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Szelenyi, Elisabeth ‘Liesel’ Saturday, 29 Jan 2005
Elisabeth “Liesel” Szelenyi, 82, died peacefully Jan. 29, surrounded by loved ones in her Bainbridge Island home.
She was born Jan. 13, 1923, in Langenargen, Germany on the Bodensee (Lake Constance), the oldest of five children.
Her family home also housed the fine bakery and pastry shop, that had been started by her grandparents and carried on by her parents. There she was an integral part of this family tradition.
It was there too, where she met her life’s love, Bela.
Together, they came to the United States in 1952, first settling in New Jersey and then spending 15 years in the coastal region of Maine before living in California and Minnesota and finally retiring in 1988 to the home they built on Bainbridge Island.
While in California, she dedicated several years of her life to the work she felt most passionate about, serving as a teacher’s aide for autistic children at a school in Ventura County.
On Bainbridge, as she had when she was young on the Bodensee, she enjoyed looking across the water at the beauty of the surrounding mountains.
She also liked being near her family and watching her granddaughter as she grew up.
Her garden gave her great enjoyment, and in her kitchen, she was a naturally gifted chef.
Her family was of utmost importance, and her friends and aquaintance all enjoyed her love.
She planned her travels to visit family and longtime friends in Europe.
She is survived by her husband, Bela; daughter Eva Maria Gerdts and her husband, George; and granddaughter, Caitlin Elisabeth Gerdts, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador since July, 2002, all of Bainbridge Island; three sisters: Christine Van Durme, Mia Plusczyk, and Richilde Loy of Langenargen, Germany; and many nieces and nephews in Germany, La Reunion, France, and Hungary.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Ruprecht.
A memorial mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at St. Cecilia Catholic Church. Interment will be at the family cemetery in Langenargen.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Kitsap County or the Gender and Development scholarship fund, on which her granddaughter has been working to enable young Ecuadoran women to finish their high school education. Checks can be made to G.A.D. c/o Caitlin Gerdts, P.O. Box 4687, Rolling Bay, WA 98061.
Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.
Bertles, Lenore Doris Adair Tuesday, 11 Jan 2005
Lenore Doris Adair Bertles, 86, died Jan. 11 after a short stay at Seattle’s Swedish hospital.
She was born in New York City in 1919. She spent her early years watching the Yankees from box seats, dancing on Broadway and carousing with famous mobsters. She left New York in the 1950s, but said the city never left her.
She married
twice and was preceded in death by both husbands. She enjoyed traveling, reading and entertaining people.
She moved to Southern California to raise her family, and spent most of her adult life there.
She is survived by four children: Mark Wilton of Sausilito, Calif., Peter Bertles of West Bloomfield, Mich., Serena Bertles of Larkspur, Calif., and Matthew Bertles of Seattle.
A memorial will be held in San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, a memorial can be made to the Wyatt House on Bainbridge Island or the Kline Galland home in Seattle.
Kurtz, Allen Edwin Sunday, 16 Jan 2005
Bainbridge Island resident Allen Edwin Kurtz, age 77, died Jan. 16 at his home.
He was born Nov. 30, 1927, in Sheridan, Wyo., to Noah and Martha (Packard) Kurtz.
After completing service in the U.S. Navy, he earned a degree in engineering from the University of Wyoming.
He came to Seattle to work for Boeing, and spent his entire professional life with the company. He worked on several projects, including the galley cart lift for the 747, which he followed from the initial design through to specialized versions for individual customers.
His enthusiasm for engineering and design extended beyond his job to avocational projects, such as a solar heating system for his neighborhood swimming pool and remodeling the Queen City Yacht Club’s Bainbridge outstation dock.
He met and married
Mary Tharalson in Seattle in 1954, and they lived in south Seattle until her death in 1980. He later met Kathleen Sproule through mutual friends, and they were married
in Renton in 1984. They moved to Bainbridge Island in 1990.
He was a long-time member of the Queen City Yacht Club and combined his interest in boating with his technical skills on several “predicted log races, ” including an extended trip to Alaska in 1989 aboard the “Kaylen.”
He was also an interested participant in the operations of the Eagle Harbor Condominium Association, an enthusiastic bridge player and enjoyed watching football on television.
