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AnnaMae Cameron
AnnaMae Cameron passed away on June 29, 2001, in Lacey, Wash.
Mrs. Cameron was born July 20, 1903 to Walter and Nell (Owens) Plemons in Blue Grove, Texas. She spent 14 years of her childhood in Okanogan, Wash.
She married Clinton E. Cameron on Jan. 16, 1923 in Vancouver, Wash. Mr. Cameron preceded her in death in 1971. They lived in Lewiston, Idaho, for many years, retiring to Friday Harbor, Wash., in 1960. Mrs. Cameron moved to Olympia, Wash., in 1976.
Mrs. Cameron was active in Job's Daughters, Eastern Star and Daughters of the Nile.
She is survived by three children, Barbara B. Herman of Ferndale, Wash., Patricia A. Mather of Olympia, Wash., and Douglas Cameron of California. Her daughter, Beverly J. Haag, preceded her in death in 1983.
Mrs. Cameron also has 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. She dearly loved her sons-in-law, Bill W. Mather and Bert O. Haag of Olympia.
Mrs. Cameron's ashes will be taken to Valley Cemetery
in Friday Harbor to be placed with her husband. A private memorial service will take place at that time.
Memorial contributions preferred to the Shriners Hospital, 911 W Fifth Ave., Spokane, WA. 99204.
Margaret Colburn
Margaret "Mitch" Colburn died June 28, 2001, in Mount Vernon, Wash.
Mitch was born April 4, 1926, in Dover, Ohio. She followed many pursuits in life. She had been an illustrator, a painter, a puppeteer, a crafter, a folk music teacher and a lover of books, music, art and lively conversation.
A memorial was July 1 at her Friday Harbor residence for the friends that meant so much to her.
Mitch will be dearly missed by her sisters, Betty Chaplin and Annette Reese of Los Angeles, Calif.; her children, Michelle Prossack of Broomall, Pa., and Todd Colburn of New York City, N.Y., as well as her friends here, there and everywhere.
If one desires to make a formal remembrance of Mitch, the family requests a donation in her name to The Lung Association.
Alfred B. Ellis
Alfred B. Ellis, 82, of Friday Harbor, Wash., died Saturday, July 7, 2001, in his home in Friday Harbor.
He was born May 28, 1919, in Butte, Neb., the son of Jesse J. and Bernice (Arno) Ellis. His parents were deceased prior to Al turning 16.
Al completed his high school education in Butte, Neb. He joined the U.S. Navy at age 18, upon which time he served aboard the USS Oklahoma. In 1939, he received an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy from the naval fleet. He graduated with the Class of 1943.
Al served aboard the USS Massachusetts and entered flight training and received his wings in 1945. He served as a lieutenant commander until 1956, at which time he joined Hughes Aircraft in Culver City, Calif., where he worked for 30 years. At the time of retirement, Al moved to Friday Harbor, Wash., where he resided for the past eight years.
He was very active at St. Paul of the Cross Catholic Church in La Mirada, Calif., where he helped produce two records of the local church choir. Al remained active in singing with the Island Chordsmen.
He had been active in sports, placing in the NCAA Eastern Collegiate Championship in gymnastics. He was an avid sports supporter for all the children and young adults on the island.
He was a member of St. Francis Parish, Naval Academy Alumni Association, Tailhook, and Island Chordsmen. Al was the best friend a person could ever ask for, the greatest husband a woman would desire, the greatest dad a child could ever ask for, as well as the best grandfather.
He is survived by his wife, Sheila A. Ellis of Friday Harbor, Wash.; four daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Bob Ayotte of San Dimas, Calif., Cynthia and Dale Johnson of Castana, Iowa., Robin and Tim Garcia of Friday Harbor, Wash., Michele and Lucas Melborne of Friday Harbor, Wash.; son and daughter-in-law, David and Kathy Ellis of Casa Grande, Ariz.; 14 grandchildren, Eli, Katrina, Jennifer, Joshua, David, Jason, Amber, Summer, Joseph, James, Tara, Frank, Michael, Jean; two great-grandchildren, Victor and Cheyanne; brothers and sisters, Leo Ellis of Newhall, Iowa, Grace Halbur of Milwaukee, Wis., Dale Ellis of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., Della Reiser of Homosassa, Fla., and Rose Coe of Homosassa, Fla.
He was preceded in death by his sisters, Florence and Sylvia, and brother, George Ellis.
Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Saturday, July 14, 2001, 11 a.m., in St. Francis Catholic Church in Friday Harbor with burial at St. Francis Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to St. Francis Caring & Sharing, P.O. Box 1489, Friday Harbor, WA. 98250.
