Muriel Anne Giddings

In loving Memory of Muriel Anne Giddings
1932 - 2015

The most wonderful mom in the world passed away on December 26, 2015. She was loved by all who knew her because of her honest and caring nature. There were never any strangers to her as she would always open her home and share everything she had. Death is such an odd thing - as much as we know it comes to us all, we are never really prepared for it when it comes to a loved one. Our mom had always battled back every time, even when we thought her passing was near. She was so strong and so connected to us, we know she just didn't want to leave her babies. We know how much she loved us: Beau, "Deedlebug" (Ange), Monica, and her baby Dale. We are comforted by this. She hung on for so long, longer than we think she should have just to be with us and keep us safe. She was always a fierce protector. But, she was so tired and her pain couldn't be controlled at times and as much as we wanted her to stay and be with us, we loved her more and wanted her to be in a better place. We know she is OK and watching over us. She has already been visiting Deedlebug - still keeping an eye on her making sure she's OK. She had all of us together on Christmas day and we know she felt it was time she could let go. This brings us so much comfort that she spent the entire Christmas day with us and passed quietly the following morning.
Our mom's early life took place in the Crescent City, California area. She was born at Seaside Hospital and lived on the Yurok reservation, raised by her 2 grandmothers in Requa and Crescent City. She attended schools in Crescent City and enjoyed reading the most. Her first job was working the Lilly fields. She also worked in local businesses until she met our Dad. She met him in a coffee shop one day and as soon as she turned 18 they were married. They loved playing shuffleboard and cards and enjoyed a quiet life before they had children. They took over the "Hiouchi Cafe" and ran it for a few years. They then started their family and mom started raising her kids.
Our mom moved to the Tri-City area in 1968 with my dad when he was offered a job at Hanford. Her youngest son, Dale, was born that September. Our mom soon became a single parent and worked so hard to keep us well cared for. She did an amazing job raising us on a single income and always made sure we had what we needed and a little of what we wanted. Her first job here was at the Shamrock Tavern. She loved this place and met many friends here, including her best friend Mary Becker Weisz. Our mom was also very close to her aunt Angie and uncle Jack who helped a lot with us and always made sure we had really memorable holiday celebrations. She then got a job with Lamb Weston and she was so proud. It meant more pay and benefits and she felt she would be able to care for us better. She worked there almost 25 years and retired there. During her time in the Tri-Cities, she had many interests and hobbies. There are so many memories we have of family bike rides all over town, running around the local bowling alley during mom's bowling league and then later enjoying her love of shooting pool in all her pool leagues. During this time in the Tri-Cities she had 2 of her grandchildren who spent a lot of their early life with her - granddaughters Alysha "Lissy" and Makenzie. Our mom loved having these 2 special little girls in her life. They took over the house with their toys and would hang out with grandma in her bed and watch Disney movies over and over. They were such a joy to her life. She will always be so proud of them. Our mom was always known as "mom" to all of our friends as well. A few of them our mom even called her "adopted" children especially Bobbie Jo and Vonnie and "adopted" granddaughter Danielle. And even when our relationships with spouses or significant others ended, her relationship with them did not. She was always happy to continue to call Jerine a daughter and friend. We are so happy that so many people touched and were touched by our mom. We know we are very lucky.
In the late 1990's mom decided to follow Monica to the Port Orchard area where she would live until her passing. Her second wave of grandchildren, Dakota, Colton, Madison, Gracie, and Timmy from her daughter Monica had come along and were a handful so mom decided to come to help. Mom couldn't leave her Deedlebug so Ange followed. Her son, Beau, would also move here and with his 3 children, Ralphie, Cassidy, and Rodney. Mom was able to enjoy all her grandkids close to her. Most of mom's life in the Port Orchard area included caring for her grandkids. She encouraged so many things in them. Dakota started playing tennis because mom always wanted "a tennis player in the family". Our mom loved watching tennis and when Dakota started playing, it made her so happy and proud. She would attend his area tennis tournaments matches and was always so happy to see him play. Grandma's love of reading poured over to Colton and Madison who, like grandma always enjoyed a good book. She was always so proud that they were readers because she knew the importance and fun that books can be. Then Gracie and Timmy came along and they loved spending time with grandma. They always made so many beautiful pictures for grandma that she so proudly displayed on her walls. Gracie was very lucky, as she would have the last words grandma spoke directed at her. Gracie said in her ear, "I love you grandma", and grandma said so loud and clear "I love you too". Gracie's so grateful to have that memory to hold on to. Our mom also got to spend some of her time with her 3 grandkids from her son Beau. Even when they moved away and she didn't see them very often, she had them in her thoughts. Besides her grandchildren, mom's time in Port Orchard was spent reading, watching tennis, and shooting pool. She was involved in several pool leagues in town and really enjoyed those weekly tournaments. It was great to see mom doing what she loved. All of us kids have all been on one of her pool leagues at one point or another. These are great memories we can take with us. As our mom's strokes weakened her body she couldn't get out of the house as much so most of her time was spent at home watching her favorite television shows. She used to always say that she could see the world just fine in the comfort of her own home, on her own couch. We would all just sit and watch along with her while the grandkids filled up the background noise. This is what made our mom happy though. She loved her kids more than anything in the world and her grandkids and great grandchild were just icing on the cake. Our mom was the greatest person in all of our lives, always so honest, loving, and kind. We all felt special and so loved by her. She was an amazing woman who we will miss so much. We know she will live on through us.

We love you mom!
Beau, Ange (Deedlebug), Monica, and Dale