Lily Adatto

Lily ADATTO Lily Adatto died on Thursday, March 8, 2012 in Seattle Washington at the age of 95. She was an artist, wife and mother who practiced the art of motherhood with love, understanding, generosity, braided challah, borekas, fritada, oatmeal cookies and countless apple pies. Born and raised in San Francisco, she loved the hilly, sophisticated city, its bay and the sea beyond. Books, painting, dance and the theater all entranced her. She studied medical art in Chicago and San Francisco. She was calm, clear-eyed and precise as she drew the different stages of surgery in the days before the photograph made the artist's hand obsolete. She met her husband Albert Adatto on a visit to Seattle, and he later proposed to her by candlelight with a gardenia (her favorite flower) floating in a crystal bowl. Lily took a hiatus from being an artist to raise her four children Kiku Adatto, Richard Adatto, Vicki Adatto Brown and Debbie Adatto Ishida. After her husband Albert retired from the military and the family moved to Bellevue Washington, Lily began drawing and painting again. She exhibited her work in galleries and shows in the Pacific Northwest. Lily inspired a love of family, the arts, and cooking in her four children and her eight grandchildren: Michael Brown, Leah Benson, Rachel Brown, Adam Sandel, Samuel Adatto, Aaron Sandel, Alberto Ishida and Liliana Ishida. The smell of apple pie will always remind us of Lily. She arranged the apples to swirl like the spiral of a seashell. If you looked at those spiraling apples you could catch a glimpse of forever. Donations in Lily Adatto's memory can be made to Artist Trust, 1835 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122 or The Brother Thomas Fund (for artists), c / o The Boston Foundation, 75 Arlington St, #1000 Boston, MA 02116.