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Kuchenbecker, Richard Thursday, 08 May 2003
Richard Kuchenbecker died May 8, 2003.
He attended Vashon Island Community Church which is where his memorial will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 24.
Mr. Kuchenbecker’s main ministry was tuning up cars for single moms. The church is continuing that ministry in his name.
Anyone wishing to donate towards this ministry may send monies to “Richard’s Memorial Fund” c/o Vashon Island Community Church p.o. Box 2477 Vashon, WA 98070. Single moms needing a tune up please call Don Lester at 463-2008.
Christiansen, Perry N. Saturday, 27 Sep 2003
Perry N. Christiansen of Vashon Island, died Sept. 27, 2003, surrounded by his family. He was 80 years old.
Born Feb. 7, 1923, to Perry Christiansen and Mary Embree in Mukilteo, Wash., he was the grandson of Mukilteo’s first lighthouse keeper. He graduated from Queen Anne High School in Seattle in 1941 and began his career in the U.S. Coast Guard that same spring where he rose to the rank of LCMD.
During World War II, he was involved in the landings in Africa, Sicily, Italy, and Normandy where his was the first ship to land troops on the beach. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1961, but was called back to active duty during the Vietnam War.
Following his Coast Guard years, Mr. Christiansen developed a second career in education and church music. He served the communities in which he lived in many ways, but his life centered on his family, his church, and music.
He was a member of, and directed, many church choirs. When stationed in Hawaii, he sang with the Honolulu Opera Chorus. He also enjoyed traveling by land as well as sea and was always eager to swap a good story. For many years an elder in the Presbyterian Church, he held positions in the North Puget Sound and the Seattle Presbyteries, and the Synod of Alaska NorthWest.
In 1952 he married
Audrey Friesen, who died in 1994 after a long illness.
He married
Billie Reposa Hoglund in Sequim in 1995.
Survivors include his wife Billie of Vashon, sons Ron Christiansen and his wife Dawn of Tulare, Calif; Perry N. “Chris” Christiansen and his wife Jan of Woodridge, Va.; daughters Shari Steffensrud of Tacoma, Robin Briganti and her husband Paul of Monroe, and stepchildren Holly Sharrow and her husband Kelley of Wasilla, Ak., John Hoglund and his wife Carolina of Portland; Amy Sassara and her husband Rick of Vashon; 15 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Also surviving is Perry’s loving canine companion, Sassy.
A memorial service was Oct. 4 at the Vashon Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Christiansen’s ashes will be delivered to the sea by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Memorial donations may be made to the Vashon Presbyterian Church, the Leukemia Research Foundation of the A.L.S. Association.
Ma, Kwong Ngai Thursday, 25 Sep 2003
Kwong Ngai Ma died Sept. 25, 2003.
Mr. Ma was born Aug. 24, 1951, in China to parents Ying Man Ma and Wai Sem Wong.
He and his first wife Marie were the owners of Happy Garden from 1981 to 1996.
A son, Kevin Ngai Ma, died earlier.
Survivors include his wife Chong Ma, son Jerry Sawyer, grandson Anthony Sawyer, sisters Lillie, Miely, Lilay, Lemei and brother Man, four nephews and six nieces.
A memorial service will be Oct. 12 at the Eagles Club.
Call the club office for the time.
Lane, Gladys Monday, 22 Sep 2003
Gladys M. Lane died Sept. 22, 2003, of natural causes on Vashon Island. She was 101 years old.
Mrs. Lane was born near New Haven, Conn., on Nov. 13, 1901, to James Cumming and Ruby Ella Fletcher.
Although she did not attend college, she walked through the campus of Yale University when going to high school each day, so she jokingly told people she “went through Yale.”
On Sept. 10, 1921, she married
John Albert Lane, a Harley Davidson dealer. On their honeymoon, they traveled to Niagara Falls on a motorcycle with a sidecar.
Mrs. Lane worked as a bookkeeper in a Massachusetts hospital before retiring to her cabin in the woods in Friendship, Maine, and her trailer in Jupiter, Fla., driving back and forth between the two.
Mrs. Lane lived at Wesley Gardens retirement home in Des Moines, for more than 23 years and moved to a Vashon Island adult family care home.
