Bernadette Francine Webster

Bernadette was born into a working-class Catholic family in Port Angeles, Washington on June 10, 1950. Her older siblings, Burke and Alicia, and her younger sister, Mary, were always close and kind to each other. Her sheltered childhood provided a solid base for stability, hard work and love of nature. She remembered her Irish grandmother being a fountain of love. She remembered playing in the woods in empty lots and spending time at the family resort at Lake Crescent. She loved running just for the pure joy of it. She experienced much of her life through her emotions. She began taking pre-veterinary classes but got very ill and never went back to school.
When she was nineteen, she set off on a long hitch-hiking trip across the western US. She spent a winter working and living in Minneapolis with friends. When she was hitch-hiking, she would sleep in graveyards because she felt safe. When cars would stop to pick her up, her kitten would jump off her shoulder into the car which would win over the occupants.
Don Edwards picked her up hitch-hiking and she ended helping him find a farm to buy and stayed on Chemise Mountain Farm with him for 25 years of an inequitable relationship. They homesteaded and raised show goats. They had an orchard and large gardens. Her animal husbandry came in handy many times especially when cougars caused damage. The farm remained off grid with kerosene lamps and gravity flow water.
On May 1, 1973 her first child, Blossom, was born. She was delivered at home by her father because the midwives were late. The Madrone trees were in full blossom that day. Their second child, Logan, was born on May 26, 1981 and was delivered by his dad because the labor was only one hour.
She became an integral and loved part of the community in the Humboldt culture. She was involved in volunteer work in local politics. She took declarations from homeless people who were harassed and discriminated against. She also worked for years on litigation against Operation Greensweep.
In 2012 she married Jack Glick in Mendocino and lived a happy life with him in Whale Gulch. Logan and his wife, Ashley, had three children - Lukas, Parker and Connor - whom she adored and spent as much time as she could with. She spent years suffering from cancer but confounding doctors when she would bounce back from near-death episodes. Jack died over a year before she did. She was with him when he passed, and Logan was one of the first responders to show up.
She loved to travel and would regularly go up the Oregon coast and make her way over to spend time with her other grandchildren Noa, Rio and Jessica.
She was so ill and yet she was as productive and as optimistic as possible. Although she lived alone, she was surrounded by those that loved her and was able to say goodbye to her family before she passed. She did not appear to be afraid, but seemed to embrace the ultimate liberation. She passed in Eureka on March 15, 2024.
Her family will be holding a celebration of life Saturday June 8 at 1 p.m. at Beginnings in Briceland. The main course and drinks will be provided. Potluck for appetizers, sides and desserts.
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