I grew up on 194th street w gleana as the mom of my friends, the Atwood kids.  I have wonderful memories of Gleana as I spent much of my time playing at their house in the basement.  I caused Gleana some trouble when I once got into her body powder as a 2 year old and made a mess and then when I accidentally threw a crochball through the basement window.  She was always kind and understanding approaching these events with a gentle laugh.  I remember being enthralled with her beautiful square dance costumes.  To all the Atwood kid my heartfelt sympathy, Jill Fisher Park(sister of Janet and Steve)

Memorial Day weekend was also a busy time for Mom as she headed to Bellingham to support our family Ski to Sea 8-person relay team. We continued this tradition for 25 years right up until Covid shut it down. Mom & Dad were the sponsors, the pit-crew, and the head statisticians (dad- numbers were his thing).Mom & Julie were the first to arrive on Saturday morning and one of the last to leave Sunday night. She arrived with a carload of food and a rush of energy about her as she didn’t want to miss a thing, especially the parade through downtown! The parade was a must see and she could not imagine missing it. We didn’t really know anyone in the parade, but it didn’t stop her from cheering and encouraging from her sidewalk seat. It was a wonderful outlet for her enthusiast self. The following morning the Ski-to-Sea race would start, and that was more exciting than a seat at the Superbowl! Racers start at Mt. Baker and end at the shore of Bellingham Bay. Mom was often assigned to support Mary at the road bike start (4th leg of the race and a 3 hour wait time minimum) and she did so with glee and the determination that it was her job to encourage every racer on the road. Once Mary had pedaled off on her leg of the race, Mom followed in a car and encouraged each additional racer no matter which team they were on, until the grand finish at the kayak leg (approx. 6-7 hours later).You never heard Mom say, “I think I’d like to go rest now” (we’d been up since 4:30 am) or “doesn’t a nap sound good!” She had more stamina than the participants! And it wasn’t over yet! Once the race was finished it was time for the big BBQ where she would assist in any way she could, food prep, dishes, cleaning, socializing. She was unstoppable! But this was her team “It’s All Relative”, it brought together a bunch of grown kids and a few grandkids so that their Mom, their Grandma, could watch them again, enjoying the sport and the day.

Our Mom was an amazing woman with more energy than most of her children (me included).It could be that raising 8 kids set that energy in motion, but I suspect she was always that way, a cheerful and carefree kid from the get-go.

Mom’s favorite place to go in the whole wide world was Lake Chelan. Every summer Mom and Dad would load all 8 of us into the station wagon and head for our week of sun and swimming. For a girl from Wenatchee this was the place of memories from her childhood. (Wenatchee is just an hour’s drive from Chelan) She and her best friend forever, Betty Dodson, continued the tradition even after the kids were grown. They set up camp at the R.V. park by the lake and invited the grandkids to their favorite spot. As need grew and we aged we had to settle for more practical accommodations at Darnell’s Resort. Mom’s unit remained the hubbub of all the action and activity, the meals, cribbage, and card games. Eventually it grew into a devoted group of equally enthusiastic lake people, grown kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, taking 4 units at last count. She loved it there, never a private suite for her she thrived on the energy of a room full of people and enjoyed that everyone took a turn for meal night. It was like a block party. Together we had our daily river walks, our cornhole tournaments (of which she was always a contender), nightly card games, and the lake at our feet all day long. This was her most splendid getaway.

Simple woman, simple needs, with a heart that always had room and energy for more.