Audrey Louise Eastman

December 27th, 1934 – December 30th, 2020

Meeting the Lord at the young age of 86 years & 3 days

Just after Christmas on December 27th, 1934, amidst the Depression in Minneapolis Minnesota, the stork delivered the miraculous gift of a beautiful baby girl to Royal Lester and Louise (Smith) Peterson. Audrey Louise Peterson filled their hearts with love, pride and joy; she was a blessing they had been dreaming of, glowing in astonishment of her beauty. Audrey’s delightful brown eyes grew in curiosity of her surroundings with a big desire to learn, developing a keen wit and discovering her natural domestic talents. Audrey grew up helping her mother around the house and gardening. She especially loved her time in the kitchen learning a long lost talent of great old fashion cooking and baking, with Daddy sharing his experience from the Navy’s ship kitchen, with meals such as “SOS”.

At the age of 4, the family happily welcomed the addition of her brother Ronald, Ronnie. He added more love, fun, laughter and many talents as well, specifically woodworking as their father’s skill taught him. They both attended Marshall High School where Audrey played the clarinet in the Marching Band and sang in the choir at St. Lawrence Catholic Church.

Roy & Louise had each come from large families and naturally social, they developed wonderful close lifetime friendships; they all became good friends sharing hard work, and talents, through good times and bad by/while sharing meals, families, prayers and closeness to God. One couple, Everett & Louise Eastman, would become best of friends with Roy & Louise, long before their children were born, unknowingly at the time eventually become Family. Keith asked his Mother Louise during one of his leaves home while serving in the Navy during the Korean War, who could he possibly invite to the local dance, and her suggestion was Audrey, yet still in High School she’d been a family childhood friend, he was smitten by her maturity and they had a wonderful time and communication continued. Once Keith was re-deployed they wrote sweet letters to each other, falling in love and marrying June 27, 1953.

Audrey worked in the admitting department of St Mary’s Hospital, while continuing her desire to learn, sewing beautiful clothes, cooking delicious meals, baking and decorating wonderfully tasty cakes and baked goods. She continued her creativity into art deco and home decor, making for a wonderfully welcoming homey environment. During these times Ron married Mary with Keith & Audrey at their sides, soon thereafter welcoming four wonderful nephews and a niece.

Audrey and Keith shared the love of a big family, making barefoot and pregnant a motto to remember, giving birth to her first born just 14months into their marriage. Childbearing also came natural to her, blessing her with a total of 7 children, all by the age 30. A few of her deliveries, she didn’t skip a beat as she left her shift in the admitting office to waddle herself into the Maternity ward; first arrival, Douglas (Debbie), then Cynthia (Richard), Dale (Dianne), Catherine (Brad), Connie (Scott), David 1963-1980, and Cheryl (Donald).

Life was not always sugar and spice; as a young girl her father was diagnosed with Emphysema in addition to hurting his back on his job, disabling him bedridden. A flood destroyed Keith & Audrey’s first home, and the major Minneapolis tornadoes of 1965 destroyed their second home. However, luck changed and they found themselves in Rockford Illinois, where Audrey felt right home in the admitting office at St. Anthony’s Hospital, working her way into Manager.

As time passed, Keith suffered heart issues, forcing him to spend a lot of recovery time at St. Anthony’s, where Audrey then spent most days & then night’s bedside in an uncomfortable chair.

Audrey attended Rock Valley College continuing her desire to finish her education. The family aged, moved on and grew; Seattle was her next destination, once again admitting patients and working in the business office at Evergreen Hospital.

Tragedy yet again found its way, losing her youngest son in a car accident. Audrey was devastated yet strong willed, and forged forward, as life changed for her in many roller coaster ways; she found happiness once again within a second marriage to Charles Parkyn, traveling around the world visiting sights she always dreamt of seeing, always returning home to be surrounded by her beloved Kids. Life as it does, moves along and she remained strong. Her kids have been her reason for keeping a stable grounding of home, her greatest accomplishments and her life. Ten Grandchildren brought her joy, and then multiplied, earning her the name Grandma; Cherie, Angell 1981-2017, Alisha (Nez), Benjamin (Katrease), Alisha (Howard), Kelly 1984-2020, Karen, Crystal, Spencer, Steven, and then GG with 22 wonderful Great Grandkids.

In Audrey’s changes, distance made interrelated family closeness moreover difficult, with 9 other Nieces &nephews and family growing on the Eastman side, her niece Jan’s long ago move to Seattle and her husband Dave Frucci kept close and have been a dear blessing.

“GG”, became ill suddenly as she approached her 86th Birthday, metastatic cancer weakened her quickly surrounded by her “Kids” and as she continued to say, “I want to be with my “Kids”. She, as beautiful as she came into this world she met the Lord ageless just the same, as we believe; with her assigned "Angel" Keith on the anniversary of his passing, December 30th 2020.

Graveside service ~ Internment

Saturday 6-26-2021 ~ 12:30 pm

Sunset Hills Memorial Park

1215 145th Place SE

Bellevue, WA 98007

425-746-1400

Officiant: Reverend Peter Snow

Followed by a celebration of life at the home of Dale & Dianne Eastman

All are welcome!

As required by WA State, to remind those unvaccinated to please wear your masks, as well as respectful of distance… RSVP, for food planning. We are looking forward to seeing everyone! Mom would have loved it too.