Born in 1925 at home on the farm to her parents, Oscar and Bessie Larson, in the tiny township of Cedardale in the Skagit Valley, Helen Frets passed away at home in Arlington, WA, on December 13, 2018.
Helen met her husband Jack Frets at Mount Vernon High School in 1940. Once during the summer of 1941, Jack walked three miles from Mount Vernon to Cedardale to see Helen, who was working in their fields. Her father Oscar decided that if Jack really was serious about dating his daughter he should weed a row of beets to prove it. Those were LONG rows, but Jack took Oscar seriously and did just that -- much to Oscar’s delight. And the rest – as they say – is history. Helen married Jack in 1944 in the midst of World War II.
Following Jack’s Army Air Corps discharge, they returned to the farm where first daughter Merilee was born. They agreed that Jack ought to return to WSU in Pullman to pursue a degree in engineering and architecture on the G.I.Bill -- and the Baby Boom years that followed in Pullman brought three more children: Archie, Janet and Tom, and their first home in Mount Vernon. It was there that Helen cemented friendships that lasted her lifetime; and with their friends they shared a love of boating with their families in the San Juan Islands, camping around the Stillaguamish and Samish Rivers, pinochle games and (with her women friends) an occasional train trip to shop at Frederick & Nelson’s in Seattle.
Helen was a devoted homemaker and often welcomed cousins and young friends into their home. Her greatest gift to us was her firm anchor in love and kind attentions when we needed them. Jack’s architecture practice continued to grow, which brought a family move to Everett. Helen’s generous spirit continued there, too. She never waivered in providing the family structure for her growing children and, sometimes, their friends.
Grandchildren began arriving in the early 1970’s, and a move to their dream house at Priest Point overlooking Everett’s Port Gardner Bay became the center for grandchildrens’ overnights and numerous family parties and gatherings. It seems Helen was a bit more flexible when it came to meals and treats for her grandchildren – they recall hours on the beach followed by rice by candlelight in a tent under the dining room table and ‘cry medicine’ in the form of candy. Years spent at Priest Point were described by Helen as the ‘happiest years of our lives.’ Trips to Europe and Mexico extended their horizons, and a ‘ready to go’ travel trailer translated weekend getaways to area beaches and rivers into memories with grandchildren, family and like-minded friends.
A memorial for our beloved mother, aunt, grandmother and great grandmother is planned in early June. Helen is survived by her 4 children: Merilee (husband John Bonnier), Archie, Janet and Tom (wife Michelle), 7 grandchildren ages 23-48, and 7 great grandchildren ages 1-20 years.
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