He is survived by his wife, Kathleen (Kay) Kurtz, Bainbridge Island; two daughters, Sandra Kurtz and Stephanie Mascis, both of Seattle; two brothers, Joseph Kurtz, Sequim; James Kurtz, Auburn; two sisters, Jane Culver, Los Angeles, Calif.; Gene Lewis, Meeteetse, Wyo., and three grandsons.
Services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends “do something kind for someone special.”
Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home.
Lyda, Roshell ‘Jim’ Thursday, 30 Dec 2004
Roshell “Jim” Lyda of Kingston died Dec. 30, 2004 in Bremerton. He was 67.
Lyda was born to Rochell J. Lyda and Mary Pound in Boise, Idaho, on Feb. 26, 1937.
He married
Martha J. Lyda.
He served in the U.S. Navy for four years and later was self-employed. He was an avid outdoorsman and a Christian.
Lyda is survived by his wife Martha Lyda of Kingston; son Daniel J. (Jilanne) Lyda; daughter Deborah L. Cooper; brothers Richard Lyda and Raymond Salee; sister Rosemary Johnson; mother Mary Pound; and three grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father Rochell J. Lyda and granddaughter Tiffany Grant.
A private family burial will take place at Cherry Grove cemetery in Poulsbo. Arrangements are under the direction of Lewis Funeral Chapel. Memorial gifts may be sent to the Olympic Peninsula Kidney Center, 2740 Clare Ave., Bremerton, WA 98310.
Powel, John Hare Sunday, 13 Mar 2005
John Hare Powel, 84, died March 13.
He was born on April 3, 1920 in Providence, R.I., the fourth child of Samuel Powel and Grace Elizabeth (Elsa) Putnam Powel.
He grew up in Providence, graduated from St. George’s School in Newport, R.I. in 1938, and went on to Harvard University.
He enjoyed his college life overly much at Harvard, and so took an enforced leave for a year to work at Brown and Sharpe, after which he returned and finished with his classes, earning a bachelor of science degree in geology in 1942. He married
Ann Corson Ellis on June 7, 1942, in Bethlehem, Pa.
He reported for duty the following December as a naval ensign assigned to the USS Greer, a destroyer that escorted troop ships through the North Atlantic past German U-boat “wolfpacks.” By 1944 he was in the South Pacific aboard the USS Devosa, an attack transport.
After the war, he was hired by the Gorham Silver Company as a salesman, bringing him and his family to the Pacific Northwest in 1946. His love of the area only intensified as he traveled the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Alaska.
He purchased the National Company in about 1961, becoming a manufacturer’s representative for construction materials suppliers.
For more than 25 years, he enjoyed the travels and friendships he developed as a “salesman of nuts, screws and bolts.”
In 1954, he moved his family to Bainbridge Island and the west side of Port Madison Bay.
Old “salts” may remember the birth of the Port Madison Jib and Jug Society in 1956, of which Johnny became the first commodore. He also enjoyed skiing.
For 51 years, his home was his passion. He was a staunch supporter of the environment and granted a conservation easement to the Bainbridge Island Land Trust on his property for the safekeeping of otters, seals, eagles, herons, ducks and the natural flora.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ann; sons John Jr. “Jake” and his wife Pam, Jeff and his wife Fran, and Michael; daughter Dorothy and her husband Larry Kehres; grandchildren Liza Powel (Conan) O’Brien, Sarah Powel, Gregory Powel and Melissa Powel; step-grandchildren Margi, Alan and Douglas Kehres and their children; great-granddaughter, Neve O’Brien; many nieces and nephews; and his sister, Grace Powel Ritchie of Freeport, Maine.
He was preceded in death by his brother Sam, and one sister, Elizabeth Powel Crosby.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances may be made to any of the following organizations: the Bainbridge Island Land Trust (www.bi-landtrust.org); the World Wildlife Fund (www.worldwildlife.org); or Catspaw, which rescues and finds homes for homeless cats (www.catspawfoundation.org).
Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.
Services will be at 11 a.m. April 2 at St. Barnabas Church on Bainbridge Island.
Brownell, Gloria Collins Thursday, 10 Mar 2005
Longtime Bainbridge resident Gloria Collins Brownell, age 75, died peacefully in her home March 10 following a stroke, surrounded by her family.
Born Gloria Stephenson in New York City in 1929, she was adopted by John and Anne Collins of Princeton, N.J., and grew up attending Catholic school until entering Princeton High.
She loved to ice skate and play tennis, and treasured her memories of going to college sporting events with her father.
