Annabel "Ann" Ruth Young Pulioff

March 17th, 1932, La Crosse, Wisconsin ~

August 6, 2011, Portland, Oregon

March 17, 1932 - August 6, 2011

Written by her children, August 2011

She was born Annabel Ruth Young in West Salem, Wisconsin (technically the hospital was in Lacrosse, Wisconsin) but was mostly known as Ann. Mom grew up on a farm and talked about many different memories including the exciting job of “picking worms off the tobacco plants!” She is of Norwegian ancestry, was given “honorary Irish status“ due to her St. Patrick‘s Day birth (had Dad thinking she was Irish for a long time!), and loyal to being Macedonian-by-marriage in her cooking and participation in Podkrepa (Portland’s Macedonian fellowship club).

In 1942, after losing their farm hands to the war, her parents, Victor and Agnes, moved the family (mom and siblings Victor “Vick“, Ella, Manford/Pete, Harvey, Marvin “Olie“, and baby Esther) west. They lived in Wapato, Washington before moving to Oregon where grandpa worked in the ship yards. The seventh sibling, Richard “Dick“, was born after the family moved to Oregon. The Young family was living in Vanport when Mom started high school at Roosevelt. The family moved into Portland proper after the Vanport flood and she attended Washington H.S., where she graduated. While in high school Mom worked downtown at the Liberty Theater despite not being old enough to have a work permit! Dad (Jimmy Pulioff) and some of his friends often saw her working as a cashier in the ticket booth. Dad was a bit bashful but when he was the “winner” of a bet with his friends, he had to invite her out for coffee. That was the beginning of a 61 year partnership.

Mom and Dad got married on July 1, 1950 then set out on a month long, almost 6000 mile honeymoon that included Vancouver BC, the Grand Canyon, Mexico, and lots of GREAT pictures, and resulted in the start of their family ~ nine months later Linda was born, Debra three years later, and Ronald a year and a half after that. Mom was a devoted wife and stay-at-home mother. Besides taking care of the house and us kids she took care of the bounty produced in Dad’s garden, served Kool Aid to all the neighbor kids, served as PTA president, worked at their voting precinct, played in a bowling league, hosted Tupperware parties and bunco games in her home, made lefsa on the wood stove in the basement, and so much more! Each year after Thanksgiving we waited impatiently for the perfect fudge she made and “hid” in the cold attic stairway until Christmas. And our family will always remember her annual tradition of making Scandinavian cookies that were always beautiful to look at, delicious to eat, and something we were proud to show our friends. It was like an early version of “Amazing Cooking Shows” to watch her delicately and patiently press the tins, form the lacy cones, and repeatedly dip the irons into batter then hot oil, producing the wonderful end display!

Once the kids were well on their way in elementary and middle school, Mom went back to school and received her Certificate of Cosmetology. After working for someone else a short time she opened her own beauty shop on Alberta. She relocated to Killingsworth, just off 33rd, then later moved across the street to the SW corner of 33rd and Killingsworth. She chose to retire when her grandchildren started arriving. Despite being “retired” mom had her beauty shop chair set up in the basement for Dad and anyone else in need of a trim and she continued to cut Dad’s hair until the spring of 2011 when she was no longer able to.

There were many family outings and vacations. Mom always had the thermos of coffee, snacks, and gum ready whether it was a long or short trip. Mom (and the rest of us) loved to go on the family adventures; some by car, some by train, and some abroad. One notable trip was to Greece in 1973. Mom and Dad took a cruise, visiting some of the islands in the Mediterranean, before meeting up with Debra and Ron to go together to Dad’s village, Sklithron, in northern Greece. Dad had not been back since leaving when he was sixteen and Mom was adamant they go to visit. Needless to say, she was right! They had a beautiful time that was meaningful, emotional, and memorable, matched only by the family trip to Europe in 2005.

The family expanded between the two European visits. David joined the family when he and Linda married. Debra married Mark and Pam became the third daughter when she married Ron. David and Linda had Dawn and Travis (and Achindo came much later), and Ron and Pam had Chris and Stephanie. Chris married Kirstin before the 2005 trip but Adeline and Tommy, the great grandkids, came after.

The 2005 trip provided conversation for EVERY get together up to today! In 2004 Ron and Pam proposed a family trip to dad’s village. This had been Pam’s brainchild and it set in motion an amazing trip! On July 31st, 2005, mom, dad, Linda, Deb, and Travis set out. After landing in London, England (and enduring some not-so-exciting car troubles!) we went to Kidderminster, England where Dad was stationed during WWII. We “bought” a car (“sold it back” at the end of the trip) and traveled through England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, Switzerland, and Italy before meeting some of Dad’s family in Thessaloniki, Greece. A few days later we went to Dad’s village where we were joined by Ron, Pam, Stephanie, Chris & Kirstin, and two of Dad’s cousins from Toronto, Mary and Helen, for an amazing family reunion. The picture of Mom and Dad with the donkey captured a very special moment that was arranged by some of Dad’s family in Sklithron who knew about him having a donkey when he was young. Because she loved Dad so much, the surprise arrival of the donkey was as exciting and special to Mom as it was to Dad! After an emotional and exciting week in the village we concluded our trip in Italy, then “resold” our car and flew out of the Rome airport. Mom loved that 44 day trip and we all loved reliving it (along with food and drink) every time we got together. It is note-worthy that everywhere we went people were amazed at the enthusiasm and energy Mom and Dad demonstrated. They were up early with eagerness, joyfully going all day, and late to bed almost every night on the trip. Mom may have already been having early symptoms of her ailment which affected her legs, but she never let on and never allowed us to leave her behind to go anywhere without her. In fact, if there’d been time, she would have loved to play a round of golf while in Scotland!

