Obituary

After an adventurous 95 years and 349 days, Bobbe is now reunited with her beloved husband Tom, her son Robert, and her daughter Lanne in God’s Kingdom. She gently passed on with her family around her at the Whatcom Hospice House in Bellingham. While we mourn her absence from this earthly plane, we celebrate her lifelong devotion to her family, her friends and all whom she met. Her open heart, always ready with a story, a smile and a laugh will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her. Of her 4 children (Lanne, Robert, Dennis, and KC) both Lanne and Robert preceded her in death. With their wives and husbands, she was gifted 16 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.

Bobbe was especially devoted to her family and was a wonderful Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Great-Great-Grandmother. She was open to everyone, including a wonderfully diverse family which included, among others, Native American, Hispanic, Panamanian, Filipino, Japanese and, of course, American relations. She often referred to herself as a “Christian Baha’i” and attended a variety of religious services if invited. She felt at home just about anywhere.

Bobbe was a wonderful swimmer with one of the smoothest strokes we have ever seen. While in Saudi Arabia she acted as lifeguard for the women’s swimming pool. While Bobbe did not work outside the home, she was very busy being a homemaker and an avid gardener. She attended every sporting and school event that her children participated in. One summer she and her husband traveled, by bicycle, down the entire Oregon coast, from border to border, with members of her family and most of her grandchildren. She also volunteered at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham once a week for over 15 years totaling over 4,000 hours of service.

Bobbe was a Ferndale resident since 1953. After her children had left the nest, she and her husband Tom embarked on their great adventure together, living in Saudi Arabia for 5 years. During those years she had taken a river trip down the Nile, gone on Safari in Kenya and slept in the famous Treetops Lodge, cruised the Mediterranean Sea and the Greek Isles, walked on the Great Wall of China, crossed the bridge over the River Kwai, rode a camel in the shadow of the Pyramids in Egypt, and snorkeled in the Red Sea, to name just a few. She had visited Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Greece, Germany, Egypt and more, a true world traveler.

After being in Saudi Arabi, Bobbe fell in love with the desert. So much so that she was an Arizona Snowbird for over twenty years at Gold Canyon, Arizona. She made many more friends from all over the country and spent her time swimming, enjoying the Arizona wildlife and her Arizona family.

Her family would like to thank all of the people at the Whatcom Hospice House for their loving and gentle care of our Mother.

Any who knew Bobbe and wishes to celebrate her life are invited to her memorial service which will be held on Saturday September 14, 2019 at 1pm at the Brigid Collins Family Support Center – 1231 N. Garden St. Bellingham. In lieu of flowers, we request that donations be made to the Whatcom Hospice House in her honor.