December 15, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Duffy named December hospital employee of month
Registered nurse has worked ployee at MGH passion and care with patients."
& FC, I truly Duffy was born in Hong Kong
atMason General for 6 years appreciate the and received her U.S. citizenship
support from thein 1975.
Jenny Duffy, a registered administration She earned her bachelor's de-
nurse with a bachelor of science that provides megree in nursing from the Univer-
degree in nursing, works in the the opportunity sity of Phoenix, Ariz.
Emergency DepartmentatMason for growth and "This had been my ultimate
General Hospital, and has been improvement. I goal, and it has fulfilled me in
selected as Mason GeneralHospi- am grateful to manyways," she said.
tal & Family of Clinics' December Jenny those who helpedDuffy has a son and daughter-
Employee of the Month. She has Duffy me achieve this in-law who are staff members in
worked at the Hospital for the award, which I genetic research studies at the
past six years, accept with grat- Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
"Receiving this award gives me itude and honor. I am proud to be She also has two granddaugh-
a feeling of validation for all the a team member of this organiza- ters, ages 6 and 8. She and her
long hours put in and the train- tion." husband, Richard, a retired archi-
ing it took to become a registered Duffy's nominator added, "She tect, enjoy travel, outdoor adven-
nurse," Duffy said after receiv- is outstanding (as a nurse). I have tures, photography, and motorcy-
ing her award. "Being an em- never known a nurse with her com- cling.
rO
Dad could giggle like a little kid and spoke fluent Pig Latin.
Not that facts ever interfered with his spinning a good story, at
95, Don Wiss had the uncanny ability to remember how much
fuel he had left in 1952 while flying over New Foundland. A
lifer and Commander, a Navy pilot, he survived WWII and
hundreds of accidents-in-waiting during his near-30 year
career flying every plane that existed, though his favorite was
the B-24. He loved to fly and was happy to have the USN pay
him to do what gladly, he would have done for free. His only
regret? Having been away from my mother and me for long
stints during their marriage and my early childhood. Malta,
Northern Africa, Argentina, New Foundland, Greenland,
Iceland, the Mediterranean. His flying career was interrupted
while we lived in Coronado when he spent two years serving
as the navigator of an aircraft carrier in the Asian Pacific,
trading his familiar place in the cockpit for around-the-clock-
duty on the Captain's bridge of old #20, the Bennington.
Whatever his post, his peers called him, "cool under pressure."
Shelton born, in the summer of 1916 to Lantz Wiss, a
Swedish gypo logger and Scots Irish Esther Huston, known for her home cooking and a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and the Ohio
Conservatory of Music, Don was the oldest of three. David, younger by eighteen months, was his pal and partner in crime. Little sister, Phoebe,
barely survived the wiles of her two older brothers. Born Lantz, Don was named after his dad, but Mother Wiss changed it early on after having a
tiff with Grandpa! The family lived all over the Shelton area, up and down the bay from Pickering to logging sites out Lilliwaup way, from Arcadia
to Agate and all around town. At four, Don spotted his first airplane flying over Hog Island, now the Olympia Yacht Club, the Pickering family home
at the time. It was love at first sight. By sixteen he had learned to fly with more or less a hundred hours under his belt. While studying electrical and
aeronautical engineering at the U of W, he rowed crew under A1 Ulbrickson, famous coach for the Olympic rowing champions of 1936. He joined
the Navy and shipped out to Pensacola in 1940 for flight training with a rank somewhere between chief petty officer and ensign.
Shortly later, Don happened upon Mace, the love of his life, on a blind date, while stationed at Corpus Christi, Texas. He impressed her by taking
her frogging. They married in the entryway of her mother's Buford Street house, and set out on their lifetime adventure with frequent, short-term
deployments to places like New York's Floyd Bennett Field, Patuxent River, Maryland, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, Eagle Mountain Lake, T~xas,
something-or-other, Oklahoma, t(op secret--twelve homes in three years.
The plan was to have three o1" fomr kids, but after eight years of trying, they realized it wouldn't bE that easy. After visits to specialists and
considering adoption, the good news came that Mace was pregnant after all--a bit of a miracle. So important to them that they have this baby, they
decided to move into separate bedrooms until I was born, so as not to disturb the little rascal. I was born in Pensacola, Florida where Dad had been
re-stationed, and was teaching at the same flight school where he had been trained. Despite continued efforts and no complaints from Dad, no more
children were conceived.
