Nikki Fink, 28, of Friday Harbor, Wash., died of cystic fibrosis at University of Washington Medical Center after an extended stay while awaiting a lung transplant.
Graveside service for Nikki Fink is Saturday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m. at St. Francis Cemetery on San Juan Island. The service will be followed by a celebration of life, 4-6 p.m., at Rumor Mill.
As Nikki Fink lay in her hospital bed, her body fighting infection so she could get a life-saving lung transplant, family and friends prayed. They prayed for healing. They prayed for a miracle. The 28-year-old woman died peacefully, on a cool fall Sunday afternoon, surrounded by those who love her. And those in the room realized that their prayer had been answered, long before they ever offered it up.
Kathryn Pinion, a centenarian who worked for the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives during the New Deal, died Thursday morning in her apartment at Village at the Harbour in Friday Harbor. Her daughters were at her side.
Helen Brown died Sept. 25 in Friday Harbor. Helen was born in 1915 in Montana. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, majoring in Music. During college, she met her husband Kenneth, a philosophy teacher at Macalester College.
William (Bill) Carpenter of Lopez Island, Wash. passed away peacefully at his home on Sept. 29, 2010. He was 83. Bill was born in Everett, Wash., and raised on Alki Beach in West Seattle. He graduated from West Seattle High School in 1943 and joined the Merchant Marine, where he served until the end of the war.
Alan Henry “Micky” Minsch 91, passed away in Chehalis, Wash. Alan moved to Friday Harbor after the war. He served in the Navy in the South Pacific. After arriving in Friday Harbor, he met and married school teacher Lois Wehrly. Alan worked for San Juan Ag.
Florence was born in Seattle to William A.H. and Catherine Philo, two immigrants from England. She grew up in Seattle, attending seven different schools as her family moved frequently. Before she met Ralph, she attended school with his niece Charlotte and they became lifelong friends.
Bill Hamel, born Oct. 18, 1936, passed away Oct. 5, 2010 in Ellensburg, Wash., while traveling to Arizona. He was born in Plattsburgh, N.Y. and moved to Orcas Island with his wife in 1985. He came to the Pacific Northwest through his employment with Boeing.
Twila May Stephens passed early Sunday, Sept. 19 at her home in Friday Harbor. She was 66. Twila migrated to the island shortly after her mother Sidonia Barker moved here in 1986. Twila was a jack of all trades, capable of fixing almost anything, in the most innovative ways. She loved anything Indian and was especially gifted at carving.
William James Wagner, of Friday Harbor, Wash., formerly of North Platte, Neb., died Aug. 12, 2010. Bill was born on Dec. 25, 1937, in Carroll, to William and Florence Wagner. He resided in Wayne during his childhood, graduated from Wayne High School in 1955 and attended Wayne State College.
Mark Miller was born Aug. 18, 1923 to Mark and Elizabeth Miller in Portland, Ore. He grew up in Medford. After a year of college at Oregon State University, he joined the Army Air Corps where he became a bombardier, flying B-17s out of England. He flew 25 missions as a member of the Eighth Air Force. When he returned in 1945, he continued his schooling, graduating from OSU in Engineering.
Clifford Elmer Rouleau, born May 21, 1928, died Sept. 6, 2010 in Harbor City, Calif. He was born in Friday Harbor, Wash., and spent his early years on San Juan and Orcas islands, also Maple Falls, Wash., and Mount Baker Highway.