Some more fond memories that quickly and vividly come to mind:

• Mom regularly standing in the basement painstakingly running the clothes through the ringer washer then through two rinse cycles in the wash tubs followed by hanging them on the line (outside in good weather, inside in bad).

• The Ink Spots, Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock, Sound of Music, Wheel of Fortune, and Jeopardy! were some of her favorites.

• Drive-in movies were great for us kids because Mom always got us into our jammies and stocked us with pillows, blankets, and snacks. She made drive-in movies into mini-vacations!

• White Shoulders and Topaz ~ those scents and red lipstick will always evoke memories of Mom!

• Extended family was a central part of Mom‘s life. She was close with her and Dad‘s families, both near and far, keeping in touch by physical visits or by phone and mail. Grandma Young learned how to make the Jantzen Beach Fun Center pronto pup recipe when she worked there and they were a huge hit when she made them for the annual Young Family picnics. Along the way Mom took them over keeping pronto pups alive to everyone’s delight. In addition to her mother and father, Mom was preceded in death by her brothers Vick, Marvin “Olie“, and Harvey. She is survived by her sisters Ella and Esther and her brothers Manford “Pete” and Richard “Dick.”

• Mom was a member of Bethany Lutheran Church for more than 50 years and was active there in many ways. She sang in the choir, served communion, often read the Sunday Bible message, and served with the Bethany Lutheran Women. She and Dad also loved their Bible studies, lunches with friends after church, and helping others with transportation or any other area of need. Some of their closest friends were or are members of Bethany.

• Podkrepa, the Bulgar-Macedonian club of Portland, was also a big part of their life. Dad credits Mom with insisting that they stay actively involved in the monthly meetings, annual events (Christmas, summer picnic, etc.), contributing to the maintenance of the building, etc. She felt it was important to honor Dad’s heritage.

• Mom was good at puzzles, her talent with jigsaw puzzles being exceptional. She put together some amazing ones! It was a quest of many to see if they could get one that stumped her ~ but it never happened; the only one ever left unfinished was the one she was working on when the hospital interrupted!

• Her canned goods of every sort, were loved, longed for, expected, and couldn‘t be beat. Some of the most popular were peaches, pears, and frozen jams. She and Dad made annual trips to Hood River to get the peaches and pears fresh. And her canned tomatoes ( ingredients fresh from Dad’s garden) were a complete homemade spaghetti sauce right out of the jar and even delicious to eat like soup! Another annual trip was to get peppers in Wapato ~ she roasted and froze them for a dinner favorite all year.

• Mom rarely missed the annual lutefisk dinner at the Norse Hall. Several family members and friends joined and the rest of us always appreciated her not expecting us to go with them!

• Mom was a bit of a card player and pinochle was her game! She and Dad played with family and friends all through the years and they played alone as part of their daily routine for the past many years. They both got great joy from this but try as he may, poor Dad could never get the upper hand for more than a minute; Mom was champ, hands-down

• Holiday dinners were very important to Mom. Early on she established having LOTS of different foods when we gathered and no matter how hard she tried to cut things back we always had “too much” at every meal. Things always in demand and almost never missing included lamb, baked peppers, chimberitza rice, pita, and any of her famous pies. We must note she recently conceded Chris was exceeding her with his pita ~ an honorable accomplishment!

• Some neighbors may have suffered but none ever complained when Mom and Dad celebrated on New Year’s Eve every year by banging pots and pans outside. Mom bought a big cow bell while in the Swiss Alps in 2005 and that became their noise of choice for ringing in the new year from then on.

• Mom loved golf ~ playing it and watching it on TV. Whatever the occasion, no one questioned her whereabouts if she was not with as we jabbered in the kitchen or living room ~ there must be a golf tournament on, and no apologies were needed when she rejoined us! She played for her own enjoyment and said she didn’t care if she was the “worst” player on the green as long as she got to play! In fact, after her first hospital stay in February, while she was very weak, Mom snuck out to the golf course for one last visit!

• Her fascination with all things Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs resulted in a diverse collection of souvenirs. Esther has a wonderful theory as to why mom loved them so. She believes the song Some Day My Prince Will Come reflected Mom finding Dad and how she cherished her prince until the end.

That brings us to now. Mom is in heaven where she wanted to be, and although we are happy for her to be with Jesus we will miss her in so many ways. In the days, months and years to come we will remember good times, retell old stories over and over, and generally keep her alive in our thoughts, hearts, and gatherings. We would love if you would please share any additions or corrections you have for our stories and any additional memories you have so we can add them to our reminiscence! Thank you for loving our mother and sharing in her life.

In Loving Memory,

Jim, devoted and heartbroken husband

Linda and David Adams, daughter and son-in-law

Debra and Mark Bingham, daughter and son-in-law

Ron and Pam Pulioff, son and daughter-in-law

Dawn Adams, granddaughter

Christopher and Kirstin, grandson and wife

Travis Adams, grandson

Stephanie Pulioff, granddaughter

Achindo and Megan Longoria, grandson and wife

Adeline Pulioff, great granddaughter

Thomas Pulioff, great grandson