Therese Eileen Berg

A life well lived … Therese passed away late at night, in her Edmonds home surrounded by family, after a short battle with lung cancer. She was born to Anna & John Kyle of St. Paul, MN, the 2nd of 8 children. The family moved to Seattle in 1944 and settled into a house near Green Lake. After graduating from Roosevelt HS in 1948 she worked for Greyhound Bus Lines in downtown Seattle. She married Norman L. Berg August 29th, 1953, and shortly after moved to a house they purchased in the North City neighbor¬hood. They had 3 children, Eileen, Susan, and Greg while living there, and the house started to seem a little small! In 1962 they had a house built in the Perrineville neighborhood of Edmonds, and settled in for life. Therese and Norm put in a lot of effort improving the yard, finishing the basement, and creating a comfortable home. Therese helped Norm run his concrete finishing business, man¬aging the financials, and when the kids were old enough started working part time for Washington Inventory Service. A member of the Roosevelt unit, Ryther Child Center League, since 1955, she regularly volunteered at the Ryther Child Center Thrift Store, and stayed active in fund raising for them throughout her life. She was passionate about history, both world and family. She was extremely well read on western history, and made an extensive study of her family genealogy. She published an exhaustive volume of her family’s history, culminating years of meticulous investiga¬tion. A frequent visitor to all the local research institutions she also planned her and Norms’ vacations around any possible sources of information. She belonged to the Seattle Genealogical Society, remaining active in research to the end. Her cooking was a point of pride, she made every effort to keep her family well fed with nutritious meals. “You have to eat your green leafies” was a common refrain at the dinner table. Her recipes remain staples amongst the kids, and in 1995 won her recognition by the BeeLiner Diner. They featured her as Ms. August for their Calendar Mom’s with her recipe for chicken breasts. Music played a large part in her life, especially Big Band, Swing, and Dixieland Jazz. Therese and Norm loved dancing, and were often the best on the floor, masters of the jitterbug. Much of their local travel was centered around Jazz festivals, with an annual trip to the Friday Harbor Jazz Festival the centerpiece. They would take their travel trailer, and camp for the week with many family and friends joining them, enjoying music, food, and the beautiful San Juan Island scenery. An annual Halloween costume party held in their basement was attended by as many as 75, featuring music from all eras, lots of great food, beverage, and dancing. Live music was eventually intro¬duced, and the parties became stuff of legend. Entertaining was second nature to Therese, she often hosted the Kyle family Christmas parties, and numerous family events, along with 2 weddings. Her immaculate house and yard made the perfect setting for get-togethers of any size, and she was a gracious, generous host. Friends new and old were always welcome, as was the enormous extended family. Norm retired in 1992 and they set off on an extended tour of the US in their travel trailer, visiting all the places they had dreamed of, catching up with long lost relatives, and of course, more genealogy research. Sadly, 1 day from home, they were in an accident that claimed Norm’s life. Thankfully Therese was spared from physical injury. Therese joined a bereavement group sponsored by Becks Funeral Home and was active with them for a number of years, finding comfort and new friends. There she met Bill Swearingen, who had recently lost his wife to cancer, and they hit it off. They became constant companions, enjoying many of the same activities. When Therese was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2000, and had life altering surgery, Bill was there to help her recovery, and encouraged her to get on with life. She determined nothing was going to keep her down, and became even more active in pursuit of the things she loved. Bill passed in April of 2010, leaving another huge hole in Therese’s life, but again she wouldn’t be kept down for long. She traveled extensively with her sisters and friends, remained active in genealogy, enjoyed holidays with her family, and refused to mope. Her love of music and dancing took her to many events sponsored by the Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society all over the North West. It was inevitable she would meet Jim Blokzyl, president of the Society, and a long time barbershop quartet singer. Their mutual love of music and travel carried them through many memorable trips. In July this year Therese was diagnosed with lung cancer, a huge shock to her, and the entire family. It was very advanced, and there wasn’t any treatment possible. The doctors said to take her home and keep her comfortable, and with the help of the amazing folk at Evergreen Hospice, and Fidelta Home Care, her companion Jim, and her 3 children, she spent her final days in the home she loved. She is survived by her daughters Patte Wood, Eileen Hall (Steve), Susan Whitmarsh (Tim), her son Greg, her brother Jerry, sister Joyce, and a huge extended family. In lieu of flowers, remembrances to Ryther Child Center in Therese’s name would be greatly appreciated, at https://www.ryther.org/donate.