Laurie A. Mason
1947 — 2013
Laurie A. Mason, a lifetime islander, passed away peacefully Friday night, March 1, 2013 in Friday Harbor with family at her side.
Laurie was born in downtown Friday Harbor in December 1947 to Jack and Patricia Fairweather. She grew up in a great neighborhood with lots of kids, on Argyle Ave., where she spent her youth laughing and playing with her sister Wendy and their many animals and family pets. She graduated from Friday Harbor High in 1965 and spent two years at Skagit Valley Community College.
In the spring of 1968, she married Vaughn and this month would have celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. In the early years, when their children were young, they loved to host salmon barbecues in the summer at Kanaka Bay and hosted many dinner parties and card games at their home. They loved going to Hawaii and most recently spending time together in the sun at their condo in Palm Springs.
Laurie always seemed to work with the public. In high school she worked at the ferry landing. After her kids were born, she worked at UPS as their first and only driver for several years, toting her kids around in her Volkswagon delivery van. She worked at the Sears store downtown, the Texaco gas station and lastly for more than 20 years at the fuel pier on the waterfront.
Laurie loved singing and music. She mastered the guitar, teaching herself to play. He took her guitar to barbecues encouraging everyone to sing along and always played and sang to her kids. She sang in choirs in school and most of her life. For her 50th birthday she went to the Rolling Stones concert in Vancouver, B.C.
She adored animals, especially cats. From childhood on she always had at least one, but usually more with all of the strays she took in. She rode horses in her younger years and loved and fed “Popeye” the port’s seal every day for years. She was an avid reader and was constantly trading books with her dad, mom and sister. On a long rainy day, she could finish two good murder mysteries. She loved crossword puzzles, taking on the N.Y. Times crossword, often finishing it.
Laurie had a huge heart, particularly for the less fortunate. Her pocket, cupboard or front door was always open to those who needed it. She didn’t judge, everyone was always welcome. She was loved by many and will be greatly missed by her loved ones and friends.
She is survived by her husband, Vaughn Mason, mother Patricia Fairweather, daughter Tami Hayes, son Shane (Brea) Mason, her four grandchildren; Alex Hayes, Gavin, Jack and Ella Mason; sister, Wendy (Dave) Picinich, nephew Marc Picinich, all of Friday Harbor, and niece Jill (Martin) Whitfield and grand-niece Arianna Whitfield, of Las Vegas, Nev.
A celebration of Laurie’s life was held Sunday, March 10, 2013, at the Presbyterian Church, Friday Harbor.
Remembrances can be sent to the Animal Protection Society, P.O. Box 1355, Friday Harbor. Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Anacortes and the San Juan Islands. To share memories of Laurie, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com.
— Family of Laurie Mason
