Yvonne M. Critchett

Yvonne Marie Anderson was born to parents Ray and Maezie (Salisbury) Anderson on November 26, 1926 in Tacoma, Washington. She had a sister, Barbara; a half-brother, Richard "Jake"; a step-brother, Jim and a step-sister, Robin. After her parents died when she was young, she was raised by her two beloved step-parents, Bob and Rose Wootan. She attended a two-room schoolhouse through the 8th grade in Tacoma and graduated from Puyallup High School.

Yvonne met Richard (Dick) Critchett, a young Army soldier from Des Moines, Iowa while on a ferryboat ride with a friend. Dick was stationed at Fort Lewis during WW II, and was enjoying the day with a fellow soldier. When they spied two girls on the ferry that they wanted to meet, they dared each other to strike up a conversation. Yvonne's future would have been much different had Dick not gathered the courage to approach her and ask her for the time. Their courtship was brief; they were married in Des Moines on May 12th, 1945. Following their marriage, they lived in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where Dick was stationed.

At the conclusion of the war, Dick was discharged from the service and they moved to Des Moines. Their first child, Linda, was born there in 1946 and three months later they moved to Portland, Oregon to begin a new chapter in their lives. They first settled in North Portland in a little house on Peninsular Street. They lived there for about two years and then relocated to Southwest Portland where they spent most of the rest of their lives, the two exceptions were living for a year in Milwaukie, Oregon and 16 years on Bald Peak in Hillsboro, Oregon. Yvonne and Dick were blessed with three more children - sons, Dan in 1948, Randy in 1951 and Matt in 1954.

Church life was an important focus of the Critchett family and they were members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Southwest Portland, where Yvonne served as the church secretary, sang in the choir and was a Vacation Bible School teacher. After that, they attended Christ The King Lutheran in Tigard, Zion Lutheran in Hillsboro, and later in life, Cedar Mill Bible Church.

Yvonne was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She spent countless hours attending games, programs and events that they all participated in. She loved being outside and working in her yard. Dick used to claim, "the bushes would tremble" in Yvonne's presence; anxious that they may be uprooted and moved to another "perfect" spot in the yard. Up until last fall, she could be found outside working in her yard and mowing the grass, or just sitting on the deck enjoying the sunshine. She loved feeding the birds and especially enjoyed "her" hummingbirds.

In addition to loving the outdoors, she had many other interests. She and Dick enjoyed playing Bridge together and were in two different Bridge Clubs for years. They both loved to travel, including trips to Europe. Every summer, the family went on camping trips and they would also spend a week at her step-parents' cabin on Hood Canal with the rest of her side of the family. She was an excellent seamstress and not only made clothes for her children (including Linda's wedding dress and all the dresses of the girls in the wedding party), but earned extra money sewing for others. She loved to cook and bake, often having friends and family over for dinner, baking bread for her friends, making pickles and sweet mustard for the entire family and was famous for making an "Apple Square" recipe she got from her step-mom. She also tole painted for a few years...........but her favorite activity was just being with her family. Holidays, birthdays and family get-togethers were what she enjoyed the most.

Yvonne will be remembered as a person who lived her life in the service of others. Until December 2012, she served as a volunteer at Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro. She was loved by the staff and appreciated for the many years and thousands of hours of service. She was an inspiration to her circle of friends - always having a sympathetic ear with words of support, encouragement and prayers.

In the early 2000's, Dick's health began to fail and she took care of him, in their home, until he passed away in 2007. She was heartbroken and missed him terribly, but was not one to complain about her pain and troubles and carried on as a devoted servant to her friends and family.

Yvonne is preceded in death by her parents and step parents; her loving husband, Dick; son, Matt; sister, Barbara Clearwater; half-brother, "Jake" Anderson; step-brother, Jim Wootan; and grandson, Josh Critchett.

Survivors include her daughter, Linda (and Allan) Hawthorne; sons, Dan and Randy Critchett; Matt's widow, Janet Critchett; step-sister, Robin Wootan; grandchildren: Jeff and Jason (and Amy) Hawthorne, Jodi (and Scott) Hewett; Zac and Rachel Critchett; and Kyler, Keenan and Kallie Critchett; step-grandchildren, Josh (and Mindy) and Kara Walker (and Mike); great-grandchildren: Cooper, Mazie, Sawyer and Hattie Hewett; Addison and JJ Hawthorne; step-great granchildren: Audrey and Bridger Walker; and several nieces and nephews.

Remembrances in lieu of flowers may be made to Love Your Neighbor

Ministries (www.lyn.org)

A public graveside ceremony at 1pm followed by a celebration of Yvonne's life at 2pm will be held in Skyline Memorial Gardens & Funeral Home Chapel, 4101 NW Skyline Blvd., Portland, Oregon, on Friday, May 3, 2013. Please revisit this site for updates to Yvonne's obituary / life story. Please visit the guestbook portion of this site and leave a special message or memory.