Thomas Martin Smythe passed away early morning Jan. 6, 2010 after a courageous fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 42.
Mary Jane Leche, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and sister, died at her home in Friday Harbor, Wash. on Jan. 5, 2010. She was 80. In memory and thanksgiving for the life of Mary Jane, a Requiem Eucharist will be celebrated Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010 at 2 p.m. at St. David’s Episcopal Church, Friday Harbor. Graveside service will be conducted at Breidablik Cemetery in Poulsbo.
Gary J. McKay Sr. was born on Jan. 2, 1936 in Friday Harbor, Wash., and passed away on Jan. 4, 2010 in Bellingham, Wash. He was 74. Gary was the great-grandson of Charles McKay, who first raised the U.S. flag on San Juan Island after British troops left in 1872.
Mallory Dahlquist, a sophomore at Friday Harbor High School, modeled teen fashions on Fox TV Channel 12 in Portland during Christmas break. Mallory is the daughter of Annette Crosby of Friday Harbor and Garrick Dahlquist of Beaverton, Ore.; and the granddaughter of David and Mary Ann Anderson of San Juan Island.
As of Tuesday, Elijah Enochs is believed to be in the lead in the race to be the first baby of 2010 born to San Juan County parents. Elijah, the son of Lindsay Johnson and Justin Enochs of Wold Road on San Juan Island, is due Jan. 20 at Islands Hospital in Anacortes. Melinda Milligan of Eastsound is midwife.
Pirates. Pixie dust. A perpetually-young boy who refuses to grow up … oh, and an alligator that ticks. Add ’em up and it can mean only one thing. The Friday Harbor High School Drama Group is ready to fly … literally. You’ll see cast members soar and the fantastical world of Neverland recreated on center stage at the San Juan Community Theater as Fred Yockers and his band of young thespians bring to life all the whimsy and delight of Scottish playwright J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s tale, “Peter Pan, or The Boy who Wouldn’t Grow Up.”
It doesn’t always turn out this way. But a childhood dream, when fulfilled, sometimes ends up being better than one could’ve imagined. Just ask Jason Sears. “It surpassed my expectations on every single level,” said Sears, whose boyhood dream became reality at the doorstep of the world’s tallest peaks in mid-October.
On Jan. 3, sculptor Matthew Gray Palmer invites the public to an open house to view his latest public commission. Entitled “All Things Within All Things,” the piece is a life-sized African elephant entirely composed of delicate, plasma butterflies. This is the only chance to see the sculpture before it is shipped to the East Coast for installation at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.
A public reception is scheduled Jan. 2, 5-8 p.m. in the San Juan Community Theatre lobby for a new show, “New Work New Ways,” with paintings by Annie Howell-Adams created over the past year. The show celebrates her induction into the Arts Student League of New York.
This is one party where you can do your Sinatra imitation without embarrassing your kids. Celebrate 2010 with family, friends and neighbors at the Community New Year’s Eve Party, Dec. 31, 7-9 p.m., at Mullis Community Senior Center.
Friday Harbor is a town of hidden Santas. They are not identifiable by red suits or white beards, but they are here nonetheless. The Santa who stood in the Thrift House on Dec. 3, for example, was a Red Sox fan and drove a pickup truck. And his name was John, not Nick. “Are you looking for toys”? John Bostrom, supervisor for the Leo Club and chief facilitator of the Santa Ship, looked up. “You bet,” he smiled.
Children and their parents packed the San Juan Island Grange Saturday for “Christmas Island,” three hours of Christmas cookies, face painting, picture coloring, and pictures with St. Nick.
The San Juan Singers present a choral concert Saturday, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, 2 p.m., at the San Juan Community Theatre. Featured this winter is John Rutter’s extended work, “Magnificat.” Directing will be Yariv Aloni of the Victoria Chamber Orchestra.
