An owl family has taken up residence at Abbey View Cemetery in Brier. Our reception staff were walking the grounds one day and came across a mother and her owlets enjoying the shade on a hot, sunny day. As the weather gets nicer, more wildlife are making appearances and enjoying the quiet habitat our grounds offer. 

The official flower of National Grandparents Day is the Forget-Me-Not. Adopted in 1999, it is a spring blooming flower that encourages us to pursue lasting memories between generations while also serving as a somber reminder that the time to do so is limited. In honor of this, Evergreen Washelli is offering free Forget-Me-Not seed packets. Please visit our main office at our Seattle location any time between 9am and 5pm on Sunday, September 8th to receive a seed packet and plant some beautiful flowers in honor of your grandparents.

“This morning I got a call from Paul, who was out on the grounds.  He asked me to look out of the columbarium window towards the lake.  I didn’t see anything except Paul who was crouched low to the ground staring at the lake .  Then he told me he was looking at a deer.  I slammed the phone shut, grabbed the camera, turned the phone over (sorry, Ellen) and ran outside! We were blessed to watch him for about 5 minutes. As the deer began to walk away, Paul took the camera and walked around the fence to follow it. I must admit, if I had put my winter boots on before I left the office, I would have gone too, but I really didn’t want to work with mucky lake water over my shoes all day!”

Officer Charles O. Legate is found murdered on March 17, 1922.

 On March 17, 1922, Officer Charles O. Legate (1872-1922) is found murdered in a locked garage on his beat near 12th Avenue and Jackson Street. At first, the death is ruled a suicide, but is later discovered to be murder.

In the early morning hours of March 17, Legate went missing from his beat. Officers went to a garage where Legate kept his car and found him inside with the doors locked. He was dead with two gunshot wounds and a gash to his head. His revolver was found nearby with two rounds fired.

The suspects involved had manipulated the crime scene; leading detectives to originally believe his death was a suicide. Evidence later convinced investigators that Officer Charles O. Legate was murdered determined because the wounds to his head were later found to have come from a different gun.

Four years later, Police Chief William B. Severyns, who was appointed to clean up the Seattle Police Department after Legate’s death, wrote in a series of articles in the Seattle Union Record, “It was something in the inner workings of the tenderloin that brought Legate’s murder ….[It might have been] a quarrel over the division of spoils. There had been hard feelings between Legate, other policemen, and other underworld characters, and … Legate had threatened to squeal. One of two men, or both, did the shooting. One of these men was a policeman. The other was an underworld character, a dealer in liquor and dope” (Victor, 167).

I’ll Celebrate Instead of Cry

                                               by Kelly Roper

Another Mother’s Day is here,
And I still miss having you near.
You were the best mom you could be,
And I never once doubted your love for me.

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Locations in Seattle, Bothell & Brier WA

Seattle WA

Cremation • Funeral Home • Memorial Park • Cemetery

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11111 Aurora Ave. North
Seattle, WA 98133
Phone: 206-362-5200
Toll Free: 1-800-755-1350
Fax: 206-365-0682

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Hours

Bothell WA

Cremation • Funeral Home

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18224 103rd Ave NE
Bothell, WA 98011
Phone: 425-486-1281
Fax: 425-489-1556

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Hours

Brier WA

Abbey View Memorial Park and Cemetery

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3601 Alaska Road
Brier, WA 98036
Phone: 425-483-0555
Fax: 425-489-8977

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Hours

The “Doughboy” statue was given as a gift to the Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery at Washelli, as a dedication to all that have served. The “Doughboy” depicts a young soldier as “just returning from a victory- with a grim smile on his face”. The statue holds the cremated remains of veterans and their spouses. Needless to say, this is a treasured and loved statue to many, especially veterans because of what the statue represents; those who have made it home from service, and those who did not have the chance to return.

When the Purple Heart Medal was left upon the foot of the “Doughboy” statue anonymously, it was clear that it was left in a manner of respect for the Veterans and those who currently serve in the military. Although this was understood, we are still left one to ponder what the thought process might have been behind leaving this medal here, and why it was left anonymously?  Perhaps the person who left the medal had previously earned it in the line of duty, and was ready to share it with others. Perhaps the medal had been passed down to them, and they thought that it should be with those who deserved it- such as the fallen soldiers in our Veterans Cemetery. Maybe there are cremated remains of someone in the statue who the person believed deserved the medal. Maybe the person left the medal anonymously because they simply wanted to honor the veterans as a whole?  The mind is truly left to wonder, what the true meaning behind this gesture was, because there could be so many possibilities and explanations.

Although it might never be possible for us to fully understand this gesture without knowing who left this medal, we can say that this medal is something that we will treasure and display in our Funeral Home for time to come. There have been anonymous items left in the past that Evergreen-Washelli has speculated as to what the significance is, and what it means to the individual who left it. Because there are so many stories and people, it is an interesting and fun thought thinking you will truly never know what you could find.

This is a closed event, but if you would like to find out more information about this event and what you can do to help please contact Brenda Spicer at Bspicer@washelli.com.