Her parents, siblings, husband, son John Lane of Texas and daughter-in-law Sara Gay Lane of Des Moines, Wash. died earlier.
Survivors include sons, Russell E. Lane and his wife Agnes of Columbus, Ohio, Roger W. Lane of Vashon, 11 grandchildren, 17 great grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
A memorial service will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4, at Wesley Gardens, 815 S. 216th St., Des Moines, Wash.
Burial will be at Vashon cemetery. Memorials may be made to Wesley Homes Circle of Concern or the American Red Cross.
Bremer, Roberta Lee Saturday, 20 Sep 2003
Roberta Lee Bremer, formerly of Vashon Island, died on Sept. 20, 2003. She was 41 years old.
As a young girl Roberta moved to Seattle and then to Vashon in the mid 1970s. In 1983, she moved off the island, but Vashon remained in her heart.
She loved to cook and bake pies. She was a generous person with an open heart and an open home when people were in need. She always signed her cards, “Luck, Love and Laughter.”
Survivors include her three children: Tad Bremer of Olympia, Stacy Bremer of Aberdeen and Tyler Bremer of Elma, Wash. Additional survivors include her parents Robert and Dorothy Bucher and Elizabeth Scott of Vashon and her brothers and sisters: Elizabeth Edmonds and her husband Dennis of Fort Jones, Calif; Marie Williamson and her husband Dean of Puyallup; Kate Bard and her husband Sam of Vashon; Charles Bucher of Vashon, Jackie Bucher of Vader, Wash.; step-sister Vicky Umbernetti of Des Moines, Wash.; and step brother Wayne Anderson of Burbank, Calif.
Services were Sept. 27 at the Church of the Holy Spirit on Vashon.
Island Funeral Service of Vashon was in charge of the arrangements.
Joyce Corry Smith, 71
Joyce Corry Smith died Sept. 9, 2002, on Vashon Island in her sleep. She was 71 years old.
Mrs. Smith was born June 14, 1932, and live most of her life in Weddington, N.C.
She grew up in Oakman, Ala., one of seven children. She received her nursing degree at the University of Alabama and her master’s at the University of Washington. She was working at the Veteran’s Hospital in Birmingham when she was set up on a blind date with her future husband. They settled in North Carolina.
In the big house where she and her husband raised five children, she welcomed everyone. She was happiest sitting at the table surrounded by food, family, friends and unexpected guests, telling and listening to stories and laughing until she cried. Friends say you weren’t just her friend, but a new family member and she let people know it with a hug every time she saw her new friends.
Survivors include her husband of 43 years, Dr. J. Roderick Smith, sons Rod Smith Jr., Michael Smith, Sam Smith, and Jonathan Smith, daughter Sally Smith Aichele, granddaughter Sarah Hager, grandson Matt Smith, granddaughter Anna Smith and grandson William Aichele.
A memorial service was Sunday at the Weddington United Methodist Church.
The family asks that donations be made to either the Geriatric Mental Health Foundation at 7910 Woodmont Ave. Suite 1050, Bethesda, Md., 20814, the American Heart Association National Center/Women and Cardiovascular Disease at 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, Texas, 75231, or the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease/Woman Heart at 818 18th St. N.W. Suite 730, Washington D.C. 20006.
Smith, Joyce Corry Tuesday, 09 Sep 2003
Gregory Todd Collins, 39
Gregg Todd Collins died Sept. 7, 2003, shortly after finishing a 20-mile run in Seattle. He was 39 years old.
Mr. Collins was born Nov. 13, 1963, in Seattle, and raised in Monroe, Bellevue, and Oak Harbor. He graduated from Bellevue Christian High School in 1982, served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1982-1987, attended the University of Cologne in Germany in 1989, and graduated from American University in Washington D.C. in 1992.
Until recently he was the West Coast Director of Vignette Professional Services, a software consulting company based in Austin, Texas.
He had been training for the Chicago marathon.
Mr. Collins was an avid sailor, basketball player, gourmet cook, cyclist, world traveler, skilled handyman, computer technician, telemark skier, runner, and general lover of the outdoors.
