| Nov ’09 |
| 2 |
| 1:30 pm |
by “The heart and soul of the North Highline area” is how Barbara Peters, who died from cancer on Sunday, Oct. 25, is being remembered by friends and colleagues.
Not only was she a wife, mother, grandmother and friend, Barbara was a Commissioner of the North Highline Fire District, a 15-year volunteer with the King County Sheriff’s Office, a long-time member of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, and a strong advocate for Burien’s annexation of the North Highline unincorporated area.
Survivors include her husband, William Peters, and three daughters, Valerie, Cynthia and Natalie.
A graveside service will be held at 1:30 p.m. Monday, November 2, at Riverton Crest Cemetery, 3400 S.140th St., in Tukwila. A reception will follow at Rainier Golf and Country Club, 11133 Des Moines Memorial Dr. South.
Since her passing, tributes to Barbara have come from her friends and colleagues in the North Highline/Burien area.
Former Highline Fire Department Chief Russ Pritchard, who is also a past president of the North Highline Council, recalled that during his first term as president he asked Barbara to submit an application to fill a vacancy on the council.
“She kept saying ‘no, no, no,’ then agreed to fill it only for the remainder of the term.” But she remained on the council and “was my vice president all three times I was president,” Pritchard said. “Everyone looked to her for leadership. I looked to her for leadership. When I was president, I would say to her, ‘You’re the president, I just run the meetings.’”
He described her as “a force on that council. She took on projects that no one else wanted to do, and she got things done.”
At Fire District 11, “She was a very cool-headed commissioner,” Pritchard continued. “She thought out every issue that came up. When I was chief, she was the first commissioner to attend our staff meetings. She tried to talk to every firefighter to get their views before voting.”
After King County Sheriff’s Deputy Steve Cox was killed in the line of duty three years ago, Barbara “was very much a force behind a lot of what was done there after his death to honor him,” he noted. Later, she was instrumental in getting a White Center park reclaimed, upgraded and renamed Steve Cox Park.
Pritchard said that Barbara, Steve, Judy Duff, also a former Highline Council president, and he “spent a lot of time together working on issues and became good friends. Two to three Sundays a month we would meet at her house and she would fix dinner for us.
“We became good friends and called ourselves the Four Musketeers. Now I’m the only one left. I know that in heaven, Barbara, Judy and Steve are now together on some council up there.”
Burien Police Sgt. Henry McLauchlan said Barbara, who ran the Sheriff’s Office storefront station and was a Block Watch leader, “was one of the leaders of the pack.
“We called her the major of the Boulevard Park storefront, but she was much more than a major. She was the general down there,” McLauchlan said. “She was just an incredible human being who was always there for the officers, always the first to raise her hand to volunteer.”
Burien Planning Commission member Jim Clingan said he got to know Barbara about three years ago when she was involved in keeping the Evergreen Pool open.
“She was an energetic, hard-charging individual who put a lot of energy into the things she did,” Clingan said. “She had strong opinions and whether you agreed or disagreed, you got a fair hearing and you walked away knowing you got a fair hearing.
Barbara “was just a good lady, and it’s a sad, sad loss,” he added. “I’m thankful to her family – to her husband and daughters – for sharing her with the community.”
Mike Martin, who became Burien’s city manager in November 2006, said Barbara “took me under her wing almost immediately. She was the first to take me on a tour of North Highline.
“She was a very good friend to us, the city of Burien. She worked tirelessly for annexation to Burien and her efforts were very critical to the success of annexation.”
Martin added, “Barbara was the heart and soul of the North Highline area.”
