Lillian Astrid Amundsen

Born in Saint Paul to Fred and Ella Larson, Lillian spent her early winters skating on frozen Minnesota lakes. Along with younger sister Helen, the family made the arduous journey to the west coast in a Model T Ford when Lillian was in her early teens. At one point in the Rocky Mountains, Ella offered the coffee in a thermos to refill the Model T's radiator which had boiled over. They settled in Seattle.

Lillian graduated from Lincoln High School when she was 16 and promptly enrolled in a business college. One of her first jobs was as secretary to the founder of a major Seattle real estate firm that bears his name, John L. Scott, with an office in the historic Smith Tower. In due time, she met the aspiring pilot John Amundsen at Emmanuel Tabernacle near Woodland Park. They were married in a home ceremony near Green Lake in 1935. John and Lillian's adventures led them to Alaska where John was a pioneer bush pilot before joining Pan American World Airways. Their life with Pan Am saw them stationed in Fairbanks, Seattle, San Francisco, Miami and New York. They moved back to the Seattle area where John rounded out his flying career, living in West Seattle, Enumclaw, Shoreline and finally in their home in Kirkland since 1964.

Known for her hospitality and fantastic cooking, Lillian was always a gracious hostess. Christmas Eve was always celebrated in the finest of Swedish traditions. She accumulated friends through her years and readily remembered birthdays and anniversaries. The weddings, newborns and infirmities of friends were often greeted with gifts of her handmade shawls, sweaters and blankets. After John passed in 1985 she took up the hobby of oil painting, putting many inspirations artfully to canvas.

Lillian had an abiding Christian faith, a love for her family, and her trademark kindness and thoughtfulness. She is survived by her four children, Dave, Marlene, Dale and Dan; ten grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.