Good Bye, Vivian!

I met Vivian in July 2004; we were on the bus going to the Everett Farmers Market. She was having trouble seeing obstacles in her path due to cataracts, so I guided her past them. Going to the farmers market during the season became our Sunday ritual. Over the years I learned that she self-identified as Coast Salish from the Flathead Reservation, even though she had been sent paperwork a few years earlier saying she was Pend d'Oreilles from the Flathead Reservation. She said she was born Coast Salish & would always be Coast Salish no matter what anyone else said. I was already going to local powwows, so I invited her to go along with me; she gladly accepted. Since they were on the same day, we would do the Seafair Powwow in the morning and the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple Obon in the evening; it was interesting to compare & contrast the protocols for both events. Over the years I met some of Vivian's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, cousins, & friends. We helped her celebrate birthdays & holidays.

March 2013 celebration with Wood family; Amelia is singing over the phone.

March 2016 celebration.

Vivian was an avid gardener. But since she lived in an apartment, all her plants were in containers on her back porch, which faced south. She would water her plants every morning before the sun came up. Besides annual crops like lettuce, tomatoes, peas, & beans, she also had some perennial plants such as rhubarb, asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, & blueberries. In Michigan she did a similar thing with plants in containers.

Peas in Michigan, June 2018.

When her cancer metastasized in late 2016, she declined to do chemotherapy, opting instead for a higher quality of life. She moved to Michigan to live with her daughter Margaret & granddaughter Jess. Kai & I went to visit them in June this year, we stayed for about a week, & had many adventures while there, including visiting Lake Superior, going to the Bruce Crossing farmers market, eating local ice cream, fun with ticks, & Yooper food.

So long, Vivian! It was great knowing you!

03/25/1933 - 07/21/2018