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Walter Sinn served with Alaska Territorial Police
Walter O. Sinn passed away peacefully the morning of April 17, 2001, in Dorothy’s Adult Care Home in Friday Harbor, Wash., after a long and full life. He was 87.
His daughter Donna, son-in-law Bob and grandson Eddie were at his side.
Walt was born in Gilbert, Iowa, on March 29, 1914, to Bessie and Edward Sinn. As a young man, Walt was a professional motorcycle stunt rider, working the state and county fairs throughout the Midwest. Later, he served in the Merchant Marine.
In 1942, he ventured to Ketchikan, Alaska, where he worked on a rock crusher. He later moved to Juneau, where he joined the U.S. Coast Guard and served during World War II. He was stationed at Scotchcap Lighthouse and Dutch Harbor, both in the Aleutian Islands.
In Juneau, he met and married Doris Macomber. To this marriage was born a daughter, Donna Lee, in 1946. Doris passed away in 1960.
After the war, Walt joined the city police in Juneau, Alaska. He served until 1949, when he joined the Alaska Territorial Police, predecessor to the Alaska State Troopers. He served in many towns and villages across the state. In many, such as Barrow on the Arctic coast, he was the first resident peace officer. He retired in 1971 with 22 years of service. He carried badge No. 1.
Walt’s service included many interesting assignments, including being the driver for the visit of then-Vice President Richard Nixon.
Walt was a true servant of the people of Alaska. On many occasions he would lend money or a helping hand to someone who was struggling, without worry of repayment. Many times, repayment came years later when someone would give Donna money and say, "Your dad helped me when times were tough."
On Sept. 26, 1970, Walt married Jean Rae Engle. They later divorced.
Walt was an avid outdoorsman. Hunting, fishing and trapping were his passions. Sometimes this passion coincided with his patrol duties. More than one source will tell you that he was often given about three days' notice of a vehicle inspection so he could clean out the traps.
On one occasion, he was looking for animal tracks, when he noticed skid marks leaving the road. He stopped to investigate and found that a car had gone off the road and onto the river ice. The temperature was 40 degrees below zero. One woman was suffering from extreme injuries; two men were in shock. They were all lightly dressed for the cold. Walt’s actions saved the lives of all three.
Walt’s outdoor skills teamed him with many different hunting companions, from millionaire businessmen to movie stars. He remained very down to earth and level-headed.
Walt had a tremendous sense of humor. He had a comment for every situation. All who knew him have stories of one liners, jokes or pranks from Walt. Parting guests often would hear, "You are leaving me when I need you the most." Or if you offered to get him something or do something for him, he would often say, "No, I want it done right."
Walt kept his unique sense of humor to the very end of his life. He may be sharing some stories with the Lord right now, just in case He hadn’t heard it yet.
Walt is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Donna and Bob Myers; grandson and wife, Edward and Jill Davidson; step-grandsons, Robert and Michael Myers; and his one-year-old great-granddaughter, Katherine, who he met for the first time just a few days before his passing. All are from Fairbanks, Alaska.
He also leaves behind friends spread from coast to coast and too numerous to list.
Memorial service is April 21, 11 a.m., in Islands Community Church, San Juan Island. Funeral is April 28, 1 p.m., in Chapel of the Chimes, Fairbanks, Alaska.
Arrangements are being handled by Evans Funeral Home.
Judith Greenfield taught English in Istanbul
Judith Greenfield, a long-time resident of her beloved Friday Harbor, died on March 24 after an illness of two weeks. She was 77.
She was the daughter of the late Fred and Jean Greenfield. With her graduate degree in hand, she was signed on by the U.S. State Department and was stationed in Indonesia. When the country was given independence, she moved on to Istanbul, Turkey, where she taught English and then back to the states.
She was ever resourceful and reached her end with stoicism.
She is survived by her brother, Michael, cousins, nieces and nephews.
The flag was lowered to half-staff at Station 25, in memory of Acting Fire Capt. Daryl Marshall. Photo
Daryl Marshall
A memorial service will be held for Daryl Marshall in the Orcas Island American Legion Hall on April 21, 1 p.m.
Marshall died suddenly of an apparent heart attack April 12 while walking his dog on Willows Road.
A volunteer firefighter, he was acting fire captain of Station 25 in Olga.
Dorothy Hart
Dorothy Isabelle McKeehan Hart died in Islands’ Convalescent Center April 13, 2001 in Friday Harbor.