Here’s her official obituary:
Barbara Jean PETERS Passed away from cancer at home surrounded by her family on October 25th, 2009. Barbara was born in Seattle, Washington on April 1, 1937 to Henry and Florence Colella and grew up with her younger sister, Janice. When she was eleven years old, Barbara started working at Pike Place Market to help her grandparents, Emilio and Angelina Galliano, sell their produce. Barbara graduated from Cleveland High School in 1955 and worked for Western Electric Phone Company until she married William Peters on November 22, 1957. Barbara stayed home to care for their three daughters and she was always involved in the girls’ school and church activities. She was known as an excellent cook, organizer and adviser. Once the girls were grown, Barbara became involved in community activities: volunteering with the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, a15 year volunteer with the King County Sheriff’s Department, serving on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, and serving as a Fire Commissioner for the North Highline Fire District. Without a doubt though, Barb was most proud of her two grandchildren and she cherished the time she spent with both of them.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 52 years, Bill; her sister Janice; daughter Valerie (Jim) and granddaughter Victoria; daughter Cynthia; daughter Natalie (Jack) and grandson Jack. Everyone who knew Barbara was touched by her generosity, determination and her ability to speak her mind and get things done. Her dedication to children was endless and her accomplishments are too numerous to list and too far reaching to know. Barbara will be greatly missed by her family, friends, neighbors and the community she tirelessly supported. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff at Virginia Mason and everyone at Highline Home Care Services and Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Barbara’s name to: North Highline Fire District Aid Car Fund, 1243 Southwest 112th Street, Seattle, WA 98146. In her memory, Barbara asked to please spend time with a child that is close to you. That time spent and your love for that child will be with Barbara forever.
A graveside service will be held at 1:30 PM on Monday, November 2nd at Riverton Crest Cemetery, 3400 S.140th, Tukwila 98168 with a reception following at Rainier Golf and Country Club, 11133 Des Moines Memorial Dr. S., Seattle 98168.
by Janet Grella
By now many of our Readers have heard about the death of Tom Pfaeffle, a noted sound engineer who was recently killed in Twisp, when he apparently put his hotel room key into the wrong door then was shot.
But what you may not know is that Tom was born and raised nearby in Des Moines. He continued to live in his family home there until he and his family needed more room for the kids and sound studio and moved to Black Diamond where he opened “The Tank Studios.” This was about five years ago.
We first first learned about the shooting death of this music industry sound man extraordinaire when Matt Pina and his wife stopped by our booth at the Farmers Market last week. Matt alerted us to the news, and was visibly shaken.
At that point we Googled Pfaeffle’s name, and there was no information yet about his death since it had happened just the night before. Now there’s numerous sites reporting his death and paying homage to him, remembering him as the great sound guy that he was. Pfaeffle, a 30-year veterean, worked as a sound engineer with these bands:
- Nirvana
- The Black Crowes
- Great White
- Heart
- Queensryche
- Scorpions
- UB40
- Aerosmith
- Alice Cooper
- Rodney Crowell
- B.B. King
- and “countless others”
But what mainstream media and the internet aren’t saying is that Tom Pfaeffle was born and raised in Des Moines.
His childhood friend Aaron DeAnda remembers him this way:
Tom and I first met in our neighborhood Delrose Manor in Des Moines near Highline Community College. He was a few years younger than me. We had such good times as kids. His dad is gone now, and his mother, Charlotte, lives in Arizona. Tom was an only child, so he considered all the neighborhood guys his brothers. We played a lot of football in the streets. Tom was in our band, “Session,” in high school. Tom played guitar and was the sound man. He wanted to do sound as long as I can remember. He was very focused. Of all of us he was the only one to make a living in music. He had a good ear for sound…a critical ear.
He was passionate about music and he reached out to everyone. He considered everyone ‘family’. We’d still get together for sushi or at 909 in Burien listening to live music.
Aaron is now a Burien resident and is in a band with fellow MRHS graduate Matt Pina. Their band, “Uncle Ernie’s,” recently performed at Mick Kelly’s and hope to be back there soon. Aaron plays drums while Matt plays bass.
Matt not only played in the band “Rolling Boulders” with him, he provided these exclusive photos of he and Tom in younger years (Tom’s in the striped shirt):
Matt and Tom were in the class of ‘79 at Mt. Rainier High School. We asked Matt to remember his friend and fellow Des Moines native.
I was very proud of Tom, he had a great ear and knew how to make the music sound great.
Like everyone, we fumbled as we learned our craft, but Tom persevered. He became successful and turned his dream into reality. In fact he’s the only person I know who ever turned their musical dreams into reality (more than a hobby).
