilee began working at the West Union Grocery and then at Rodgers Organ.

She met her future husband, Edmund Evers, by chance at a local gathering place.  They courted for two years until their marriage on March 16, 1985, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Forest Grove, OR. They made their home in Hillsboro and had two children together, Tori and Zach.

Merilee was a homemaker until her children started going to school.  She then began taking jobs, first as a school bus driver, then settled as a kitchen assistant in the Hillsboro School District.  She worked at several local grade schools including Patterson, David Hill, Mooberry, and Ladd Acres, where she retired from in 2014.

She enjoyed socializing and always had a story to tell or a memory to share. When she was younger, she liked to play softball, rock climb and ski. She was the ultimate mother supporting all of her children’s activities. Merilee was heavily involved in Boy Scouts of America with her son, first as a Den Leader, then becoming a Troop Committee Member. All this while being a very present dance mom for her daughter. Merilee was also an avid animal lover, always having a minimum of one dog but also helped her children care for everything from turtles and lizards to guinea pigs and hamsters.

In retirement, Merilee rarely met a craft she didn’t enjoy and was gifted with creativity.  She sewed, was a painter, and made 3D Papercraft.  Her final creative endeavor was creating trees made from wire and beads that she sold at local bazaars for the last few years.

She is preceded in death by her parents.

She is survived by her loving husband, Ed, two children and their spouses, Tori and Brandon Lohse of Keizer, OR, Zach Evers and Katharine Holm both of Hillsboro, and two grandchildren, Jacob and Mason.

In lieu of flowers, donations to her memory may be made to Three Little Pitties Dog and Cat Rescue.