Island Guardian

Wednesday, September 30th

Mary Elizabeth Keith

May 5, 1945 - September 26, 2009

Mary Elizabeth Keith, 64, passed away on September 26, 2009, in Bellingham, Washington. Mary was born May 5, 1945, in Twin Falls, Idaho to Charles and Thelma Nanz.

After graduating from Twin Falls High School, Mary attended Boise Junior College, now known as Boise State University. She married Doren Keith and they had a son named David. After living in Twin Falls and Seattle for a several years, they moved to San Juan Island in 1978. Mary worked at the San Juan County Assessor's Office and later for the Town of Friday Harbor.

Mary enjoyed participating in the San Juan Community Theatre. Whether as an actress, stagehand, or running lights she enjoyed every moment and the wonderful friendships that developed. She also enjoyed singing with the San Juan Singers.

In recent years, she began water coloring and participating with other artists at the Senior Citizens Center. Mary was a long time, faithful member of the Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church. She was the newsletter editor and served the Lord in many ways in the life of the congregation. She is survived by her son, David Keith of Spokane, WA, and her sister, Gerry Draper, in Nampa, ID.

All will miss Mary’s tender heart and her love for her friends, family, and life.

A memorial service was held Tuesday, September 29, at the Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church. Memorials may be sent to the church In Memory of Mary Keith.

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Friday, September 25th

Patricia Josephine (McHugh) Branstetter

August 31, 1921 - September 8, 2009

Patricia Josephine (McHugh) Branstetter died at home in Friday Harbor on September 8, 2009, surrounded by the love of her four children. She was 88 years old. Patricia, known to her family and close friends as Tricia, was born in Seattle on August 31, 1921. Her parents were Frank and Marion (Manca) McHugh.

Patricia’s grandfather, Patrick McHugh owned the P.J. McHugh Paving and Construction Co. and was selected to construct the first paved section of Snoqualmie Pass. He also paved many of the city’s earliest streets including a portion of the Denny Hill re-grade, Montlake Boulevard and Madison Avenue. Her father continued in the family business, completing the paving of Snoqualmie Pass in the middle of the 1930’s. Her mother was the daughter of restaurateur, Victor Manca, who owned the Seattle landmark, Manca’s Café, which operated in the city’s business district from 1898 until the late 1950’s.

Patricia attended the University of Washington and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. During WWII, she met the great love of her life, Richard “Dick” Branstetter, also of Seattle, and married him in 1944. Together they had four children and numerous dogs. She was a dedicated wife and mother and took great pride in her work as a homemaker.

Tricia loved life and lived it with spirited vigor, a sense of adventure and elegance. She was an avid bridge player, a master gardener, a dedicated volunteer, an expert crossword puzzler (Sunday NY Times), a true movie buff, a music lover, a voracious reader and a fabulous cook. She possessed a sharp, inquisitive mind and was commonly heard to say, “Let’s look it up” if an answer to a question was not readily available. She was forthright in her opinions and truly curious about the opinions and ideas of others. She was a unique individual, possessed of style, taste and a surprisingly earthy sense of humor. Her favorite toast, coined in the last months of her life, was a hearty, “Carry on!”

She is survived by her sister, Sharon Knowles; and her children Michael Branstetter, Marion Melville (Doug Bison), Chuck (Julie) Branstetter and Manca (Kjell) Valum; nine grand children, two great-grandchildren; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings Frank McHugh, Helen Olcott, Jane McHugh, Patrick McHugh; and her husband.

A celebration of her life will be held at 11:00 on October 17, 2009 at the San Juan Island Yacht Club. Lunch will be served and memories shared. Memorials may be made to Skagit Hospice and Hospice San Juan. You may share your thoughts and memories in the online guest book for Patricia at www.molesfuneralhome.com

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Monday, September 7th

Inge Elly Eiriksson Schepler Johnson

May 13, 1920 - August 31, 2009

Inge Elly Johnson was born in Reykjavik Iceland on May 13, 1920 to Halldor and Elly Schepler Eiriksson. She grew up skiing, horseback riding and adventuring with her family with whom she was very close.

Inge moved to Urbana Illinois in the fall of 1942 to attend the University of Illinois. She came by convoy from Iceland to New York due to WWII. Normally she would have been educated in Europe but her father felt she would be safer in the United States.

She travelled to Ballard to spend the 1945 Christmas holidays with Jakobina Johnson’s family. Close family friends. John Leo Johnson had been discharged from the Army Air Corp in November 1945 and had made it back to Ballard and stopped by Jakobina’s for his third Christmas dinner that night (having grown up with her sons) and met a beautiful young woman from Iceland. They fell in love and were engaged in a week.

Inge went back to Urbana and with six months left to graduate, packed up her things and went back to John. They were married March 1, 1946 and were married for over 60 years. As Mom said when Dad passed, “He was a good man and a good man is hard to find. We had many good years together”. They loved and respected each other always.

John and Inge started “Fortune Productions” on Ballard Avenue May 1, 1959 and worked side by side until retiring in 1994 enjoying the community and friendships on Ballard Avenue.

They built their home at 8018 31st Avenue NW in Ballard in 1956 and enjoyed 50 years there raising their family. John & Inge helped start the Icelandic Club of Greater Seattle in 1964. They were very involved in the Icelandic community and received an honor from the Icelandic Club January 25, 2007. Inge spent many hours volunteering at the Nordic Heritage Museum. Something she enjoyed very much.

John & Inge enjoyed raising their family, summering at their cabin on Lake Whatcom, camping trips around the northwest with the family and later together in their camper van even venturing up the Al-Can Highway to Alaska in 1988. The family spent time boating and camping in the San Juan Islands during the 60’s and 70s and in later years John & Inge were frequent visitors to San Juan Island visiting their daughter and grandson and the friends they had here.

She will be remembered as a very sweet, loving woman who enjoyed her family and was devoted to her children and grandchildren. She was preceded in death by two sons, Paul Stephan Johnson and Eric Thor Johnson and her beloved husband John.

She leaves behind her son and daughter-in-law Robert Carl and Shauna Lee Johnson of Ballard, her daughter Ellen Louise Johnson of Friday Harbor, WA, her son Kurt Daniel Johnson of Chelan, WA, her granddaughter Lauren Kristen Johnson of Ballard, grandsons Jacob Robert Johnson of Ballard and John Daniel Johnson of Friday Harbor, her sister Elsa Gudjonsson and brother Carl Eiriksson of Reykjavik, Iceland.

We miss her very much but know that she is with Dad and they are dancing together again. A memorial will be held at the Islands Convalescent Center in Friday Harbor on Saturday September 12th from 2 to 4 pm and again in Seattle at the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard on Saturday, September 19th between 2 and 6 pm.

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