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Posts Tagged ‘in memory’

“He will be fondly remembered”

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , on June 23, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Bob Clay

Bob Clay was truly one of the good guys of Cow Town.

He might have been born in a different state, but he embraced his adopted town and had a considerable positive impact on Coupeville in the nearly three decades he lived here.

When our paths crossed, whether in the aisles at Videoville or in the stands at Wolf games, I always found him to be friendly, kind, and a man of great wisdom.

 

From his family:

Robert (“Bob”) Clay passed away peacefully on June 9, 2026, at the age of 85.

Bob was born on December 27, 1940, in Portland, Oregon, to Charles and Lois Clay.

He spent his childhood in Portland and graduated from Cleveland High School and earned a BS degree from Portland State University.

Following his education, Bob proudly served his country in the United States Air Force.

In 1962, Bob married Patria Cameron, and together they raised two children, Diedra and Cameron. He married Marilyn Sherman in 1992.

After retiring from a successful career in the heavy equipment industry, Bob and Marilyn moved to Coupeville in 1998.

Bob quickly embraced his adopted hometown and devoted himself to making it an even better place to live.

He took great pride and pleasure in serving the community he instantly came to love.

An athlete throughout much of his life, Bob brought the same energy and dedication to his civic involvement.

He served on the Coupeville Town Council and was an active member of the Lions Club and supporter of the Boys & Girls Club.

His generosity, steady leadership, and willingness to help others touched many lives.

Above all, Bob was a kind and loving father, stepfather, grandfather, husband, and friend.

He was known for his warmth, integrity, sense of humor, and genuine interest in the people around him.

Bob is survived by his wife, Marilyn Clay; daughter Diedra Clay and her husband, Mike McLeod; granddaughters Sofie and Sadie Clay; his dear sister Judy Smith and her husband, John; stepchildren Corrie Chamberlin; Alix and Brandon Roos; Scott Chamberlin and Stephanie Barish; brothers-in-law Vin Sherman and Dale Sherman and Dale’s wife, Liz; and step-grandchildren Alex Cross, Maximillian McLeod, Margaret McLeod, Milo Chamberlin, Thea Chamberlin, and Zayne Roos.

He was preceded in death by his son, Cameron Robert Clay, in 2025.

A commemoration of Bob’s very full life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boys & Girls Club of Snohomish County, 8223 Broadway, Suite 100, Everett, WA 98203.

Please note “Coupeville” on the memo line to support local programs.

Bob’s life was marked by service, kindness, and a deep love for family and community. He will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him.

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“I was lucky, happy, and proud to be associated with him”

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , , on June 18, 2026| 1 Comment »

Kent Turner (Photos courtesy Ken Stange)

Whidbey is paying tribute to one of its best today, after Kent Turner passed away Wednesday at age 39.

A 2005 graduate of Coupeville High School who played tennis for the Wolves, he was the son of Deborah Turner, who served on the school board between 2001-2008.

One of his friends, former longtime CHS tennis coach and teacher Ken Stange, offered up the following tribute, which he is letting us republish:

 

Kent was a major fixture in so many communities on our island.

He drummed for four bands that I know of. He was well known and respected in his work.

He was a very active member of his church. He helped people with sobriety.

He grew up here on the island. He was helpful and kind and funny. He was a friend to many, me included.

I was fortunate enough to have known Kent from two of those large communities he was a part of.

In 2004, I began teaching in Coupeville. It was Kent’s senior year.

I didn’t have him in class and even though he was a tennis player, I didn’t start coaching until my second year there, just after he’d graduated.

Still, we’d managed to strike up a pretty cool relationship because despite not being in my class, he spent quite a bit of time in my classroom.

We had a shared love of tennis and music, plus he was just a really nice kid.

We had a stupid joke about how he was Kent and I was Ken, from Kent.

Ten years later I moved to the South end and there he was again!

I’d see him around often and we’d always chat about tennis and sports; about how awesome the band Rush was.

He was just one of those guys who left you feeling better than you’d felt before you ran into him. Those are some of the best people!

A few years later, he was drumming on the Bailey’s stage.

No longer the kid at Coupeville High School, I saw him for the grown adult man he was, and a damn fine example of one at that.

