Obituaries

Age 87, passed away surrounded by family members on October 18, 2007 as a gentle gust of wind came through an open window and carried her up to heaven.

A Memorial Service was held this past Saturday, October 27, at Alki Congregational Church in West Seattle.

Laurene was born April 23, 1920, in Bath, S.D. where she graduated from Bath School in 1938. She met her first husband, Leslie Mullis (from Cardiff, Wales) while living with her sister in Seattle. They married and raised their 6 children primarily in the Seattle area.

Age 87, resident of West Seattle for 54 years, passed on from this life October 24th. She was born in Columbia, Missouri; graduated Hickman High School, Columbia, Missouri; University of Missouri, with a B. A. Business and Public Administration degree. She married her college sweetheart Bill Case on July 26, 1941. They lived in New Jersey from 1940 to 1947 where she was diagnosed with colitis. They lived in Denver Colorado from 1947 to 1953 where she contracted polio; they moved to West Seattle in 1953.

Joan I. Buck, 75, of Seattle, died Saturday, October 13th at age 75. The mother of 10 is survived by her beloved husband, Carl.

She died from complications of multiple sclerosis.

While suffering from the debilitating disease for almost 50 years and bed-ridden for the last 25, Joan was an inspiration to hundreds of friends and thousands of others who suffer from M.S. It was often stated that visitors didn't come to visit Joan Braseth Buck to make her feel better, but instead visited her so they could better understand how they should live their own lives.

Wyvona M. "Vi" Bills, age 78, died on October 15, 2007, after a brief illness following a fire at the family home.

Born in Withee, Wisconsin, on November 18, 1928, she moved to the Seattle area at the age of 18. Vi worked as the playground teacher at Gregory Heights Elementary School for many years before owning and operating the His and Her Hair Center in Old Burien, where her daughter Kandie works to this day.

She enjoyed many interests, including sewing, gardening, cooking, and babysitting her grandchildren.

Lucille D. Denning (Lou), age 88, passed away on October 11, 2007, at her home in Des Moines. A long time resident of Des Moines, she lived 45 years on North Hill, 35 of those years with her husband, Don, who preceded her in death.

She was born in Parker, Colorado, on January 20, 1919, and moved to Washington in her early years. She lived in the Yakima Valley until 1956, when she moved to Renton and then to Des Moines.

She loved to garden, grew beautiful flowers and tasty vegetables, and made the best strawberry jam.

Age 78, died on October 15, 2007, after a brief illness following a fire at the family home. Born in Withee, Wisconsin, on November 18, 1928, she moved to the Seattle area at the age of 18. Vi worked as the playground teacher at Gregory Heights Elementary School for many years before owning and operating the His and Her Hair Center in Old Burien, where her daughter Kandie works to this day.

She enjoyed many interests, including sewing, gardening, cooking, and babysitting her grandchildren.

Frank Yellam Sr., age 85, of Burien, died suddenly and peacefully on October 10 at home. He was born to Italian immigrants, Domenic and Florence (Fabbio) Yellam, in Seattle where he lived his entire life. He graduated from Cleveland High School in 1940. He was very active in sports-soccer, floor hockey, softball, basketball and football.

Jane Zimmerman passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, October 5, 2007. Jane was born in Roselle, New Jersey, on March 27, 1921. She completed her studies in elementary education at Columbia University in Ohio.

After marrying Michael E. Zimmerman, the couple moved to Normandy Park and raised two children, Lorrie and Drew.

She was a resident of Huntington Park in Des Moines.

She is survived by her son Drew, daughter-in-law Priscilla and two grandchildren, Michael and Jessie.

Age 78, died on October 15, 2007, after a brief illness following a fire at the family home. Born in Withee, Wisconsin, on November 18, 1928, she moved to the Seattle area at the age of 18. Vi worked as the playground teacher at Gregory Heights Elementary School for many years before owning and operating the His and Her Hair Center in Old Burien, where her daughter Kandie works to this day.

She enjoyed many interests, including sewing, gardening, cooking, and babysitting her grandchildren.

Growing up on Long Island, New York, Bill developed a love of family, science, sports, music and humor that endured through his entire life and enriched all who knew him. He studied physics at MIT where he rowed crew and excelled in violin, becoming the concertmaster of the MIT orchestra. Then he went on to UC Berkeley to get his Ph.D. in Physics and play rugby for "Cal."

While diving at the UC Pool, he met Betty, his wife of 45 years. They moved to Normandy Park to start a family while he enjoyed a 30-plus-year career in nuclear physics at the Boeing Company.