Marguerite I. Johnson
A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, March 31, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 121 W. Maple St., Sequim, for Sequim resident Marguerite I. Johnson. The Rev. Victor Olvida is the officiant.
She died March 20, 2011, at the age of 88, and was born Jan. 27, 1923, in Seattle, to Hugh and Birdie Marguerite Carlson.
She married Ronald Johnson in 1998 in Port Angeles. She was a former executive secretary at Green River Community College.
She is survived by her husband, Ronald Johnson; son, John Hovey of Washington; daughters Barbara Maldon of California and Judy Wilson of Washington; and sister Patricia Degerstedt of Washington.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, P.O. Box 202, Seattle, WA 98111-0202.

Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

 

Ralph Eugene Christensen
A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, April 1, at Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel, 108 W. Alder St., for Sequim resident Ralph Eugene Christensen.
Graveside service follows at 1 p.m. at Mount Angeles Memorial Park, 45 S. Monroe Road, Port Angeles. A reception follows.
Mr. Christensen died March 24, 2011 at the age of 81. He was born April 17, 1929 in Viborg, S.D.

Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

 

Jean M. Placek
No service will be held at the request of Jean M. Placek, who died March 23, 2011, at the age of 73.
She was born July 13, 1937, in Spirit Lake, Idaho, to Samuel and Mary Snively Tirnel.
She first was married to Lou Martinez and married George Placek in 1992. She worked for various stockbrokers as operations manager. She was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary and Jazz in the Olympics.
She is survived by her husband; two sons; one sister; three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be sent to a charity of choice.

Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

 

Diana Lynn Jay
A celebration of life was held for former Sequim resident Diana Lynn Jay, who died March 15, 2011, at the age of 61.
She was born June 8, 1949, in Ottumwa, Iowa, to Darryl and Christine Boughman Short.
She graduated from Ottumwa High School in 1967 and married Lowell Jay on June 22, 1968, in Ottumwa.
The Jays owned grocery store businesses in Seattle and Sequim for more than 20 years. During her time on the peninsula, she was a volunteer firefighter and emergency medical technician for the fire district, a real estate agent, a founding member of the Sequim Quilting Club and a mother.
In 1990 she went to work for Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel as an apprentice.
Her health forced the family to move to a drier climate, to Othello in 1998 and later that year to Warden.
She worked part-time at Stevens Funeral Chapel and full-time driving the school bus. She drove the bus up until the time of her death. She was a member of the Port Angeles Unity Church.
She is survived by her mother, Christine, of Kimberly City, Mo., her husband Lowell of Warden, her sons and daughters-in-law Derek and Shauna Jay of Warden and Kyle and Holly Jay of Sequim, three grandsons, and one granddaughter
She was preceded in death by her father and her brother, Steve.  

Stevens Funeral Chapel of Othello was in charge of arrangements.

 

Lawrence Everett Bergeman
A graveside service was held for Sequim resident Lawrence Everett Bergeman, who died March 20, 2011, at the age of 89.
He was born Dec. 9, 1921, in Bradley, S.D., to Frank and Lucinda Cass Bergeman.
His wife, Josephine Bartlette Bergeman, preceded him in death.
He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1941 to September 1962. He worked for and retired from Highline School District.
He is survived by his nephew Larry Jarmon; niece Marie Jarmon; and special friends Ed and Darleen Hako and Gregory Repoff.

Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

 

Carl Peter Tormala
A memorial service was held for Sequim resident Carl Peter Tormala, who died March 19, 2011, at the age of 77.
He was born Jan. 28, 1934, in Portage Entry, Mich., to Arthur August and Alma Josephine Eskelinen Tormala.
He served in the United States Army in Korea from 1956-1958.
He married Carolyn Lois Aho on Dec. 22, 1962, in New Ipswich, N.H. A commercial fisherman, he was a former resident of Michigan and Florida.

He is survived by his wife, Carolyn; sons Dan Tormala of Houston, Texas, and Steve Tormala of Sequim; daughters Joy Tormala of Sequim; Grace Eddins of Lubbock, Texas; and Gloria Tormala of Alhambra, Calif.; 15 grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces.

 

Mildred “Midge” R. Brown
June 10th, 1908 – March 18th, 2011
Grandma-Grandma passed away Friday March 18th, peacefully in her sleep, in Sequim, WA; at the age of 102. She’s survived by her Daughter Elizabeth “Betsy” Brown Cliche, Grandson Curt W. Achberger, his wife Chandra, Great-Granddaughter Abby and Great- Grandson Atlas.