Daren Lane Arend
Daren Lane Arend died June 8, 2001 in Spokane, Wash. He was born in Friday Harbor on Aug. 3, 1922 and attended Friday Harbor schools. Prior to World War II, he served in the U.S. Coast Guard and the Merchant Marines.
He married Joyce Distell of North Platte, Neb., where he had three children. Upon her death he moved back to the Northwest and worked in Anacortes. He later married Agnes Anderson of Spokane and raised their five children in Bellevue, where he owned a car sales business. After retirement he made his home in Arizona and while returning from Arizona to the Northwest for the summer he had a fatal stroke.
He was the son of Walt and Edythe Arend, lifelong residents of Friday Harbor, both many years deceased. He is survived by his wife, Agnes Arend, of Florence Ariz.; his three children, Walter Arend of Kirkland, Mike Arend of Bellevue, and Linda Gail Virdell of Bothell; his two stepchildren, Cheryl and Connie; his sister, Sonya Flaherty of Mount Vernon; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial service is July 28, 3 p.m., in Kirkland at Green's Funeral Parlor. Burial to be in San Juan Cemetery.
Harry Meyer developed measles vaccine
Dr. Harry M. Meyer Jr., a co-developer of the first safe and effective vaccine against German measles, died of lymphoma Aug. 19 in the Kenmore home of his stepson. He was 72.
He moved to San Juan Island in 1995, after retiring as assistant U.S. surgeon general and head of drug regulation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Dr. Meyer and Dr. Paul Parkman, a colleague at the National Institutes of Health, reported success in 1966 with the first inexpensive vaccine against rubella and the first test to measure rubella immunity.
Women who contract the viral disease during the first three months of pregnancy risk birth defects or death for the babies. Dr. Meyer’s work was spurred by a 1964 epidemic of German measles that led to an estimated 12.5 million cases in the United States and birth defects in about 20,000 children. By 1988, the number of reported cases dropped to 225; there has been no big epidemic in the country since creation of the vaccine and a later, more potent, vaccine.
In 1961, while serving as chief of the laboratory of viral immunology at NIH, Dr. Meyer headed a team that carried out successful clinical trials in Africa of a vaccine for red measles, or rubeola, developed by Nobel laureate Dr. John F. Enders. That trial, involving eight West African nations and more than a million children, demonstrated the practicality of administering vaccines in remote areas using the then-experimental jet injection gun.
In 1966, Dr. Meyer when on a health care fact-finding mission to Vietnam with John W. Gardner, U.S. secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. He traveled the country in a small plane, visiting the local elders and health care professionals.
When NIH’s Division of Biologic Standards was transferred in 1972 to the FDA and renamed the Bureau of Biologics, Dr. Meyer was named its first director and later directed the FDA’s Center for Drugs and Biologics. He was responsible for oversight on all pharmaceuticals, approval for new medicines and experimental work on vaccines — including hepatitis, pneumonia, meningitis and whopping cough.
He instituted independent panels to review drug labeling and manufacturers’ claims for vaccines and allergens and blood products, and served on expert committees of the World Health Organization. He was a member of a federal AIDS task force during the first five years of that epidemic.
Dr. Meyer retired in 1986 as assistant surgeon general, with the rank of rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service. Until 1993, he was president of the medical research division of American Cyanamid Co. in New York, directing development of pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Meyer, who was known as Hank, was a native of Palestine, Texas, and a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas. It later granted him an honorary doctorate. He received his medical degree from the University of Arkansas and did a residency in pediatrics at the University of North Carolina.
He served in the Army, interning at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and working at its Institute of Research as a virologist. His work included the first clinical trial of a smallpox vaccine administered with the jet injector, a device that later helped eradicate the disease. He also worked at Walter Reed on isolation of the Asian influenza virus.
He joined NIH in 1959 as head of the virus research section in the Division of Biologics Standards.
Dr. Meyer wrote 105 articles and textbook chapters and held patents derived from his research. His honors included Meritorious and Distinguished Service medals of the Public Health Service and awards from national medical societies, colleges and other organizations.
He was a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American Epidemiological Society and other national pediatric, research and medical organizations.
Dr. Meyer considered San Juan Island the ideal place for retirement, attracted like many others by its scenic beauty and the pace of life. He and his wife, Barbara, helped design their dream home overlooking Haro Strait.
His daily island routine included hikes, mushroom collection and identification, wildflower photography, kayaking with the orcas, and hosting family and friends from across the country.
He supported educational and environmental issues on the island, and served on the Board of Directors of the San Juan Nature Institute until illness limited his activities.