He was a playful dad and took lots of pictures, developing them in the bathtub. We have many shots of him being goofy. Though we really didn't
get to know each other until the Navy quit sending him all over the world, he made a huge impression on me as he was thoughtful about parenting
and took his role seriously. For instance, he deliberately refrained from passing onto me any of his prejudices. He was gentle and open, while at the
same time, perfectly capable of instigating unconventional arguments just for the fun of sparring.
From then on, deployments came at lengthier intervals, meaning we could stay in each place at least two years. Barber's Point, Hawaii 1957--58
when Hawaii became a state, Alameda, California across the bay from San Francisco 1958~63, and back to Corpus Christi where the commander
retired in 1968 at the age of fifty-five.
Following a trip to visit Grandpa Wiss in Shelton, my parents decided to settle on the same bayfront land on Hammersley Inlet where my great
grandparents stepped off the boat and squatted in the late 1800s...where my prematurely born Grandpa Lantz had been cast aside for "dead" into a
shoebox of sorts where he later recovered from a harrowing birth. Don and Mace built rustic "Wiss Country" by hand--side by side, they hammered
every nail. Dad loved music and wasn't just a little deaf. When the place was just done enough to live in, he tore out the east end of the living room
and installed 5' x 7' state-of-the-art Altec Lansing theater speakers. We didn't just listen to music at our house, we felt it in our bones and vibrating
teeth.
For the next twenty-five years Don and Mace traveled all over the world, sometimes in their twin engine Beachcraft which they personally
maintained, or via commercial flights, or by car visiting their Rotary exchange daughters from Colombia (Diana), Latvia (Indra), and Thailand
(Suzi) as well as venturing touristy explorations of Australia and New Zealand, the Grand Turks, Greece, Russia, the Netherlands, China, Hawaii
and Alaska as well as just about every other state in the USA. Simultaneously, for twenty years, they maintained a simple cinder block cabin on the
Sea of Cortez in the fishing village of Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja, Mexico where they spent time nesting, fishing, and enjoying friends almost half
the year, each winter's end and fall.
Life took a turn when Mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1990 at the age of 69. Following aggressive chemo and radiation treatment
and awaiting the results, my folks took a trip to Italy...Dad wanted to show it off to Mother.,.holding onto their hope...where they threw a coin
into the Trevi Fountain and made a wish. Upon their return, tests revealed that Mother's tumor had disappeared giving us an eleven year reprieve!
Another miracle.
Then again, in 2000, mother's tumor markers began climbing. For two long years we repeated the grinds of treatment, this time realizing she
wasn't dying from recurring cancer but from the aggressive treatments of eleven years before...radiation poisoning. When Mother died in 2002,
a chunk of Dad's 85 year old heart, and his will to live, went with her. He was finally free of his role as caregiver, needing to attend to his own,
overdue health issues. Over the following year, he had surgery for hip replacement, carpel tunnel and hernia, also undergoing the installation of a
pacemaker--all the result of self-imposed postponement while caring around-the-clock for his Mace.
It's been close to ten years now without her. Dad wound down, subtly at first, retreating from activities and interests--he was once a voracious
reader, avid football fan, once chairman of the Republican Party for Mason County, member of Shelton Flying and Yacht Club(s), reunion chairman
of his Shelton High School class of 1934... Skookum Rotary "Goo" (president) and co-conspirator of Oyster Fest some thirty years ago with his
friend, Dick Oltman... Pilot for the Forest Service spotting fires in the Olympics... He continued his stewardship of the Wiss Country Timber Farm, a
healthy stand of cedar and Doug fir which he and Mother nurtured over the years with sound, professional advice from their friend, Mike Jackson.
Don's charming, sweet way made him easy to care for when he hit his 90s. He'd always had a way with animals. After Mother died, he tamed a
little wild cat who snuck in shortly thereafter and had her kittens behind his TV. Don forged a loving relationship with one of those kittens, Tiggy,
who thereafter slept with him every night, rode on his walker tray with him to the bathroom, sat in his lap with her face curled up in his palm. She
has been by his side without skipping a beat and is devastated by Dad's departure. We promised to find a good home for her so BetsY's nephew, Ken,
a veterinarian who specializes in cats, has taken her to Marin County for some love and socialization, grooming her for
just the right person who would appreciate a loyal, loving, one-man feline friend.
Dad had a Garrison Keillor kind of way with words and wisdom. He could tell a story like no one else--
and he was a natural writer. We listened when he spoke and often wrote down his exact words, as he was
incredibly insightful, witty, always original. He has inspired us with such spontaneous quips as, "You've
got to be somewhere all the time," which can bring some relief when you're stuck in the slowest line,
and "Don't think and drive"--things like that. He was always upbeat and in a good mood, appreciated
every little thing a person did for him, talked of remembrances, and sometimes passed the time with
Mace in the wee hours, willingly waiting to go wherever it is that she went.
