Yvonne Margaret Chamberlin

Yvonne Margaret Martin was born on October 27, 1918 to Robert Lee and Claudia Martin in Springfield, Oregon. Her father had just left to join the army so she was at her grandparents. She weighed in at an even 3# on grandma’s egg scales. The doctor was busy with her mother and just handed her to grandma. So she had grandpa go to bed and hold her against him to keep her warm all night – a human incubator. She was still alive the next morning, so grandma put her in a box behind the stove with the baby chicks she was raising.

When she was six weeks old, the whole family moved to Bend, Oregon where she grew up. On Christmas Day 1920 she had a great Christmas present – a baby brother. They grew up with a loving family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

She went to Bend High School where she was active in many things – Torch Honor, Drum and Bugle Corp, French Club, Co-Editor of the school paper, school plays, glee club, made her better in swimming, tennis, basketball and baseball, and graduated second in the 1936 class of 137 students.

That fall she entered Oregon State College. There were three times as many male students as female in those days so she enjoyed going to lots of Fraternity Proms, Exchange Dinners, Tea Dances, etc. Until she met Carl Chamberlin at a Theta I exchange dinner. In those months she was wearing fraternity pin.

In 1939 Carl secured a job in the shipyard at Bremerton. With his first pay check and three day weekend they met in Vancouver, WA and were married on February 18, 1939.

Twenty-two years later during World War 2 Yvonne wrote to the state for a copy of her birth certificate, only to find out she was negated as an unnamed male. She had a sex change by affidavit.

She took part in many activities. She was a Charter Member of the Manette Job’s Daughter Council, also both Bremerton Junior Women’s Club and the Senior Women’s Club, St. Lukes Methodist Church, Petal Pushers Garden Club, and No-Name Dance Club. She received a Golden Acorn Award from the East Bremerton PTA, a Den Mother for Cub Scouts and a Campfire Guardian for seven years.

She enjoyed cooking, sewing, knitting, gardening, decorating cakes. She also liked to swim, bowl, dance and golf.

She and Carl had 63 wonderful years together. Her greatest joy was her family. She had one son, Robert Hal (Katy) of Redmond, WA, and their two children, Lisa and Lee. After losing two daughters, Cherine Ann (2-27-43) and Ann Claudia (2-9-45), they were overjoyed with Carol Diane (Harry) Steinkraus of Bremerton, WA, and their four children, Stacy (Jerry) Grabar, Anthony (Morie), Stefanie (James) Allen and Jennifer Torres. She had nine great-grandchildren, Tyler, Nicholas, Brooke, Sydney, D’andre, Jake, Spencer, Maxwell and Cole.

The family wishes to thank Harrison Medical Center’s ER physicians and nurses, Home Health, Wound Care, and Hospice of Kitsap County. A special thank you to Greg and Mary Wilson and caregivers from Central Kitsap Adult Family Home.

A memorial service will be held on June 27th, 2012 at Miller-Woodlawn Funeral Home at 11:00 am, with a reception immediately following. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Hospice of Kitsap County or the American Cancer Society.