Marcella Perrigo

Marcella spent her early childhood in Iowa until she turned seven, when the family moved to Kirkland, Washington, where her father was eventually employed by Boeing. She was the oldest of four children born to Helen and Fran, followed by her brothers Curtis, Russell, and David.

Marcella attended Lake Washington High School where she was active in the Girl’s Club, the Glee Club, and the Girl’s Athletic Association.

The summer after she graduated from high school, she went on a double date with her friend Judy McDaniels to a 4th of July picnic. Marcella went with Glenn Landguth. Judy went with Buddy Perrigo. Somewhere in the mix the two couples rearranged themselves and ended up with each other’s’ dates.

Buddy fell head over heels in love with Marcella and it wasn’t long before he began asking her to marry him. Marcella refused him at least two times because she felt too young to settle down. Then she began warming up to the idea, but decided to wait for the sixth proposal, because six was her favorite number!

Buddy, while confident in her affections, was tiring of the suspense. He brought Marcella’s mother a big bouquet of flowers. That was the tipping point and Marcella finally said yes!

They were married at Rose Hill Presbyterian Church on October 20, 1961. It was the beginning of a long and happy marriage. They bought a house in Kirkland on Market Street. Marcella got a job as a secretary while Buddy found work in the construction field.

Their first child, Denise Marie, was born in April of 1964. And their second daughter, Melody Joy, completed the family in May of 1966. Marcella stayed home, raising the children during their early years. The young family moved to a new house on Finn Hill when baby Melody was about six months old.

In the early 70’s, Buddy and Marcella went into business with their good friends Dan and DeMaris Steelsmith and purchased a gas station in Kirkland—State Street Texaco. Buddy and Dan ran the service station and Marcella and DeMaris kept the accounts. After a matter of years, the couples sold the gas station in order to spend more time at home, but the four friends stayed close and raised their families alongside each other with much love and laughter.

After the gas station was sold, Marcella went to work for Teltone Corporation as an engineering technician. She used design plans to build circuit assembly boards for telecommunication devices, much like motherboards in today’s computers. Marcella would work at Teltone for over fifteen years, enjoying the work and the opportunity to work four 10-hour days and take Fridays off to spend with her family.

Marcella and Buddy’s favorite pastime was camping. They wore out a succession of trailers during their long marriage. Along with good friends, they gave their children countless happy hours spent in forests, on lakes, rivers, and on ocean beaches. Their favorite places to camp included Dewatto, Darrington, Kayak Point and the Oregon Coast. They were longstanding members of Thousand Trails.

Another huge social connection for Marcella and Bud was their membership in the Kirkland Eagles. Marcella was an officer in the Women’s Auxiliary for many years. The Eagles Club and the associated Camper Club were sources of lots of friendships and years of happy activities.

Marcella was a talented cake decorator her entire adult life. She made beautiful cakes routinely for family and friends’ special occasions but also took orders as a freelance business for many years. It was a fun, creative outlet for her as well as a nice little side income.

As the years passed, Marcella and Bud welcomed sons-in-law Ron Ainslie and Greg Young into the family. Following hot on their heels were four grandchildren—Briar, Katy, Tyas, and Rachel—who were each bright shining stars in Marcella’s world. Later she welcomed Autumn and Amanda into the family and was rewarded with great-grandchildren, Everett and Iris. Marcella was a tremendously loving and involved grandmother and great-grandmother.

Marcella retired in the mid-2000’s and sadly, Buddy passed away in 2009. They were married for 47 years. She continued to live in their Finn Hill home until 2012 when she sold the house and bought a shiny new car.

Marcella moved to an apartment on Rose Hill, coming back full circle to her original neighborhood as a child. It was close to her friends, her church, and even better, her new apartment building was close to an old friend named David Delap. Both recently widowed, David became the sweetheart of Marcella’s later years.

Marcella and David enjoyed both the Redmond VFW and the Kirkland Eagles clubs, where they danced, sang Karaoke, played Bingo, and visited with their many friends.

In 2017 Marcella was diagnosed with colon cancer. She went through treatment, which sent her into remission for some months. She celebrated the end of her chemotherapy with Denise and Melody on a Hawaiian cruise last summer.

This past fall the cancer returned and on December 1, 2018 Marcella passed away peacefully with her daughters keeping a constant and loving watch over her. She was 75 years old.

Heaven has gained a beautiful soul. Marcella’s goodness, kindness to all, and her sweet, calm presence has blessed so many lives. She will live forever in Heaven and in our hearts.

A Celebration of Life will be held on January 5th, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. The service will take place at the Redmond VFW hall located at: 4330 148th Ave NE, Redmond WA 98052.