Pauline Britton Muir-Stroud

Pauline Britton Muir-Stroud, who loved her family in all its forms, who painted lovely still-life's in oil on canvas, and who helped lead successful small businesses through good times and bad, died recently of complications from Alzheimer's. She was 81.

Pauline was born in Helena, Montana but grew up in - and spent most of her life in - Tacoma, Washington, where she graduated from Stadium High School, a point of pride she managed to mention in virtually every possible conversation.

As a single working mom in the 1970s, Pauline raised her boys Kirk Barnes and Eric Barnes (now of Memphis) while simultaneously rising from receptionist to President of the brokerage services division of KMS, an insurance company based in Tacoma and, later, Seattle. That journey would be remarkable now, and was beyond remarkable then, and it taught her boys deep lessons about perseverance and fairness.

Pauline married Wendell Stroud in 1979 and the two of them went on to manage and co-found a number of small businesses, most notably Marine Floats, which has built docks, floats, piers, boathouses, and more for thousands of homes, businesses, and marinas throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Having married Wendell following a long and extensive courtship that by their own accounts lasted somewhere between four and seven weeks, Pauline proudly became stepmother to Jeff Stroud, Kim Stroud Snook, and Gary Stroud. This in turn added to Pauline's much-beloved role of grandmother - and later great grandmother - to an ever-growing group of children. She doted on her grandchildren when she was with them, openly feeding them ice cream against the wishes of their parents, encouraging them all to exhibit a not-so-subtle intransigence against the rules and beliefs of their parents, and - when possible - showing her grandchildren how to draw and paint.

Pauline started painting when she was young, including in classes at Central Washington University. Her still-life's, usually painted in oil, depicted simple scenes that were made so much more complex through the immense detail, care and beauty she brought to her work. She painted throughout her life and, even after Alzheimer's had stolen her memories, her ability to speak, and finally her consciousness, Pauline still managed to create truly beautiful paintings.

Pauline and Wendell were married for 42 years, together running Marine Floats, vacationing often in Mexico, and spending much time on their boat, the Sea Lark, a beautiful 42-foot wooden Chris Craft. Boating would eventually lead Pauline to become commodore of the Fox Island Yacht Club, making her one of the first female commodores of any yacht club on Puget Sound.

The fourth of six children, Pauline was close to her siblings through much of her life. And she loved her many nieces and nephews, all of whom knew her simply as Aunt Paulie. Family gatherings with her siblings were inevitably loud, opinionated, sometimes heated, and often very funny. Pauline more than held her own amid this ruckus.

Her parents, Anita Clyde Williams and Jim Logston Muir, both grew up in Kentucky before later meeting in Helena in the 1920s. Anita had migrated to Montana via Missouri as, meanwhile, Jim, one of seven children, saw he and his young siblings all separated from one another during the Great Depression. But at 13 years old, Jim got a job as a paperboy in Detroit, which enabled him to reunite his family. Most of Jim's siblings would also eventually make their way to Montana and Western Washington.

Pauline adored her father and his stories, no matter how many times those same stories were told. After Anita's death, Pauline and Wendell spent many years caring for Jim until he passed away in 2009 at 98 years old.

In Helena, where Pauline and a number of her siblings were later born, Jim worked as a bellboy at one of the grand hotels that then existed there. He proudly served prominent businessmen and politicians including, at least according to family lore, Teddy Roosevelt, all of whom were making the long journey by train from the East Coast to the Pacific Northwest.

Jim would later become an engineer on the Milwaukee Railroad and his stories of the railroad filled the dinner table at Muir family gatherings for many decades. These were the stories that shaped Pauline's upbringing and her attachment to her parents and siblings.

In Tacoma in the 1950s, the home of Jim and Anita was very often the destination for many of the friends of the six children. There would be teenagers playing guitar on the porch, others working on cars in the driveway, and still, others simply hanging out with the many Muir children.

Pauline was preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Anita, and her siblings Jimmy, Beverly, Bobby, and Richard.

She is survived by her husband, Wendell; her two boys, Kirk and Eric; her step-children, Jeff, Kim, and Gary; her remaining sibling, John; and her best friend since childhood, Karin Anderson, forever known to her boys as Auntie Karin.

Her daughters-in-law and sons-in-law include Heidi (Kirk), Ann (Jeff), Farrah (Kim), and Anaya Rose (Gary).

Her grandchildren include Reed Barnes from Memphis, Elise Barnes, Mackenzie Barnes from Memphis, Leslie Stroud-Romero and husband Aaron, Sara Stroud Franzen and husband Aaron, Erin Stroud Johnson, and husband Buck, Riley Stroud, and Jasper Stroud.

Her great-grandchildren include Oliver, Harrison, Willow, Jack, Ellena, and Ethan.

A service in honor of Pauline and her life will be held later in the summer of 2021 at New Tacoma Cemetery.