She was born Aug. 22, 1906, in Cincinnati, Iowa. She was married to Earl Harris from 1928 until his death in 1942 and later to Ivan Hart from 1949 until his death in 1966. Her profession was banking, which she loved, but not as much as she loved being wife, mother and grandmother.
She leaves a daughter, Carol Hart Minch and her husband John; daughter, Dee Harris Haner and her husband Ted; stepson, Jack Hart and his wife Elaine; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also leaves a heritage of love, integrity and grit.
Interment will be at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California.
Patricia Decker
Patricia Decker passed away April 7, 2001, in Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon, following a brief illness.
She was born in Jerome, Idaho, in 1930. She moved here to live with her daughter in 1992, and commuted for two years to Bellingham where she worked with developmentally disabled adults. After retiring, she did volunteer work for Wolf Hollow and assurance calls for the Senior Center.
Pat had been very active in her life - river rafting with family and friends, skydiving, bicycle touring, camping and motorcycle riding. She sold many of her crafts locally and was best known for her "miniature sock monkeys."
She is survived by two Friday Harbor residents, daughter Lori Nightingale and granddaughter Charity Hardy; brother, Don Percey of California; daughters, Beverly Lange of Washington, Beckee Jahnke of North Dakota, Diane Nightingale of Minnesota, Leslie Ringsrud of North Dakota, and Jamie Middleton of North Dakota (formerly of Friday Harbor); 15 more grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Nightingale Fund for Seniors, the Soroptimist Club of Friday Harbor or Mount Vernon.
Edwin B. Dunn
Former San Juan islander Edwin B. Dunn died May 22, 2001 in his home in Medford, Ore. He was 83.
No services will be held, according to Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives & Crematory.
Mr. Dunn was born April 17, 1918 in Halifax, Va. He married Betty Quick on May 24, 1947 in Swathmore, Pa.
Mr. Dunn served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was stationed at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on radar communications systems. After his Navy discharge, he worked in communications for Atlantic Richfield - now British Petroleum - in the Los Angeles, Calif., area.
Mr. Dunn had been active in the Methodist Men's Club in Pennsylvania and the San Juan Lions Club in Friday Harbor. The Dunns moved six years ago from Friday Harbor to Medford, and they joined the First Methodist Church on Medford's Main Street.
Mr. Dunn enjoyed photography, carpentry, gardening and stamps.
He is survived by his wife, Betty Dunn, of Medford, Ore.; daughters, Leslie Dunn-Antelyes of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Linda Dunn Croll of Cambridge, Mass.; and two grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by five sisters and brothers.
Mary Ellen Gaylord
Mary Ellen Gaylord's life was full of adventure.
In her 70 years of life, she served as a minister, school board president, apple grower, hospital board member, ski lodge operator, arts institute director, world traveler, folk art student and Earth Watch volunteer.
She also raised a family of 10 children, among them San Juan County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord.
"Mary Ellen had a bottomless reservoir of energy, an enormous enthusiasm for life and unending love for family, friends, community and church," a friend said.
"Her love of family and friends, her spirit of adventure, and her commitment to giving will remain with all of those who were touched by her."
Mary Ellen Shumway Gaylord died in Seattle just after sunrise on June 28, 2001, after a short adventure with cancer.
She was born in Oxford, England, on May 30, 1931 to F. Ritter and Hettie Lakin Shumway. She attended Mount Holyoke College and graduated from the University of Rochester in 1952.
She married Preston Arms Gaylord Jr. in 1951 in Rochester, N.Y. They had 10 children who they raised on an apple farm in Sodus, N.Y. There she ran an apple gift package business, served as president of the Sodus School Board, and a board member at Myers Community Hospital.
In 1973, the family moved to Salt Lake City to build and run the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird, Utah. Later she served as the first director of the Snowbird Summer Arts Institute.
The daughter of a Presbyterian minister, she accepted a call to the ministry, attending the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif., and graduating in 1981.
She was ordained as a minister at the Holladay United Church of Christ in Utah and later served as an associate minister at a number of congregations, including the Congregational United Church of Christ in San Mateo, Calif., and Park City Community Church, in Park City, Utah.
Her religious leadership was boundless and focused on empowering women, interfaith collaboration and the synthesis of art and religion.
In the San Francisco Bay area, she accepted leadership roles at the Graduate Theological Union, the Center for Women and Religion, the Interfaith Center at the Presidio, the Pacific School of Religion, the Women's Donor Network, and most recently the United Religions Initiative.