Survivors include his wife of 35 years, Barbara Meyer of Friday Harbor, daughter, Dr. Mary Catherine Dundon of Nashville, sons, H. Martin Meyer III of Bellbrook, Ohio, and David W. Meyer of Kensington, Maryland; stepson, Stephen A. Bernheim of Kenmore, Washington; sister, Martha Moore of Conway, Ark.; brother, M. Eugene Meyer of Memphis, Tenn.; and five grandchildren. A memorial service and interment will take place in Conway, Ark., at a later date.
Ruth Illg
Jan. 24, 1920 — Aug. 14, 2001
Ruth Illg, mother, teacher, mentor, artist and activist, passed away in the family home in Seattle on Aug. 14, 2001.
Born Ruth Abbott in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1920, she moved at age 10 to Southern California. She attended the University of California at Berkeley and finished an art education degree at the University of Washington.
She taught art in the Seattle Public Schools and enjoyed designing and making jewelry. She also designed several homes and buildings, including Tundra Women's Coalition, a battered women's shelter in Bethel, Alaska.
She met her husband Paul Illg at the University of California. They raised three children and at the time of his death in 1998, they had been married 53 years.
Paul's appointment to the University of Washington zoology faculty brought them to Seattle and the Friday Harbor Laboratories in 1952. Soon afterward, Ruth found a suitable beach for her babies and she designed the cabin at Illg Beach on San Juan Island where she and Paul entertained scientists from around the world.
A year before his death they donated the property to the San Juan Preservation Trust making stewards for life out of their children, Liz Illg and her partner Janna Gingras of Friday Harbor, Maliki Tara of Maui and Joe Illg of Seattle.
Ruth met death the way she met life, with creativity, determination, humor and courage. Ruth's suggestions for remembrances are: Natural Resources Defense Council, P.O. Box 96048, Washington, D.C. 20077-7488; or the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36104.
Monte Floyd Meyers
A burial service is planned at Valley Cemetery on San Juan Island for Monte Floyd Meyers, who died Aug. 23 in Camas. He was 70.
Funeral is Aug. 30, 11:30 a.m., in First Baptist Church, 4011 81st Place NE, Marysville. Burial will follow.
Mr. Meyers was born June 6, 1931, in Bellingham. He had lived in Marysville and moved to Camas one month before his death.
Mr. Meyers was a member of First Baptist Church of Marysville. The family prefers memorial contributions to First Baptist Church, 4011 81st Place NE, Marysville, WA 98270.
Mr. Meyers is survived by his sister, Melodye Pettersen of Camas; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Nancy J. Smith
Former Friday Harbor resident Nancy J. Smith passed away in her home in Anacortes, surrounded by her children, on Sept. 10, 2001. She was 73.
Nancy was born on March 31, 1928, in Glendale, Calif., to Laura (Pope) and Burl Lugar. She had an older brother, Gordon, who preceded her in death.
While attending Glendale College she met and married Howard C. Smith. They were wed on Dec. 19, 1948 and were married nearly 50 years when Howard passed away in 1998.
In their early marriage they owned a furniture refinishing business. Later, Nancy earned her insurance broker's license and together they operated the N. J. Smith Insurance Co. Both of these businesses were in the San Fernando Valley, Calif., where they lived until summer 1974 when they moved to Friday Harbor, Wash.
Nancy and Howard designed and built their home on San Juan Island Road. After Howard passed away, Nancy moved to Anacortes.
While living in Friday Harbor, Nancy was a founding member of the medical guild and served one year as Worthy Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star, San Juan Chapter 124. She was a wonderful cook and made beautiful quilts.
Survivors include her son, Michael Dean and his wife, Patty, of Bainbridge Island, and their two children, Travis (and his wife, Stephanie) and Anne-Elyse; daughter, Susan Folk and her husband, Todd, of Alpharetta, Ga., and their three daughters, Laura, Katie and Jenna; son, Glenn and his wife, Mary, of University Park, and their two daughters Stefanie and Marissa and his daughter Jennifer DeGraaf; two great-granddaughters; and two sisters-in-law who live in California.
As per Nancy's request, there will be no memorial service. Her children ask that, instead, her friends take a moment to 'recall a fond memory.
Leroy C. Beham
LeRoy C. Beham, 86, of Olympia, Wash., died Sept. 9, 2001, in Evergreen Nursing Center.
He was born Jan. 26, 1915 in Knab (Toledo), Wash., to Ira H. and Alice M. (Johnson) Beham. He grew up and attended school in the Bremerton area. He was a World War II veteran serving in the Merchant Marine.
As a child he sold newspapers on ships at the Bremerton Naval Base. As a teen-ager he moved to Lopez Island where he worked on farms and fished. It was there that he met Dorothy, who he married in Seattle on Oct. 26, 1935.