His passion for adventure led him abroad many times, including to Europe, Asia, the South Pacific, Central America, and the North Pole.
An avid outdoorsman, he was happiest at the helm of his boat, Osprey, or taking to the open road in his camper van with his wife, baby daughter, and pet Siberian Husky Tenakee.
Additional hobbies included boat building, home remodeling and investing, cooking, and attending off-beat cultural events. Most of all, he loved spending time with family and numerous close friends.
Friends and family say they will remember him as a father, husband, brother, son, and loyal friend.
Survivors include his wife Allison Ellis and his baby daughter Elizabeth (Liza) Collins, who was born last October. His sister Christi Collins, of Los Angeles, Calif., father Todd Collins, of West Seattle, mother Judy Henkens, of Silverdale, Wash., stepmother Katie Pratt of West Seattle, and grandmother Betty Collins of Bellevue also survive him.
A memorial service was last Sunday at Daybreak Cultural Center, Discovery Park, Seattle.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the NextGen College Investing Plan FBO Elizabeth Ellis Collins, P.O. Box 96063 Bellevue, Wash. 98009-9663.
McEntire, Betty Jo Wednesday, 23 Jul 2003
Betty Jo McEntire, beloved wife, mother and grandmother, died peacefully in Edmonds, Wash., on July 23, 2003, with her family at her side. She was 71 years old.
She was born Sept. 11, 1931, in Seattle to Edward and Gladys LaSpronce.
Betty grew up in West Seattle, graduated from West Seattle High School and earned a degree in interior design from Cornish Institute.
She married
Melvin McEntire on Aug. 8, 1953; they resided in West Seattle until moving their family to Vashon in 1968.
Her father, mother and various aunts and uncles died earlier.
Survivors include her husband Melvin, son Michael and his wife Cind) McEntire, daughter Patty and her husband Scott Noble and her grandchildren Erin and Bryan McEntire and Nick and Katie Noble.
She was buried at Vashon Island cemetery on Saturday, July 26, after graveside service.
Rice, Louise Harriet Monday, 08 Mar 2004
Louise Harriet Rice died March 8, 2004, at the Vashon Community Care Center. She was 85 years old.
Louise was born April 18, 1918, in Kent, Wash., and lived in the South County area for 58 years. She married
Paul Eugene Rice Jan. 5, 1941.
She received a teaching degree from Western University and a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Washington.
She was a member of Women’s Painters of Washington, Puget Sound Sumi Artists, Lambda Rho Alumni Association of the University of Washington and the Lakeridge Women’s Service Club.
She enjoyed painting, jewelry making, pottery, reading, music, travel and gardening.
Survivors include her children, Glen and Diane Rice of Vashon and David and Gail Rice; grandchildren Joe, Julie, Kyle and Lisa brothers Glen Stoddard, Philip Stoddard and sister Marguerite McClain.
Her husband died in 1997.
A service was at Faull-Stokes Mortuary Renton on March 15 followed by a reception at the family home.
Hansen, Cynthia Lynn Monday, 23 Feb 2004
Cynthia Lynn Hansen died Feb. 23, 2004. She was 49 years old.
Cindy was born Feb. 10, 1955, in West Point, Neb., and grew up in Auburn, and lived at her parents Vashon home during her last year of High School. There she met her future husband Glenn.
Her friends and family say she was intelligent, compassionate, generous, and always thought of others before herself.
Pregnant with her only child during nursing school, she was diagnosed with kidney disease. For the next 24 years she led a strict life off the donor list, giving others a chance at life.
She supported and was active in all parts of her family, touched many lives through her years as registered nurse, home health care provider, and involved school parent. She also kept score for teams — from T-ball to high school water polo. Cindy never missed an activity.
Survivors include her husband Glenn, son Bryan, father Wayne Bishop, sister Rindelle, Ila Jane, who was like the daughter she never had, nephew Beau, and friend Kristen Nelson.
Her mother Carol Bishop died earlier.
Her friends and family say they will miss her guidance, positive thinking, and gentle nature.
She was buried in Vashon cemetery.
Arrangements were entrusted to Island Funeral Service.
