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ROBERT (BOB) SAM
Mr. Robert (Bob) Sam, age 85, a Skagit Valley resident for many years, passed away at his home in Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday January 1, 2003.
He was born in Ely, Nevada, September 2, 1917, the son of Johnnie and Julia John Sam.
He was educated in Riverside, California graduating from high school there and enlisted in the United States Army at the age of 21 years. Later he was drafted into the United States Army Air Force where he served as a tail gunner.
Following his discharge from the service he settled in the Skagit Valley and married Julia Fuss on October 28, 1947. She preceded him in death in 1991. He worked for the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island and retired in 1982.
He had worked for the highway department, building the highway south of Mount Vernon.
He enjoyed playing Bingo and joy riding in his car before he became ill with the Alzheimer's condition. He had resided in Skagit County most of his life. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #933, Sedro-Woolley.
Survivors are: his son and daughter-in-law, Harlan and Darlene Sam, Sr. of Sedro-Woolley; 7 grandchildren: Elaine and husband Mark Neideffer in California, Laura Sam, Darlene Sam, Harlan Sam, Jr. and his wife Mary, Fox Sam, Barbara Wilbur Bailey, and Bonnie and husband Levi Paul, all of Sedro-Woolley; and 22 great-grandchildren.
He was also preceded in death by his parents and a great-grandson, Everet H. Sam.
Prayer services will be held in the Kern Funeral Chapel, Mount Vernon, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday, January 5, 2003. Funeral services will follow at Kern's on Monday, January 6, 2003 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with burial
following at Hawthorne Lawn Memorial Park with military honors.
Kern Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
LYDIA KENNEDY
Lydia Kennedy, age 86, died January 2, 2003 in Oak Harbor, following a lengthy illness.
She was born August 9, 1916 in Turtle Lake, North Dakota to Andrew and Madalma Maggie (Schaeffer) Knoblich.
Lydia was raised in North Dakota. In the fall of 1935, her family migrated west, settling in Oak Harbor, WA. She was married to Austin B. "Burl" Kennedy in Mount Vernon on May 25, 1938.
Mrs. Kennedy was a longtime member of the Oak Harbor Lutheran Church and Charity Circle. She had been an active bowler for several years in Oak Harbor and also was a talented seamstress. Lydia and Burl were avid dancers in Oak Harbor and Skagit County.
Mrs. Kennedy is survived by two sons, Richard Kennedy of Bellevue, Washington and Earl Kennedy of Des Moines, Washington; by two brothers: Reinhold Knoblich of Texas and Edwin Knoblich of Tacoma, WA, by one sister, Viola Smith, also of Tacoma.
She is also survived by four grandchildren Krista Shaver of Lynnwood; Kevin and Kyle Kennedy of Tri-Cities; and Janelle Kennedy of Des Moines, WA and one great grandson, Austin Kennedy of Tri-Cities; by one sister-in-law, Dorothy Christensen of Oak Harbor and by numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by two husbands, Burl Kennedy and Ed Primley and by three sisters.
Funeral services for Lydia Kennedy will be held Saturday, January 4, 2003 at 11:00 am at The Oak Harbor Lutheran Church with Pastor Jerry Buss to officiate. Graveside funeral services will be held at Maple Leaf Cemetery. A reception for family and friends will follow the services in the church fellowship hall. Memorials may be made to the Oak Harbor Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Burley Funeral Chapel, Oak Harbor.
Dexter W. Johnson, M.D.
Dexter W. Johnson, M.D. died Tuesday, February 4, 2003, at his Rancho Mirage, CA, winter home. He was born on December 6, 1931, in Seattle.
A Mayo clinic trained radiologist, he retired from his practice on the Swedish Hospital campus in 1991. He moved to Semiahmoo in Blaine, WA, in l997 to facilitate boating the Inland Passage aboard his vessel Defiant.
A great cook, gardener, and writer of humorous detective stories, he also built and flew R.C. model airplanes. He lectured and published medical articles which were heard and read all over the world. He belonged to clubs and societies too numerous to name.
He leaves behind his wife and best friend of 28 years Pamela J. Johnson and their nine spoiled cats. He was proud to call Jeffrey Dexter Johnson his son. His sister Donelda Barnhill and her son Dr. Gregory L. Barnhill reside in Kansas City.
He lived hard, loved hard and was famous for his relentless sense of humor. He had a passion for jazz, martinis and his Porsche. Life will be much more boring without him.
Memorial services will be held at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle on Tuesday, February 18, 2003, at 1:00 p.m. A reception will be held downstairs following the service.
Contributions to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center are suggested.
BILLIE LEROY "BILL" OLSON
Billie Leroy "Bill" Olson passed away on February 14, 2003, at the age of 75.
He was born on February 11, 1928, in Walla Walla, WA the son of William and Violet Olson.