Born in Aberdeen South Dakota, to George W. Rahskopf & Ottilda Runge Rahskopf, her family moved to Oregon while she was quite young. They then moved to Seattle, WA when she was 5 years-old, in 1911. Grandma and her sister Lucille Rahskopf-Graham (7/6/1903-2/28/1987) were active members of their community and were proud of being Washingtonians.  An avid Mariners and Seahawks fan, she rarely missed a televised game. She also spoke of attending some of the last hockey games of The Seattle Metropolitans, in the early 1920s.

Grandma worked for Union Carbide as an executive secretary for 25 years. On Sept. 30th, 1949 she married, Wallace “Wally” M. Brown (6/15/1910-10/15/1980). They bought their home and lived in Magnolia where she lived for 45 years. They raised their daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy”, there. Grandma went on to work as a clerk in the elementary school in Magnolia, until “mandatory” retirement in 1973. Then she volunteered her time to the Seattle Public Schools and many charities throughout the years.

She shared countless great memories of summers spent at the old family cabin in Port Hadlock.  Her travels to many places across the U.S., including a cruise to Alaska before it was a state, left lasting impressions.  We enjoyed her stories of family, boating and her travels, but most of all the changes she experienced in her many years.

Grandma was moved to Sequim along with her daughter Betsy in the Fall of 2006. In February of 2008, the rest of her family moved down from Alaska to help care for both of them; four generations together, ages from 1-102. She reveled in getting to know Abby (who’s very much like her Great-Grandma) and then later at the birth of Atlas. She was looking forward to Atlas’ 2nd birthday; unfortunately, she passed away a few days before.  He was the light of her days, Grandma-Grandma’s “Little Man.”

Her good sense of humor, strong will and feisty spirit will be missed. She’d say, “The problem with the world today is, no one has a sense of humor anymore!”  We love you Grandma-Grandma.

A private family service will be held. As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to:
National MS Society
Greater Northwest Chapter
192 Nickerson Street, Suite 100
Seattle, WA 98109
www.NationalMSsociety.org

 

Gunnar O. Fagerlund
Gunnar O. Fagerlund passed away on March 23rd, 2011. In three weeks he would have been 103. His passing concludes a unique life during a century of momentous events and change. His wife Frances passed away two years ago at age 100. Their partnership was the centerpiece of their lives.

Gunnar was born April 12, 1908, in Perth, North Dakota, to Gilbert and Marie Hammer. When he was five years old his parents died of tuberculosis. Gust and Caroline Fagerlund from Rolla, North Dakota, then adopted him. Both families were immigrants and farmers originating from Norway and Sweden respectively. They began new lives in their adopted country in the late 19th century with farmland deeded thru the Homestead Act.

As a young man he became interested in the natural environment. After high school he went west to attend college at the University of Idaho, Utah State University, and graduate school at the University of Michigan. This was the Great Depression, he was young, and his life included “adventure” as well as education. He “rode the rails” as he traveled the western states; worked with the CCC; traveled 400 miles on horseback thru Idaho across the Sawtooth Mountain Range; worked many odd jobs to earn his way thru college; and, he was attacked by a mother grizzly bear while working a summer job at Yellowstone National Park.

He met Frances Vernon in Logan, Utah. They were married in 1936, after he obtained his first permanent job with the National Park Service at Colonial National Historic Park at Yorktown, Virginia. He then served in Hawaii National Park as Chief Park Naturalist from 1939 to 1947, with the exception of one year at Pearl Harbor as a horticulturist with the Navy. He came to Port Angeles, Washington, in 1947 as the first Chief Park Naturalist for Olympic National Park, where he planned and implemented an interpretive program of talks, guided walks, nature trails, museum exhibits and publications relating to the park. He authored the first National Park Service Handbook in a natural history series. While in Port Angeles he participated in the Community Study as Chairman of the Library Committee, and was later a member of the Clallam County Library Board.

From 1957 thru 1962 he was assigned to the National Park Service Branch of Natural History in Washington D.C., and then to the Western Regional Office in San Francisco, from which he retired in 1965 as Regional Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services.

In 1966, he and Frances returned to their beloved Pacific Northwest. They built a house near Dungeness, traveled, tended their home and forest, went to school, wrote family stories and poetry, continued photography, and welcomed friends and grand-kids. He was a Charter member of the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society and its first president. He received the 1983 Harlequin Achievement Award from the Olympic Peninsula Chapter.