I always loved chatting with him. He was beloved and well-respected member of the Whidbey music scene, and I was lucky, happy, and proud to be associated with him.

Tripp’n Gypsy’s … Haunting Autumn … Ant Aesthetic … Ike and The Old Man. Those were his bands, all different sounds and all with Kent holding down the fort.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to sit in with Tripp’n Gypsy’s a little bit. They were the first ones to do it.

I got to do two different songs by The Tragically Hip with them. It involved actually going to their band practices and working with them.

I remember the first time well.

The song was called “Scared,” and to be honest, so was I.

I’d never sang outside of being alone in a car and while I was a huge Tragically Hip fan, Scared was not exactly a song that would be easy because it was a soft one.

No screaming, and it had some tricky word combos.

I was nervous.

I showed up to their practice space, and they all made me feel at home. We began practicing the song.

We’d start … we’d stop … we rinsed and repeated several times.

I felt like an interloper as I listened to band members discuss things and hash out details about making the song flow better. I felt that I was definitely in over my head.

Then Kent shouted above everyone and asked what I thought.

For some reason, I didn’t feel like an interloper anymore, didn’t feel in over my head.

I added my thoughts.

Kent said that I’d probably listened to that song many more times than everyone. He even took some advice from me about his part.

We all got back to it. It sounded better and better.

The next weekend, they shepherded me through my first ever public singing performance. For me, it was all Kent.

He was the catalyst with his building of my confidence and enabling me to get up there and do it with some form of conviction.

The next time I performed with Tripp’n Gypsy’s, I had input into the song.

We chose “Fiddler’s Green,” again by The Hip.

It’s a sad song about a boy gone too soon from the world. I loved that one, and I hope that William Leffler and the gang will want to run it back with “Fiddler’s Green,” for Kent.

Hopefully, we can have some sort Kent Fest, so the community of musicians and music lovers, along with anyone else from all his other communities, can celebrate Kent, his life, and all the ways he helped us live better.

Kent, I love you and miss you.

I also know you’d say this post is lame and that having a party in your honor would be even lamer.

Peace, my friend.

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“He was a good man that served his community well”

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , , on June 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Robert Clay

Coupeville athletes have lost one of their most ardent supporters.

Robert Clay, a longtime Town Councilman and Island Transit board member, who died at age 85 Tuesday, spent many a game enjoying popcorn while watching the Wolves play.

While he was unable to attend games in person this spring, he kept track of granddaughter Zayne Roos and her CHS softball teammates as they won league and district titles before advancing to the state tourney.

Wednesday afternoon wife Marilyn posted the following to Facebook:

Hello friends.

I wanted to let you know that our Bob passed away yesterday morning.

He was a good man that served his community well.

He was loyal to the Portland-based company that hired him right out of college, Hyster, and could tell you the model of every year ad infinitim.

He was a salesman and then a sales manager and eventually managed dealerships.

He had a charming sense of humor, could dance like a star, possessed a fine face, loved his family and his friends.

He was an athlete and played football for Oregon State University.

His love for football was imbedded in his DNA. Golf came in a strong second.

He had a beautiful singing voice and could not remember a single word of a single song, but that did not prevent him from singing it.

He died in comfort while surrendering to congestive heart failure at the age of 85.

After decades of successfully managing his heart disease, he lived his final four years at Regency in Oak Harbor.

I cannot say enough good things about that wonderful facility and the staff there that truly become family to the residents.

The care and respect for others is built into their business practices, which shows in every aspect of the dignity of the lives of the residents.

I’m feeling gratitude and love today, piled up on top of the knowing of how I will miss that guy.

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Peg Tennant left an indelible mark

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , on April 21, 2026| 3 Comments »

This photo from 2017 captures Peg Tennant as she was retiring after 22 years with the Coupeville School District. (Amanda Rice photo)

Peg Tennant was a feisty one.

And I mean that in the best way possible.

As a longtime drama club advisor/coach in the Coupeville School District, as the driving force behind two farmer’s markets, even as a customer at Videoville and Miriam’s Espresso, Peg impacted numerous lives in our town.