Bill graduated from Queen Anne High School, in 1945. Bill served in the US Navy during WWII.
He worked at Sears in Mount Vernon, owned and operated O and T Ski Shop and was a ski instructor at Stevens Pass. Bill worked at several Skagit County automotive dealer-ships. He referred to himself as a "Fairly Honest Car Salesman."
Bill is survived by his wife Linda Williams Olson at the family home; 4 sons, Gary, John, Dan and Jeff; 3 daughters, JoAnn, Nancy and Claire; 8 grandchildren; and his beloved dog, Chief Sarge.
A graveside service for Bill will be at Mountain View Cemetery in Walla Walla. Full military honors will be presented by the VFW of Walla Walla. Funeral arrangements are en-trusted to Hawthorne Funeral Home.
A reception to celebrate Bill's life will be announced at a later date.
LOUISE I. ANDERSON COLE POLI
Louise I. Anderson Cole Poli, 86, died February 12, 2003.
She was born November 17, 1916, in Seattle, the second daughter of Emil and Ida (Vike) Anderson.
Louise graduated from Seattle's Lincoln High School in 1934.
As a young woman she moved to San Francisco and worked at the World's Fair on Treasure Island, where she met her first husband, John M. Cole. Their daughter, Lynda Lee, was born in 1943.
Louise worked in the bookkeeping field for most of her life, especially enjoying five years in Saudi Arabia with the Bechtel Corp.
She loved to travel, visiting the Middle East, Far East, Mexico and Europe, including relatives in Bergen, Norway. She especially loved Hawaii.
She married Frank Poli in 1973.
She was predeceased by a sister, Cleona; a brother, Richard; John Cole; and Frank Poli.
Louise is survived by her daughter, Lynda Cole (Johnson) Gerpheide (Dan) of Bellevue; a grandson, Christian Cole Johnson-Gerpheide of Bellevue of Grand Forks, ND; a step-son, Kenny Poli (Joanne) of Yreka, CA; 2 step-grandchildren, Erika and Joel Johnson both of Seattle; brother, Burr Cline (Caro-lyn) of Duvall; sister, Gerry Colson of Costa Mesa, CA; 6 nieces and nephews; many cousins; and a sister-in-law, Joanne Knepper of Tacoma.
In lieu of flowers memorials are suggested to the Alzheimer's Assoc., 12721-30th Ave. NE, Suite 101, Seattle, WA 98125 or Bellevue Christian School, 1601 98th Ave. NE, Clydehill, WA 98004.
The funeral for Louise will be at Hawthorne Funeral Home Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 11:30 AM. Burial will follow at Hawthorne Memorial Park, 1825 East College Way, Mount Vernon, WA 98273.
KENNETH R. JUNGQUIST
Memorial services for Kenneth R. Jungquist will be at 2:00 PM Saturday, February 15, 2003 at His Place, 1480 S. Burlington Blvd., Burlington, Washington.
Mr. Jungquist passed away in Scottsdale, Arizona Monday, February 10, 2003.
Kern Funeral Home of Mount Vernon is in charge of services.
Prior to the service Saturday a burial will precede at the Mount Vernon Cemetery.
PATRICK "PAT" D. PLOEG
Patrick "Pat" D. Ploeg, 41, of Samish Island, died Wednesday, February 12, 2003 as a result of an auto accident.
He was born August 22, 1961 in Burlington, the son of Doug and Lynn (Tjeerdsma) Ploeg.
Pat graduated from Burlington High School in 1980. He was a letterman in both varsity football and wrestling. He then moved to Port Angeles.
Pat worked for Olympic Distributing, Tim's Cascade Chips. He also owned and operated Port Angeles Ski School.
Pat moved back to Samish Island in 1991. He worked for R D and R Construction until starting Concrete Concepts in 1999.
He married the love of his life, Kari Thomas, on February 29, 2000. She preceded him in death in March of 2002.
Pat is survived by his parents, Doug and Lynn Ploeg of Bow; 2 sons: Brent Ploeg of Port Angeles and Max Ploeg of Sequim; brother, Rodney and Debbie Ploeg and daughter Aly Ploeg of Bow; sister, Teresa McManus and son Eddie of New Jersey; mother-in-law and father-in-law, Jerry and Dulcie Thomas of Mount Vernon; numerous uncles, aunts and cousins as well as special friends.
Pat was an avid hunter of Elk, Whitetail Deer and Brant and a member of Edison Sportmans Club. He had a great sense of humor and a wonderful smile.
Memorials are suggested to The Samish Island Community Center, c/o Donna Mather, 5211 Roney Road, Bow, WA 98232.
A funeral mass for Pat will be celebrated Saturday, February 15, 2003 at 11:00 AM at St. Charles Catholic Church, 935 Peterson Road, Burlington. Reverend Patrick McDermott will be the Celebrant.