One of my most vivid memories of Tom is about 12 years ago. He was engineering a recording for a few of us from Instant Karma that were getting re-aquainted. On a break when everyone had headed outside, Tom picked up an acoustic guitar and began strumming a favorite song of mine, Neil Young’s “The Needle and The Damage Done”. I was captivated and really enjoyed that moment. I can’t say why it was special, but it was. It was just a moment of purity. A short performance by the man who ran the board. He wasn’t really known for his guitar playing, but that moment was genuine and awesome.
Friends from Tom’s life, the music industry and others will celebrate his life at St. Philomena’s Church, located at 1790 South 222nd Street in Des Moines (206-878-8709) on Wed., July 29th at 11am.
Jared Storer, son of Mark Storer and brother of Brian, both of whom died last week when their floatplane crashed, wrote the following message about yesterday’s memorial service on his blog last night:
Thanks to everyone who attended Mark & Brian’s Memorial Service today. It really meant a lot to the entire family to see so many supporters of our loved ones.
Both men would be extremely proud of the service.
Thanks to all volunteers of Church by the Side of the Road, John Knox Presbyterian Church, Normandy Christian Church, Maars Hill, Riverview Community Church, and all other groups for helping organize the service and reception.
As for the procession, a special thanks to North Highline Fire District, Bellevue Fire Department, Burien/Normandy Park Fire, Washington State Patrol, King County Sheriff’s Office, Port of Seattle Police, all towing companies in attendance, as well as security agencies, and other friends that drove in the procession.
Your overwhelming support is appreciated by the Storer family and was a true honor to Mark & Brian.
We estimate approximately 700 people in attendance at the service and 150 vehicles in the procession, primarily emergency vehicles.
Memorial Service Coverage:
Donations to the family of Brian Storer are currently being accepted at Sterling Savings Bank locations. The Storer Family Memorial Fund will benefit the 2 & 1 year old boys who lost their father.
More info at http://jaredstorer.blogspot.com/
TUKWILA – Burien Towing’s Mark and Brian Storer, killed last week when their floatplane crashed near Shelton, were honored today with a memorial service here.
The procession was highlighted by dozens of tow trucks (several vintage ones that Mark collected) in a procession that started at the Burien Towing offices on SW 149th, along with an honor guard and hundreds of mourners in the Church by the Side of the Road at this afternoon’s service.
More info:
| Jul ’08 |
| 31 |
| 11:00 am |
As we reported Friday, Burien Towing’s Mark Storer, 51, and his son Brian, 24, were killed in a floatplane crash near Shelton, WA.
A memorial service for both has been scheduled for this Thursday, July 31st at 11am at the Church by the Side of the Road, which is located at 3455 S 148th Street in Tukwila (map below).
According to the Burien Towing website:
- Mark and Brian took the afternoon off work to spend some time together in Mark’s amphibious airplane.
- The two were last seen enjoying the day on Lake Nahwatzel, before the plane’s engine failed shortly after taking off. Both died in the crash.
- Mark was a dedicated father and husband. He loved his family and will be missed by many.
- Brian was married and was a father of 2 young boys, ages 2 and 1. He also loved his family very much and will be missed.
- Both Mark and Brian dedicated much of their lives to the family business. Airport Towing mourns their passing and supports the families they have left behind.
- Any gifts or cards for the families are currently being collected at the main office:
Burien Towing
817 SW 149th Street
Burien, WA 98166
- All who knew Mark and Brian are invited to attend the service.
- Prior to the ceremony, a procession will lead the family to the Church from the Airport Towing office at 817 SW 149th Street in Burien. The lead car will leave the office at 10am.
- If you would like to join the procession, please arrive prior to 9:45am at the Airport Towing office for staging.
- All law enforcement vehicles, fire apparatus, tow trucks, and motorcycles are welcome in the procession.
- For more information on the procession, fill out the Contact form and Jared will respond to your inquiry.
- Following the service will be a reception at the Church. All are welcome to attend.
- A fund is currently being set up to benefit Brian’s family. Brian leaves behind a wife of 3 years and two sons, ages 2 and 1. Information on the Storer Family Memorial Fund will be posted when available.
- More information is available at jaredstorer.blogspot.com
