Janet L. Dalbey

Janet L. Dalbey

Janet L. Dalbey died April 20, 2016. She was a loving and devoted mother, a wonderful, energetic teacher, an artist, and a beautiful, kind woman. Born in Idaho she trekked through the woods of Telache keeping pace with her older brother Joe and her two older cousins. The stories she told of hiding in a rabbit cage while trying to avoid stampeding cows, finding dynamite in an abandoned hotel of a mining town, and clinging for dear life atop a swaying slender pine tree in a wind storm always left us wondering how she ever survived to adulthood. But survive she did, and she never lost her love for exploring the outdoors or her sense of adventure. Ever the scientist of nature she taught her children and students about the art of designing a good experiment and the joy of observing the smallest details of Mother Nature such as watching the tongue of a humming bird slurp the nectar out of a flower or a banana slug glide up the trunk of a tree. Although she spent her adult life in the urban setting of Seattle teaching at West Woodland Elementary and raising her children, one of her favorite places of solace were in the city parks where she knew every trail, every species of fungus, and all the hidden duck ponds. Until limited by health issues she could still keep up with her adventurous attitude, snowboarding at Alpental, water skiing off the back of a boat in Desolation Sound, and running every trail at Discovery Park. She laughed easily and was hilarious in her own right. Her friends, former students and family will dearly miss her. Her sons Matthew, Michael, and Brian, her daughter Lindsey and her grandchildren Wes, Maddie, Tucker, and David survive her.

Please join us in a celebration of life Tues., 5/31, 5PM, at the Daybreak Star Center in Discovery Park.