Claire Adele Heinke

Claire Adele Heinke of Marysville, Washington passed away peacefully at the age of 90, at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett after a brief illness. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Marysville on Saturday, April 18 at 1:00pm.

Adele was born in Bellingham, Washington on April 1, 1935 to Leigh and Sadie (DeVries) Simpson. She was the second of three children (older brother Ron, younger brother Gary) and decided in her early childhood that she wanted to go by the name Adele. She told us she was a tomboy growing up and thought Claire sounded too girly.

She grew up in the Silver Beach neighborhood of Bellingham, near Lake Whatcom, and attended Silver Beach Elementary School. Her mother came from a large family of seven children, so there were lots of extended family gatherings. Adele’s aunt & uncle lived on the shore of Lake Whatcom, so she enjoyed spending time in and on the lake. After her father built a wooden boat, she became an excellent water skier, and also ice skated when the lake froze. She had a paper route delivering the Bellingham Herald, and after graduating from Bellingham High School in 1953 she worked as a clerk for Johnson Electric.

On Memorial Day weekend in 1956 while on a camping trip with two girlfriends at Bogachiel State Park on the Olympic Peninsula, Adele met the love of her life, Robert Heinke from Everett. After exchanging letters, Adele and Bob met at the Village Cafe in Marysville for coffee, pie and conversation. Adele soon invited Bob up to Bellingham to meet her family, and water ski on Lake Whatcom. The couple continued writing each other, and Adele would take the train to Everett to visit Bob, saying their goodbyes at the Everett Train Station. In late 1958 Bob proposed to Adele at the top of Alabama Hill overlooking Bellingham. The happy couple married on July 31, 1959 at Sliver Beach Community Church. They made their first home in Everett, where Adele worked for West Coast Telephone Company (later GTE) as a planning clerk.

In the spring of 1961, they bought their first home in Marysville and started raising a family of three sons - Steven, David and John. During those early years, Adele managed the house while Bob worked for GTE. As the boys got older, she volunteered at various Marysville Schools. She later worked as a receptionist/clerk for Drs. Hammond and Andreoni, retiring in 1996.

Bob and Adele took their boys trailer camping in the summers, and later in retirement, they made many trailer trips locally and across the country, visiting landmarks, and often stopping to see family while on their journeys. They also enjoyed attending Mountain View Presbyterian Church services and church-sponsored senior activities. Adele was a prolific knitter, and loved animals, especially cats, having several throughout her life. But mostly, Adele enjoyed spending time and sharing meals with family and friends.

Adele was preceded in death by her parents and older brother Ronald Simpson. She is survived by her husband of 66 years Robert, children Steven (Deborah) Heinke of Snoqualmie, WA, David (Laura) of Lake Stevens, WA, John (Kim) Heinke of Bellingham and five grandchildren: Canara Claire, Nicholas, Adam, Isaac and Rachel. She is also survived by her younger brother Gary (Cheryl) Simpson of Tucson, AZ.

Adele will be remembered for her sweet, caring nature, and deep love for her family. Her kindness and laughter touched many lives and she will be deeply missed.