Sons, Jerry and Noel Fagerlund, their wives Liisa and Sue, five grandchildren, and four great- grandchildren survive him. His two sisters, Bertha Lorenze and Gudrin Lorenze Powers, preceded him in death; both lived in California.

Gunnar will be remembered by family and friends for many things…which must include his active and inquisitive mind, an unwavering interest and concern for the natural environment, his integrity, his sense of humor, the stories of his life as recorded in his book “Journeys”, his photography of family and nature, and his precious relationship and life with Frances.

An informal “memorial gathering” will be held on Saturday, April 23rd, 2011, from 2:00 – 5:00 PM at the home of Noel Fagerlund, 334 Hogback Road, Sequim WA [360-683-5690]. Friends and family will be welcomed.

 

James E. Boone
James E. Boone, 85, of Sequim, Washington, passed away on March 18 at his home in Sequim of congestive heart failure.
He was born February 4, 1926, in Fort Ogelthorpe, Georgia, to Colonel Howard A. Boone and Clara L. Boone. Jim grew up on army bases throughout the United States where his father was the post commander. 
Jim joined the Air Force as his two older brothers had done. After discharge from the Air Force, he was accepted at the University of Washington School of Architecture and graduated with his degree in 1951. 
Jim went to work in Seattle for the Alaska District, Corps of Engineers in 1952.   He met Rachel R. Thompson while working there and they were married in February of 1954.   They spent most of their married life living in Bellevue, Washington.   
Jim worked at several different architectural firms in Seattle, but spent most of his architectural career at Durham, Anderson and Freed Architects, where they designed schools, hospitals, and churches. After 38 years of living in Bellevue, he and his wife retired to Sequim in 1993 and have thoroughly enjoyed living on the Peninsula.  Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Colonel Howard Boone and wife Clara, brothers Howard Alton Boone Jr. And Paul Thomas Boone.
Jim is survived by his wife of 57 years, Rachel, and three children:  Daughter Leda Stewart of Renton and son-in-law Lon, daughter Janis Day of Plains Montana and son-in-law Paul, Gregory Boone of Federal Way and two grandchildren:  Kyle and Kevin Stewart of Renton.
There will be a memorial service for Mr. Boone at St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Sequim on Tuesday, April 5th at 11:00 a.m.  Interment will be at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County,  P.O. Box 2014,      
   Port Angeles, WA 98362.

 

 

Judith Sallee

A remarkable woman of wisdom, who earned enormous respect among all who knew her, passed from this life Thursday March 24, one month before her 80th birthday.

Judith Sallee had lived in Sequim, Wa., since 1997.

Judith Fager Lindley was born April 24, 1931 in Enid, Okla. She met former Peninsula Daily News golf columnist Bill Sallee while both were attending Phillips Theological Seminary in Enid, a liberal arts college and graduate school affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

They were both ordained ministers and performed hundreds of weddings during their years in Texas and Washington.

They wed July 2, 1950, in San Diego, Calif., where Judith played percussion in the San Diego County Symphony and Bill was stationed in the Navy Band of the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet.

During their marriage of more than 60 years, they lived in 10 states, enjoyed travel and were always active community volunteers. A homemaker who made bread weekly throughout her life, she was also a piano teacher, church pianist, substitute teacher and an antiques dealer. As directors of special events for Traders Village flea market in Grand Prairie, TX, the couple planned Oktoberfest, Indian Pow Wow and other celebrations and published the market’s monthly newspaper for almost 20 years.

An elder in the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, she recently donated her 19th-century turquoise and silver jewelry to the collection of the Northwest Coast Indian tribes.

She was a nondenominational Christian who attended various Protestant churches.

Survivors include her husband, Bill; daughter-in-law, Renee DeLaurentis and grandson, Brandon Sallee, both of Arlington, TX.

As noted in Ecclesiastes 1:18, “...with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.” She was preceded in death by her three children, Charles, Rebecca and Paul.

A beloved Scout mentor, grief support group leader and trusted friend, Judith took many younger people under her wings over the years and called them her “other kids.” They include Jim and Sharon Duffey of Toledo, Wa., Carol Cooper of Sequim, Joe Axline of Houston, Tx., Ruthanne Brockway of Lewisville, Tx., and countless wonderful neighbors and longtime friends.

Her ashes will be scattered at her home, lovingly dubbed “Hawk Haven.”

Donations in her memory may be made to Hospice of Clallam County, Salvation Army of Port Angeles, or Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center in Sequim.

Texas friends will gather for a memorial next month in her honor. To send condolences to her grandson, email your memories of this exceptional woman of strength, dignity and grace to bcsallee1980@yahoo.com.