Penelope Haaland

Penelope Heather Haaland passed peacefully from this world on December 26th, 2021. Penni was born to Constance and MacPherson Davidson in New Westminster, British Columbia on September 24th, 1949 and grew up across the lower mainland of BC with her sisters, Judy and Jennifer, and the Vilvang cousins. Penni adventured across the border one fateful evening in 1972 and encountered for the first time a resoundingly overserved Don Haaland at The Iron Bull bar in Bellingham, WA. That evening set in motion a marriage that would lovingly endure for more than 50 years and result in her only child, Kimberley Haaland Lund. Together with Don, Kim, and friends from near and far, Penni landed many a trout over the years between Ruby Lake and the Spatsizi Wilderness. The fond memories of late nights around the campfire at Silver Lake will endure forever. An unwavering champion of the underdog and a hater of overly loud music, Penni was an ace cribbage and blackjack player and was generally known to be an exceptionally poor loser at monopoly. During the 80’s she was a competitive racquetball player throughout the Pacific Northwest region and was a devoted volunteer at the Crisis Center, compassionately helping others to navigate some of their worst moments. While she couldn’t read a paper map to save her life, she was an adroit online investor, with a particular knack for emerging tech. She was an avid Seattle sports fan up until her last days and more than once expressed a great personal relief that she wouldn’t have to live through another presidential election cycle and the existential threats to our planet and our republic of a second Trump presidency. She is survived by Don, her beloved Bernese Mountain Dogs Maizzy and Oliver, her daughter Kim and husband Worm, grandchildren Gunnar and Campbell, and her sister Jennifer. While Penni was all of the things aforementioned and so much more, she was above all else an irreplaceable wife, mother, and grandmother whose love for us was boundless. Our lives have been immeasurably shaped for the better because of her. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Penni’s name to Whatcom Hospice to whom the family feels a deep sense of gratitude for lovingly stewarding us through these final weeks.

Penelope Haaland

September 24, 1949 - December 26, 2021