Siolotuma Elizabeth Thompson

I am a part of all that I have met;

Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'

Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades

For ever and forever when I move.

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!

- Excerpt from Tennyson’s Ulysses (1833)

Siolo Thompson passed away on October 26, 2026. Although she left us too soon, she lived a life richer than most. She was born on December 15, 1976, in Apia, Samoa. A few years later her family moved to the United States for a brief period before relocating to South America. She spent a significant portion of her formative years living in Bolivia and Peru before moving back to the United States in her late teens. It is likely her nomadic youth left her with a lifelong need for travel and adventure; she was always “roaming with a hungry heart.”

She majored in radiology and comparative literature at the University of Washington, then received her MFA from UW-Bothell in Creative Writing. She was a professional artist and writer, often combining these abilities in her projects. As a visual artist she was a painter and illustrator. Her paintings have been featured in galleries around the world, including Seattle, New York, London, and Vienna. She was a published author, travel writer, essayist, magazine contributor, and humorist.

Both as a part of and outside of her professional endeavors, she formed herself into an example of dedication and talent. It is a testament to her drive that it would be too difficult to make an exhaustive list of her skills and interests. She spoke three languages, could play the guitar and piano, modeled, acted, designed clothes and costumes, possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of literature, had unmatched culinary skill, and was quite the outdoorsman. The last quality of hers was a driving factor in a passion project that occupied the last two years of her life where she set out to visit the United States’ 133 designated National Monuments, recording the experience through a series of illustrated travel essays.

Her drive, at times, could go to odd extremes. For example, she objected to “overly comfortable” furniture because it promoted vices like lethargy and idleness. She did not wish to see her loved ones corrupted by sloth, so the lack of cushions should not be resented.

If there is an art to living and a life can be a work of art, as both artist and art, she was exceptional.

She is survived by her person, Andrew Ko, and her son, Connor Mahoney.

A private ceremony is being held by close friends and family. A public celebration of life will be hosted early to mid-December, with a specific date yet to be determined.