On Orcas Island, Mary Ellen continued to devote herself to the spiritual growth of the people around her, while maintaining her commitment to the inter-religious community in the Bay Area.
Mary Ellen loved to travel and visit her children, often helping them settle into their homes. Her children remember their mom behind the wheel of a bus on summer trips across the country. Trips included frequent visits to her daughter in Madagascar, attending the United Nations Conferences on Women in Nairobi (1985) and Beijing (1995), trekking in Nepal, and studying folk art in Bali as an Earth Watch volunteer.
Mary Ellen also had a love of sailing that began as a child on her family's schooner and continued throughout her life. This April she sailed with one of her sons and his family in New Zealand. She shared this love with her children, grandchildren and the countless others she taught to sail. She championed the all-women's team in the America's Cup and became a close friend of team captain Dawn Riley.
Mary Ellen created and strengthened community in each of the many places she made a home, planting seeds - literally and figuratively. After moving to Orcas Island in 1994, she recognized the importance of housing in the community and dedicated her time and energy to OPAL.
A favorite quote from Kahlil Gibran and one by which she lived is, "You give but little when you give of your possessions, it is when you give of yourself that you truly give."
Mary Ellen's philanthropy reflected her commitments and interests. She donated her time and resources to support the arts, religion, women, education and the environment. Her giving was local and global and was made to individuals and organizations.
Mary Ellen is survived by her aunt, Mrs. John Mayer; her brothers, Charlie and Frank Shumway; 10 children and 16 grandchildren.
A memorial service to celebrate her life was held July 2, 2001, 2 p.m. at Eagle Lake on Orcas Island. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the Doe Bay Community Association, P.O. Box 176, Olga, WA 98279 or by planting a tree in her memory.
Robert Eugene Priest
Robert Eugene Priest, a medical scientist and teacher, has died. His ashes were spread June 15 on the beach on Lopez Island where he played as a child.
He was born in 1926, the son of Lon and Grace Wood Priest. His grandparents, Frank and Salinda Wood, homesteaded on Lopez Island in 1884; his mother was born on Lopez in 1885.
After Bob received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1946, he attended Reed College, Portland, Ore., and obtained a bachelor's degree in biology in 1950. He received his M.D. in 1954 at the University of Chicago. Were it not for the G.I. Bill supporting further education for veterans, his career goals would never have been obtainable.
Bob's inquiring mind was fostered at Reed College and his natural talent for teaching led him into academics and all the challenges therein. His first publication was an article in Proceedings of the Society for Biol. Med. (1951) entitled "3-hydroxyanthranilic acid metabolism."
He interned at McGill University's Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Canada, then returned to the University of Chicago as resident in pathology from 1955-57. He formed strong friendships with colleagues there that influenced his entire career.
He worked with rats as experimental animals to study atherosclerosis, using a small pressure cuff placed around the base of the tail to measure blood pressure. He published a case report involving a rare disorder in humans resulting in intermittent introduction of hemoglobin into the urine.
In 1957, he became an instructor in pathology at the University of Washington and he continued to use the rat as an animal model for disease, primarily atherosclerosis but also renal and intestinal disorders.
He married Jean Hirsch in 1958. In Seattle, his three children were born - Edwin, Cindy and Mary.
At the University of Colorado (1962-71), he used cell culture to demonstrate differentiation of connective tissue cells in vitro; mechanisms of collagen synthesis; and increased formation of basement membrane by introduction of Vitamin C (explaining the bleeding tendency of patients with scurvy).
He used autopsy and surgical specimens to report fatal renal disease from phenacetin overdose; mixed-up male and female sex chromosomes in a particular type of germ cell tumor (gonadoblastoma); arterial disease in diabetes; the effects of immunosuppression in fatal bronchial asthma; and joint pathology associated with steroid therapy.
He also shared genetic research interests with his wife, Jean, including the timing of human chromosome replication; methods for synchronizing cultured cells; a way to study sex chromatin in autopsy tissue; the effect of multiple gene copies on the synthesis of collagen; ways to obtain specialized enzyme production in vitro in order to study single gene disorders in humans. He even accepted cytogenetics as a necessary methodology in his otherwise efficient experimental design.
He advanced quickly to professorship position. He served on the medical school's Executive Committee and was president-elect of the faculty (1970-71).
