Adele Lorraine

Adele passed away December 14, 2018 in Seattle, Washington as a result of complications from a stroke suffered in 1999. She was born July 11, 1935 in Denver Colorado, moved with her family to Seattle in 1947, to Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1969, and then back to Seattle in 2001.

She is survived by: her two sons David and Dan from her marriage to Mike Sterry (living); her two daughters Lea and Sarah from her marriage to Sid Zeitlin (deceased); her grandson Adam by her son David; her grandson Drake by her daughter Sarah; and her sister Marilyn VanDevanter.

A traditional obituary would recount her professional achievements, and they are certainly impressive. Adele was a professional flautist who performed with:

• The Seattle Symphony

• The Seattle Opera

• The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

• The St. Paul Opera

• The Minnesota Orchestra

• The Minnesota Opera Company

• The Santa Fe Opera Company

• The Musical Offering Chamber Ensemble

• ...and was a faculty member at the University of St. Thomas and the MacPhail Center for the performing arts

But these facts, however, fail to capture the spirit of a remarkable woman who lived a non-traditional life and was loved and respected by many. She was a woman...

• Who before leaving her 19th year had graduated from the University of Washington Phi Beta Kappa with a double major in flute and voice (and a teaching certificate to boot), married, and landed a job in a symphony orchestra. By the time she was 21 she was already pregnant with her first child

• Who later in life, while playing full-time with the Minnesota Orchestra, would manage to teach 20 students a week, play and perform with a chamber music ensemble, do musical outreach for children in low income neighborhoods, lead post-concert audience discussions with symphony subscribers about the works performed, and raise a family (including dragging her own children around to music lessons...David on trumpet and piano, Dan on violin and piano, Lea on harp, and Sarah on violin)

• Who, when Lea decided she wanted a horse, simply went out in the back yard and constructed a pole barn and corral on her own

• Who would pack up the girls in the International Harvester every summer to go play the Santa Fe Opera season pulling a two-horse trailer behind with a horse on one side and her Honda 550 motorcycle on the other

• Who might spontaneously go on a 50 mile bike ride (despite not having ridden a bike in 15 years) or challenge her high school son to a wrestling match, saying "I can still beat you up if I need to..." (for the record, she lost)

• Who once bribed a security guard in Egypt to allow her to play her flute in the Great Pyramid's Burial Chamber

• Or who 15 years after a devastating brain stem stroke was still teaching herself a handful of new languages: she would speak Hebrew with the owner of the Adult Family Home where she resided; speak Tagalog with her Filipino caregivers; and speak Swahili with the African driver of the Access van for the disabled

• ...the list goes on and on...

She was a woman who believed that anything might be possible (leading her on a wide variety of spiritual quests and adventures), that everyone was good, that no one was beyond redemption, and that no rescue was ever not worth attempting.

While the stroke she suffered was in many ways devastating, in other ways it didn't even slow her down. She remained ever inquisitive, her spirituality returned to its roots, she remained generous with everyone, and she was happy. Maybe the most unreasonably happy person we've ever known. In some ways more at peace and more content than she was in her prior life. Maybe the most important thing to say about our Mom is that she had the capacity to make everyone around her feel unique, special and loved. As a result, she was loved, and will be remembered with love, by many.

A celebration of her life will be held in Seattle on January 13 and in Minneapolis/St. Paul later in the Spring. For details, please contact Dan Sterry at [email protected].