They moved to Port Gamble and, in January 1936, to Olympia where he worked in lumber and plywood mills. He worked for the Olympia Brewing Co. as an engineer for 32 years.
He was a lifelong member of the Olympia Eagles, a volunteer firefighter and an original member of the O'Bee Credit Union.
Roy and Dorothy left for Lopez Island the day he retired and lived there for more than 20 years.
He is survived by two daughters - Donna Osborn and her husband, Gene, of Salem, Ore., and Christie DeLaVergne and her husband, Terry, of Roy, Wash.
He is also survived by three grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, three nieces and two nephews.
A family graveside service will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, 1 p.m. at Lopez Union Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Catherine Washburn Memorial Association, P.O. Box 309, Lopez Island, WA. 98261, or the American Heart Association.
Jan Jameson, co-author of island book, dies at 51
Jan Jameson, co-author of the book, “You Know You’re An Islander When ...”, died Sept. 13. She was 51.
Her family announced her death Monday. Cause of death was not released, but Jameson had reportedly been in poor health.
Childhood friend Jeanie Rouleau Garrett said she and Jameson came up with the idea for “You Know You’re An Islander When ...” while reminiscing and talking about the uniqueness of island living.
They began collecting thoughts — their own and friends and family’s — such as “You know you’re an islander when you’ve driven every single road on the island, and you still haven’t gone anywhere.”
When they collected 110, they recruited noted artist Sam Connery to illustrate and self-published the book in 1999.
“She was devoted to the history of the islands,” said Carla Higginson, like Rouleau and Jameson a descendant of early pioneers.
Despite poor health, “She always had a positive attitude,” Higginson said. “She was no Pollyanna, but she believed God had something better planned for her.”
Higginson said Jameson was also a devoted mother. “Her son came first.”
Jameson was born Feb. 1, 1950, a descendant of Native Americans that lived on Shaw Island. Her ancestors are buried in a family cemetery on Shaw Island’s Blind Bay.
Jameson wrote her own obituary, family members said, because she was a writer “and she didn’t want it done wrong.”
Jameson wrote:
Told you I wrote my own obituary. It’s not such a horrible task, actually, kind of like looking upon your day’s work as the sun sets and saying “I did that,” whatever that may be.
As I look back upon the panorama of my life I see many good friends, a whole bunch of dumb on my part, but a whole bunch of fun too.
O.K., let’s get down to the facts: I was 60 inches tall (I always wanted to be in the double digits) and I had a few medical problems, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Well, I guess I didn’t handle them very well, did I, or you wouldn’t be reading.
I was this county’s first female deputy, a painter of signs, cab driver, cook, flagger; I basically did whatever it took.
My greatest pride, the very center of this panorama I am imagining is my son, Darren, the best thing to ever happen to me.
Basically, what can a person say? You came, you saw, you did whatever. You are, will forever be, a mote of dust in the great bank balance, it is your kids, they are the future of this planet. How you raise them, treat them, affects every generation they will lead.
We as parents, probably have the biggest challenge of all: trying to benefit Mother Earth and teaching our sons and daughters the same values. I’ve no doubt got a bunch of explaining to do to The Big Guy, but I think you’ll all take comfort in knowing I died with pride and dignity. The only reason I know I did this is because I threatened to come back if anyone didn’t allow it!
I never strayed very far from home because I loved this island, my playground for 50+ years, and my friends who meant so much, the memory of many deceased. I thank you all for so many good years. You can bet I’ll be waiting with a cold beer for ya’!
Jameson is survived by her brothers, Charles, Gerald and Brian Jameson; and by her only son, Darren Jameson.
John C. Jackson
Former San Juan Island resident John C. Jackson died April 13, 2001 in his home in Gilman Hot Springs, Calif. He was 89.
John was born and raised on the family’s homesteaded land in Sunnyside, Wash. He followed his two older sisters, who took teaching jobs in Friday Harbor, and graduated from Friday Harbor High School.
He will be remembered as an entrepreneur who was responsible for many businesses in Friday Harbor and Canada. The businesses he developed: Jackson’s Kippered Salmon, Jackson’s Cannery, San Juan Golf & Country Club, Berton Gold Mines, and Catface Copper. A portion of Jackson’s Beach was donated by the Jackson family.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Merle Jackson; his three sisters, Nellie, Elizabeth and Stella; and one brother, Martin Jackson.
He is survived by his wife, Anne Jackson, of Gilman Hot Springs, Calif.; his children, Terry Jackson and Merna Guard of Friday Harbor; grandchildren, Kathy Pugh, Johnny Jackson, Richard Jackson, Coral Galligan and Toni Guard; and 11 great-grandchildren.
At his request, there will be no memorial service.