He moved to Emory University in 1971 where he remained until his retirement in 1985. He published an article in the journal "Nature," showing that collagen in Marfan Syndrome is abnormally soluble. He also studied amniotic fluid cells grown for prenatal genetic diagnosis - what tissue source they represent, what types of collagen they make, and what other special properties they possess. With a medical student research trainee, he showed that the multinucleated cells cultured from amniotic fluid form by fusion.
He set up the PhD program in Experimental Pathology and directed the pathology course in second year of the medical school. He served on the Faculty Committee for Medical Research and the Emory University Senate. He worked for the Pathology-A study section of National Institutes of Health, reviewing grant applications into the wee hours of the night.
He was a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, American Society for Cell Biology, American Society for Experimental Pathology, International Academy of Pathology and the American Association of Pathologists.
During sabbaticals he was Visiting Scientist in biochemistry at The University, St. Andrews, Scotland; and Fogarty Senior International Fellow, University of Auckland (Pathology and Biochemistry), Auckland, N.Z.
After retirement, he was a Visiting Scientist, University of Wurzburg, Wurzburg, Germany; professor and chairman of pathology, Ross University School of Medicine, Dominica, West Indies; and he helped to establish a genetics laboratory in the medical school (FAMEMA), Marilia, São Paulo, Brazil.
Of all his professional activities, he was happiest at the bench in his laboratory and leading small group teaching. He will certainly be remembered for his low-key teaching approach and his ability to listen to and answer questions. But above all he was a true friend to students and colleagues alike.
Robert S. 'Bob' Nelson
Another member of "The Greatest Generation" is gone.
Robert S. "Bob" Nelson, a World War II veteran, retired Navy chief petty officer and career aircraft mechanic, died July 3, 2001, in Bellingham, Wash. He was 80 and a resident of Orcas Island.
He was born in Seattle on July 10, 1920, and graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1938.
Bob participated in the Civilian Conservation Corps until joining the U.S. Navy in 1941. He served aboard the USS Wasp and took part in the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot.
In 1946, he earned his aircraft mechanic's license from the Federal Aviation Administration and went to work for Alaska Airlines and then Boeing Aircraft Co. for 17 years.
Bob retired as a chief petty officer from the Naval Air Reserves at NAS Sandpoint in 1964. He opened Bob's Hobby Shop in Lynnwood, which he operated for several years before moving to Orcas Island in 1969.
On Orcas, he and his wife, Georgia, opened Eastsound Dry-goods. In 1974, Bob went to work for San Juan Airlines, becoming the director of maintenance and working there until 1987. He then opened Nelson Airmotive at Orcas Island Airport, where he remained active in aircraft repair until his death.
Bob was a member of the American Legion for 30 years and the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association for 50 years.
He was preceded in death by his son, Bill, in 1997; and his living wife of 53 years, Georgia, in 1997.
Bob is survived by one son, Craig, of Orcas Island; and his friend and companion, Mary Slover.
Services will be announced at a later date. Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel, Anacortes and San Juan Islands.
Mary Ellen Gaylord
Jack Chutuk
Jack Chutuk, who retired as a Hollywood talent scout 11 years ago to live on San Juan Island, died of cancer July 8.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated July 12 in St. Francis Church, Friday Harbor.
Chutuk was a member of the San Juan Lions Club. He is survived by his wife, Geri.
A complete obituary will be published in the July 18 Journal of the San Juan Islands and on sanjuanjournal.com
Robert John Kelton
Robert John Kelton of West Sound and Mount Vernon passed away July 6, 2001. He was 76.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Elvire, on Oct. 28, 2000.
Bob was born in Bellingham on Sept. 30, 1924. He was raised on Orcas Island and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where he received his bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering. Boeing wasn't hiring when he graduated, so he found temporary work in the insurance business that instead became a career. He spent many years at Johnson and Higgins, then Corroon and Black, both in Seattle.
Shortly after he retired in the mid-1980s, he suffered his first stroke. Although it left him somewhat disabled and a bit more grumpy, he and Elvire were still able to travel, spending their winters in Arizona and Mexico and summers on Orcas. However, his health deteriorated to the point that he needed assisted living the last two years of his life.
Bob is survived by two sisters, Mary Ritchie of Lopez and Iris Freeman of Prosser; sons, Robert D. Kelton of Erverett and Donavan Belford of Lyman; daughters, Kary Calantropio of Redding, Calif., and Linda Whitted of Napa, Calif.; and six grandchildren.
Bob wanted no services performed after his passing and the family will honor his request. His ashes will be scattered on his beloved Orcas Island along with those of his wife.