Cremation was conducted at Hawthorne Memorial Park under the direction of Hawthorne Funeral Home.
HERSCHEL G. McQUARY
Hershel G. McQuary, 89, is now residing with his Savior in Heaven as of Tuesday afternoon, February 11, 2003. He resided at Highgate House Assisted Living in Bellingham, Washington for the past few months.
He was born in Dayton, Washington April 8, 1913, the son of Harvey and Grace May McQuary. The family lived in various locations in Montana and Washington, and he graduated from Anacortes High School in 1931.
He was united in marriage to Virginia G. Iversen in Tacoma January 29, 1934. They settled in Mount Vernon in 1940, where he operated a shoe store until 1949.
During World War II he served with the Washington State Guard as First Sergeant.
In 1949 he joined Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as an agent in the Mount Vernon area. In 1958 he moved to Bellingham as Assistant District Manager. In 1963 he joined Sunset Life Insurance Company as a General Agent, semi retired in 1978 keeping his license active for quite a few more years.
He was a member of the Bellingham Kiwanis Club.
He and Virginia enjoyed many years living at Ankar Retirement Park in Bellingham, where he enjoyed serving on the board for several years.
He was a faithful member of Immanuel Bible Church, where he served many years as an elder, taught Sunday School and led Bible studies.
He enjoyed the outdoors, gardening and producing many beautiful flowers, especially begonias. He loved time spent with his family, and also, devoted much time to counseling of many in his church family.
Survivors are: his wife, Virginia of Bellingham; son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Wanda McQuary of La Conner; daughter and son-in-law, Maureen and Beryl Blackstone of Mount Vernon; a a sister and her husband, Jean and Bill Emery of Bremerton; 4 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren: Danette and Keith Humphrey and children Logan and Morgan of Marysville, Brian and Brenda McQuary and children Josh and Heather of Turkey, Steve and Polly Blackstone of Ridgefield, Washington, Jennifer and Jeff Hurst and children Dakota, Emma and Madilyn of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He had numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Herschel was preceded in death by two sisters, Muriel Sewell and Billie Hanshaw.
Memorial services will be held at Immanuel Bible Church, 2000 W. North Street, Bellingham, Washington at 1:00PM, Saturday, February 15, 2003 with Pastor David Erickson officiating.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in Herschel's memory to the Immanuel Bible Church.
Cremation has been held under the direction of the Kern Funeral Home of Mount Vernon.
RAYMOND C. WELLS, JR.
Memorial services for Raymond C. Wells, Jr., who passed away on Saturday, February 1, 2003, will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2003 at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, College Way, Mount Vernon at 2:00 PM.
A reception will follow the service in the auditorium of the church until 4:30 PM.
Kern Funeral Home, Mount Vernon, was in charge of arrangements.
SHIRLEY J. (GIBSON) BUSSERT
Shirley Joanne (Gibson) Bussert, 75, of Sedro-Woolley, WA, died unexpectedly Thursday, March 13, 2003 surrounded by most of her immediate family.
Shirley was born on April 24, 1927 in Peru, NE the daughter of Jerome & Verna (Turnbull) Gibson. She was raised in the Coin, IA area graduating from Coin High School in 1945. She moved with her family to Centralia, WA that same year where she worked at the county court house.
She moved to Mount Vernon in the early 1950's where she worked at various auto dealerships as a title clerk. She sewed sailboat sails, was co-owner of The Woodworks and Valley Vending.
She loved her grandchildren, sewing, stick gardening, her Canasta card group, all board and card games, a huge Mariner's fan, unused recipe collecting, and snake exterminating.
Her parents and her brother, Ray Gibson, preceded Shirley in death.
She is survived by her son, Bob Horne, of Tucson, AZ, her daughters and sons-in-law, Jeri and Rick Hawk of Sedro-Woolley, Linda and George Stucks of Burlington and Kathy and Michael Hockensmith of Birdsview, and her grandchildren Melanie Massey, Garrett, Sharliene and Angela Horne, Nicholas Butler, David and Joshua Hockensmith, Taylor Glissen and her sister and brother-in-law Marian and Ron Reiff of Covina, CA and brother Dave Gibson, of Centralia, WA. Also we have to mention her dear aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews who she loved very much.
Her cremains will be scattered at the family farm in Coin, IA. Her spirit, strong will, and sense of humor will be greatly missed!
Please come help us "celebrate her life" on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at 1:00pm at the Burlington Community Center located at 1011 Greenleaf Ave. Uncomfortable attire is strictly forbidden. Bring photos, memories and funny stories of Shirley Jo to share.
A special "thank you" to Dr's. Mark Johnson and Ed Stickle for their extraordinary care, advice and friendship-she loved you guys.
