What to say about one’s neighbor of 36 years! We’re Dan and Bethany’s neighbors to the East and about the same age – a bit older. We had our children sooner so we were about a decade ahead in school activities: piano and band recitals, sports, academic events and college searches – and our own work.
My greatest memory of Dan, and what I’ll miss the most – is his laugh. Gentle evenings out under the carport (I know they have a fancier clever name for it) with friends/colleagues – and breaking through the quiet air comes Dan’s laugh. Late in the evening we could hear it through our west windows. We knew someone had said something clever, or funny, or absurd, or maybe even Dan himself!
We were also in awe of their adventures: Mexico, Greece, Turkey, Ireland, France – and the preparation for each. I asked Dan once what he was reading as I was picking blueberries – “James Joyce,” he was preparing for his trip to Ireland. Most people I know read Joyce as an assignment. Dan and Bethany are each avid readers of books. We met some wonderful people through them.
We had many encounters over the years: raking leaves, shoveling snow, or chats through the blueberry bushes. They knew of Jim’s work at Ecology and mine at Revenue. They came to our kids’ weddings, knew of my parents in Ohio, my trips back, and their health struggles and deaths, and Jim’s mother near Seattle who died just a couple years ago at 104. I remember Dan holding our new baby grandson (now 11) – just looking and holding so gently. He’s terribly happy now as a grandfather – wishing, I’m sure, he had more time with them. Dan – though – documents everything! So what a legacy he has left Juno and Inian.
I haven’t even mentioned the SWONA (SouthWest Olympia Neighborhood Association) Dan and Bethany were active in for so many years – and the efforts to keep Decatur street closed by the auto mall, and the Park at Harrison and Division. They helped us and so many to know one another’s neighbors. We’ve been blessed they have been ours all these years.
Margaret Knudson (& Jim Knudson)