I can't think of anyone who has had a fuller life. He made a good living doing what he loved most,
built a happy home with the woman he loved and his only child to whom he was totally devoted
and constantly inspirational. He told me once that he decided young to be a straight shooter--that
integrity was everything--earned with each decision you make, especially when no one is looking.
He thoroughly enjoyed retirement, they did it all--nothing fancy just simple pleasures that come with
knowing what's important. And in his final years, he was lovingly cared for in his own home by a team
of people including me and my partner in life, Betsy, steady hospice folks Melissa, Linda, Helene, Marl
Lou, Donna and Rob, our dear friend Lynn, and respite dad-sitters, Tessa and Brett. Everyone we got to
know adopted us in the year and a half we cared for Dad, and freely offered a hand in helping whenever we
needed it...Mike, Barbie, Norris...
One night on his way to bed I heard him say to himself, "May I remain sincerely yours.., until the nightbird sings.., and calls us home." Roger that,
Don.:.all clear...over and out.
-- Paid Obituary Notice--
Page B-6 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 15, 2011
Sheldon appointed to Senate
Environment Committee
Mason County said that his work when
he was.chair of the former
Commissioner finds Senate Economic Develop-
ment and Energy Commit-
additional gig
tee often focused on the
Sen. Tim Sheldon, D- ways energy issues inter-
Potlach, was recently ap- sected with environmental
pointed to serve on the protections.
Senate Environment Com- He also has experience
mittee, through his work as a
"Environment is a crit- Mason County Commis-
ical issue in my district, sioner, Senate Transpor-
and with so many natural tation Committee mem-
resource industries here ber and Energy North-
like timber and shellfish, west Executive Board
there's a great awareness Member.
for protection of our eco- "Environment, energy
systems," and transportation con-
~ S h e 1 d o n cerns intersect and over-
said. "As lap constantly, which pro-
a shell- vides for a valuable un-
fish farm- derstanding of how what
er and we do in one area impacts
timb e r- another," Sheldon said.
land own- "At the same time, as a
er, our county commissioner, I
f a m i 1 y get to see how the policies
has been we choose in the Legisla.
Tim involved ture impact our county
Sheldon for many and our ability to protect
years in and create sustainable
n a t u r a 1 local jobs. I find this very
resource issues and how helpful when it comes to
they correlate to the en- weighing which policies
vironment." make the most sense for
Sheldon additionally all concerned."
LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
City of Tacoma Determination of Environmental Nonsignificance
Lead Agency: City of Tacoma
Applicant: Matthew Wilson, Tacoma Power, Associate Engineer
Proposal: This project includes the cutting of 200-300 trees from
the banks of the river immediately downstream of the Cushman No.
1 Spillway as required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Location: Cushman Dam No.1
N. 391 Standstill Drive
Hoodsport, WA 98548
SEPA Public Information Center File No. SEP2010-40000148360
The lead agency for this proposal has made a preliminary deter-
mination that this project does not have a probable significant adverse
impact on the environment. An environmental impact statement (EIS)
is not required under RCW 43.21C.030(2)(9c). This decision was made
after review of a completed environmental checklist and other informa-
tion on file with the lead agency. This information is available to the
public on request.
Comments on this determination of environmental nonsignificance
must be submitted by 5:00 p.m.. on December 29, 2011. The City will
reconsider this determination based on timely comments and may re-
tain, modify, or if significant adverse impacts are likely, withdraw the
determination.
Unless modified by the City, this determination will become a final
determination on December 30, 2011. There is no administrative ap-
peal opportunity for this Determination. Appeals may be filed at the
Superior Court of the State of Washington for Pierce County within 21
days after the building permit is issued. Appeals to the Superior Court
shall be taken in accordance with procedures and limitations set forth in
RCW 43.21 C.075. A copy of the appeal shall be filed with the Commu-
nity & Economic Development Department, 747 Market Street, Tacoma,
Washington 98402.
The City of Tacoma does not discriminate on the basis of disability
in any of its programs or services. Upon request, special accommoda-
tions will be provided within five (5) business days by contacting 591-
5363 (VOICE) or 591-5070 (TTY).
4772 12/15-22 2t
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Shelton - (360) 427-8044
Worthy of
Your Trust
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Funeral Alternatives offers a variety
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