If she liked you, she would be your biggest supporter.

But if you didn’t give her students or her farmers the respect they deserved, she had no qualms about calling you out and giving you a brisk talking-to.

After which you generally realized she was probably right.

I always got along with her, probably because the first time she told me, “I don’t care if it’s called Coupeville Sports, you can dang well cover the theatre as well,” I agreed with her.

She retired from the local schools in 2017, and we ran this piece:

A bow, then a graceful exit!!

 

Now, word has reached us that Peg passed away earlier this year. She will be missed.

 

From her family:

Margot Elizabeth “Peg” Tennant was born on March 22, 1955, in Pensacola, Florida and died on February 16, 2026 at Soundview Rehab in Anacortes after a protracted illness.

Peg was preceded in death by her parents, Lt Cdr (USN) William Tennant, and Dorothy Tennant.

She is survived by her son, Alexander Tennant-Jayne of Coupeville, WA, sister Kate Rogers of Greenbank, WA, sister Barbara Tennant of Twisp, WA, and brother-in-law Miller Batson, also of Twisp, as well as nephews Bradley Rogers and wife, Sharon, Kirkland, Tom Rogers and wife, Sarah, Boise, ID, Noah Batson, Twisp, and Nathaniel Batson, Bellingham, WA.

Peg was a long-term resident of Coupeville and a passionate celebrant of the arts.

She was the Drama Coach for Coupeville High School for 7+ years.

Peg was passionate about supporting local farmers, crafters, and artists.

She spent many years managing the local farmer’s markets in Coupeville and Oak Harbor, being onsite all day posting up signs and making sure the area was ready for market day.

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Full of grace and joy, remembered with love

Posted in In memory, tagged , , , , , on February 10, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Russell Torres

This Christmas, it will be 20 years since I left Videoville.

That capped a 12-year run behind the counter at two stores, running from 1994 to 2006.

First, a year in the lil’ house converted into a snug video store — where the squirrels dashed in the open front door to try and snatch up fallen popcorn and where someone (probably me…) cracked the front window by playing the Jurassic Park laserdisc WAY too loud one time.

The T-Rex roared, the glass gave up with a whimper, we told Miriam a bird hit the window, and she sort of half-believed us.

After that, the building that has been housing physical therapy businesses the last couple of years was built across from the elementary school, and Miriam’s Espresso joined the now HUGE Videoville.

Over the next 11 years I ate a lot of Reese’s Pieces, (literally) golfed a lot of gumballs into the then-empty field where the Pizza Factory now sits and tried to convince a lot of customers to rent “Bottle Rocket.”

Customers are the life blood of any store, and we had some who were great, and a few who were genuine Grade-A asses.

Two decades down the road, at a time when the current generation has no clue what a video store was, or why they should miss it, I tend to remember the good customers more than the bad.

Well, except for the one who completely shattered a chair merely by sitting on it, and probably the one who tried (and failed) to flush a really full diaper, flooding the bathroom.

You tend to remember those ones…

But mainly I remember ones like Russell Torres and Kathy Christensen, who were both customers and parents of some of my best co-workers.

Both passed away this month, and both will be genuinely missed, even if I hadn’t seen either one in person in some time.

Kathy Christensen

Russell, whose son David and daughter-in-law Erin worked on video and espresso, respectively, was a straight shooter and I mean that with the deepest respect.

He was a kind man, a friendly face, always, and a proud husband, father, and grandfather, a man who loved his God and his country while allowing others the grace to hold their own beliefs.

Simply put, Mr. Torres earned your respect through his actions and his words, and the way he carried himself. He was a class act.

Kathy Christensen had a lot of the same attributes.

Her daughter Jodi (Christensen) Crimmins and daughter-in-law Shawn (Evrard) Christensen, who both worked as baristas for Miriam’s, are miracles of happiness, two of the nicest human beings I know.

That love of others was always on display when Mrs. Christensen swung by the store, either as a customer or to check on her girls.

The weather could be lousy outside, but she always brought the sun indoors with her.

Coupeville is a better place for having been graced with the presence of these two, and I hope the Torres and Christensen clans find some peace in troubled times with the knowledge of how positively their loved ones were regarded.

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