She often spent summers at the Jersey shore with her favorite aunt and uncle, and there developed a profound love of the sea and its shimmering light, and the shells she collected.
She met her husband, Frank, while folk dancing; they married
in 1950, and moved west to his home in Seattle the same year. The couple moved to Bainbridge Island in 1951, and during their 24-year marriage, she raised five daughters and was active in the cultural life of the still primarily rural island.
She was often seen at T&C; enjoying an iced chai, at the Glass Onion ordering eclectic music, and at Lynwood Theatre watching films from diverse genres. She enjoyed driving a blue VW Beetle, and had a wry sense of humor.
A founding member of the Bainbridge Chorale, she sang soprano in the group for many years, and before that, with the Bainbridge Light Opera. She was a knowledgeable and passionate listener of music of all types, most especially Bach, opera and piano, which she herself played.
A lifelong enthusiast of folk dancing and ballet, she rejoined her adult ballet class even though her strength was declining. She was an ardent flower lover with a colorful and vibrant garden around her home.
She was also an active reader whose tastes in literature spanned a wide spectrum, from modern experimental works to the classics of the ancients. A published poet, her first public recognition came at age 18, when she won a poetry competition sponsored by Fordham University.
She volunteered in Providence Hospital’s intensive care unit, where she provided sympathy and fresh flowers to the families of patients for 18 years. In one of many awards honoring her service, the Sisters of Providence wrote that “Gloria is a deep, caring person who always goes the extra step to be sure families of ICU patients are comfortable, supported and kept well informed. Her devotion brings to life the mission of our hospital.”
Her volunteer work reflected her charitable giving and concern for humanitarian causes.
She is survived by daughters Babs, Jennifer, Susan and Nell; and five grandchildren: Sarah, Leah, Benjamin, Samuel and Francine.
She was preceded in death by her daughter, Lissy, in 1970.
Services will be at 4 p.m. March 21 at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, with private interment at Port Blakely cemetery.
The family suggests donations be made to Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, or Hospice of Kitsap County. Arrangements are by Kass Funeral Home.
Aquino, Clemente P. Sunday, 06 Mar 2005
Bainbridge Island resident Clemente P. Aquino, 68, died March 6 at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
He was born in Dec. 4, 1936, Mapandan, Pangasinan, the Philippines, to Buenaventura and Maria (Penullar) Aquino.
After attending Munoz Agricultural State College in the Philippines, he joined the Philippine Navy for four years. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1961 and retired in 1980 after 19 years.
Aquino worked for Washington State Ferries at the Winslow shipyard for 20 years, retiring in 2000.
He loved to travel and to spend time with his grandchildren and his finance, Remy.
Aquino is survived by his son Clemente Aquino of Spokane and daughters Maria (Jonathan) Garcia of Seattle and Angela (Edward) Narte of Tukwila; brothers Pablo Aquino, Floren Aquino, and Eddie Aquino of Seattle and Robert Aquino of Houston; sisters Eugenia Tubelleza, Fausta A. Evangelista, and Romana Marquez all of the Philippines and Cristina Ramos of Chicago and and Terry Lockwood of Federal Way; three granddaughters; four grandsons, seven nieces and 17 nephews.
The rosary will be said at 6:30 p.m. March 11 at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, with a Mass of Christian burial at the church at 10 a.m. March 12. Burial will be at Seabold cemetery, with a reception to follow at the Masonic Temple, 1299 Grow Avenue.
Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home.
Walganski, Susan Kay Friday, 04 Mar 2005
Susan Kay Walganski, age 66, of Bainbridge Island died March 4 at Auburn Health and Rehabilitation in Auburn.
She was born March 19, 1938, in Hoquiam to James and Georgia Walganski.
After earning an associate’s degree in accounting, Susan put her skills to work in some interesting jobs in unusual locations. During her career, she worked in the Alaska bush and also at the North Pole.
She also loved her work as an accountant on various fishing processing ships in the Alaskan waters. She devoted her retirement years to her grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents James and Georgia Walganski and her sister Barbara Halvorsen.
She is survived by brother Mike Walganski, Christ Church New Zealand; and son, Jack Walganski, Alaska. She is also survived by daughter Kelly Springer and grandchildren Alexis Springer and Eric Joiner of Burien, and daughter Colleen Brook; granddaughter Andrea Evers and great grandchildren Addison and Avery of Webberville, Mich.
At her request, no services will be held. Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.
