Agnes Ann Tyrrell

Agnes was born on September 22, 1926, in Cashmere, Washington. She was only two days old when she was adopted by Joseph and Olive Mulcahey.

Although she grew up as an only child, Agnes enjoyed being part of a large extended family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins in the Wenatchee Valley. She attended school in Cashmere and graduated from Cashmere High School in 1945. In 1950, she graduated from Eastern Washington State College where she met Tom Tyrrell, the love of her life. He was a handsome athlete on the Eastern baseball and basketball teams and she was a cheerleader. When asked how they met, Dad once said he was “just one in a long line of many fellas” waiting to date our beautiful Mom.

Tom and Agnes were married in Cashmere on August 19, 1950. Agnes taught kindergarten for four years at Tieton Elementary until she started raising her family of nine—four sons and five daughters. In 1965, Tom left teaching and with Agnes’s support, they started the family orchard business. Agnes gracefully raised their nine children while also balancing the hard work necessary to run the family ranch. Whenever anyone asked her how she did it with all those kids, she’d always say with a big smile, “One day at a time.”

Her love of education brought her back to the Highland School District where she served as a school board member from 1980-1987. Her work helped the board win the prestigious School Board of the Year award in 1983. This award was significant in that only two other (much larger) schools in the state received the honor.

Agnes was an avid reader and worked many volunteer hours at the Tieton Library and always had a generous stack of books on her nightstand. She also loved sweets, especially a good box of chocolates—she tried to hide her candy from us when we were little, but we always found it! Nice try, Mom. Baking pies and cookies was her specialty and she loved teaching her Covenant House caregivers how to make the perfect pie crust.

She was a longtime, active member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Cowiche, and was very involved in the Altar Society. Many Sunday masses featured her beautiful organ music, where she often played her favorite song, “Make Me A Channel of Your Peace.” She had the most amazing talent of playing music by ear—you could ask her to play anything at all and she would know it. As recently as November 20, she sat at the organ and played “You Are My Sunshine,” “Jingle Bells,” and many other Christmas songs, much to the delight of her family.

Agnes loved her children and grandchildren more than anything in the world. She was always keenly interested in all their activities and accomplishments. We all knew she was our biggest fan, cheering us on in sports, school, and life. Christmas was her favorite holiday and she always somehow found a way to make sure we each got that coveted doll or toy we had asked for.

Agnes is survived by her five daughters, Mary Jo (Alan) Bassani of Yakima, Janet (Ed) Keyser of Phoenix, Arizona, Joanie Hopp of Richland, Julie (Phil) Miller of Bainbridge Island, Christine (Logan) Harris of Edmonds, and four sons, Terry Tyrrell of Yakima, Tom (Cheryl) Tyrrell of Yakima, Rob (Megan) Tyrrell of Selah, and Scott Tyrrell of Yakima; 16 grandchildren, Stephanie, Eric, Allisyn, Christina, Jordan, Nicole, MaryAnn, Ryan, Quinn, Drew, Jody, Jamie, Gabe, Lily, Sam, and Luke; and three great grandchildren, Grace, Vienna, and Eli, and sister-in-law, Melinda (Bob) Tyrrell of Peoria, Arizona.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom Tyrrell, her parents, Joseph and Olive Mulcahey, brother-in-law Bob Tyrrell, and grandson Jake.

Agnes’ family is so grateful for the heartfelt, compassionate care she received for the last four years at Covenant House in Yakima. Her caregivers included Jessica Walters, Nikki Hopper, Andrea Olivas, Genesis Garcia, Viviana Sanchez, and Debbie Wood. She saw you all as her “daughters” and loved you all so much. We also thank Cheryl & Del Miles for providing such a beautiful, cozy home. Thank you to Kathy Breshears of Virginia Mason Memorial Hospice for your gentle, attentive care in her last few weeks of life. You’ll all remain forever in our hearts. We also thank our sister Mary Jo for the devoted care and support she gave to Mom in her final years.

A beloved wife, mom, grandma, and friend, Agnes had such a big heart and her positive attitude was contagious. She always had a genuine smile for you and wanted to know all about how you were doing. Mom, we’ll miss you every single day but will find peace knowing that you’re now “at home” with Dad.

A celebration of life will be at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Selah on Friday, December 29, 2017 at 11 a.m. with a reception to follow. A private family service will be held at Calvary Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Virginia Mason Memorial Hospice in care of Langevin El Paraiso Funeral Home or to the charity of your choice.