PATRICIA B. LINDSAY
My mother. Words cannot describe how I feel about her. She was one of those rare people who never sat in judgement of anyone. Compassion and charity were defined by her. She was my best friend and I will always miss her.
See below for the text from her memorial - and please forgive the writing - I was a wreck.
Pat Lindsay, December 23, 1933 - April 29, 2007
On a beautiful spring morning, Sunday, April 29, 2007, Patricia Belle Lindsay left her family and friends unexpectedly. We will always remember her tremendous love, compassion, and spirit for life. no day will pass without thoughts of her.
Born in the dead of winter in Sherbourne County, Minnesota on December 23, 1933, to Effie and Ernie Edson, she weighed in at a scant two pounds that would forever be a contradiction to the willowy 5’10” height she attained in adulthood. Her first crib was a shoe box tucked among the blankets in Effie’s linen drawer. Pat was the second of six children, preceded in death by her older brother, Eugene, who passed away before her birth.
During The Great Depression, the Edsons left the family farm in Minnesota and headed west to Seattle where Ernie found work in the shipyards and Effie tended to the family. Pat grew up with her siblings in Seattle and attended Ballard High School where she me Lawrence Shomler and, much to the chagrin of her father, eloped to and air force base in Louisiana.
Larry and Pat had two children, Patricia and Michael, before the military stationed them in Rabat, Morocco, where their third child was conceived. Shortly thereafter, Mark was born in Tripoli, Libya. We all remember stories of lemon pies made from the lemon trees in Mom’s yard and her house-boy, Hejup. Flash-flood rainstorms, spitting camels, and black cloaked burka-clad women all come to mind when recalling her tales of life in the desert. Pat enjoyed those few years they lived in Africa and brought her passion for international foods and joy of cooking home to The United States.
When they returned to Seattle, Pat and Larry made their home in a stucco two-story rental in Ballard. Their three children enjoyed hours of climbing the backyard fruit trees to spy over neighboring fences while harvesting apples, pears, figs, and plums under the guise of helping their mother make fruit compote or jam. Always an excellent cook, she created delicious meals and desserts on a shoestring budget.
In 1963, Larry and Pat welcomed a forth child, Matthew, to their brood. Their fifth child, Michelle, made a surprise entrance in December of 1964. This was a challenging chapter in her life, but as always, Pat overcame any obstacle that she encountered.
In 1966, Pat and her five children moved from Seattle to Brewster, Washington, where Ernie and Effie owned an orchard and a home where Pat and the kids could reside. it was a bit cramped with six people in that two bedroom house, but happy Friday night popcorn feasts in front of the television with cold root beer floats out shone the line a the bathroom door.
An eternal gardener, Pat planted and cultivated a glorious vegetable garden and tended fruit trees. She hunted and fished, raised rabbits, chickens, and pigs, and canned every fall. In the evenings, she stitched and sewed at her trusty Necchi machine, cranking out dresses for her daughters an shirts for her sons. She took her children to church every Sunday and took them firewood cutting with Effie and Ernie every fall (a religious experience for many). After taking extension courses from Wenatchee Valley College, she worked as a bookkeeper for Bud and Lucy Shull at Caribou Campers and for Verle Smith at the Brewster Veterinary Clinic.
Patty graduated from Brewster High School, Cum Laude, and to Pat’s enormous pride, continued her ecucation at Western Washington State College where whe graduated with a teaching degree. A few years later, Michael blessed her with her first grandchild, Christopher. Mark embarked on his Alaskan adventure in 1975. Only Matt and Michelle remained at home.
After many lonely years as a single mother, Pat was surprised when a dashing and persistent man visited Caribou Campers for an order and insisted that she accompany him on a date. She said no. Again and again, she said no. She finally said yes to the date with this man in the summer of 1974. William H. Lindsay married Patricia Belle in 1978 and made her the happiest woman alive that year. With Patty, Mike and Mark already grown, they make their home with Matt and Michelle in a chalet style a-frame beneath the shadows of Goat Wall in Mazama, Washington. Countless tales of adventure under the snowy pine bows and rattlesnake riddle forest floors of Methow summers are remembered and recounted by them to this day .
And so, after a long and adventurous career in the merchant marines, Bill decided to fulfill the promise he made to his father and return to college for a degree. With the purchase of fifty acres and plans for their new place, they moved to a sparse, sprawling plane overlooking the valley floor. They dubbed it “Windy Ridge.” Their new home served perfectly as the “Hotel Lindsay” for any friend or family traveling that way and wall were greeted by Pat’s joyous hospitality. As always, she had a huge garden, this time, well shielded from the wind by sheets of plywood and guarded from the deer by rabbit wire.
Both of them enrolled in Central Washington University until Bill finally completed his bachelors degree. With his encouragement, Pat had excelled at coursework in finance and literature. They made many friends and continued to spend their leisure time hiking, cross country skiing and traveling. During this time, Bill’s daughter, Sara, found him and forged a family connection. In her typical style, Pat embraced Sara and adopted her as one of her own.
The heavy winters grown tiresome, it was with a sad heart that Pat and Bill decided that they should move from Windy Ridge to a more practical place. They found that in a cute little cottage, complete with a protected garden spot, tucked among the cedars and hydrangeas in the Fawn Lake community of the outskirts of Shelton, Washington. They quickly made numerous friends and frequently joined them for coffee and cookies at the clubhouse after walks around the lake.
He called her his “Viking Princess.” he was the love of her life. Together they hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, cross-country skied, snow-shoed, traveled from the Alaskan glaciers to the Panama Canal by ship, saw New York City, the Mediterranean, Mexico, Hawaii, England and Scotland. All who knew them were envious of the love they shared.
