June Eleanor (Christensen) Wittman was born June 17th 1925 and passed away June 3, 2017, at age 91, two weeks shy of her 92nd birthday.
Elmer Harold Wittman was born December 23rd, 1924 and passed away unexpectedly on June 5, 2017, from heart disease that caused a fall, at age 92.
June was the only child of Danish immigrants Oskar and Eleonora (Fischer) Christensen. Her parents were childhood neighbors in Copenhagen who reunited in their early 40’s and married. June was born the following year. She lived the first few years of her life in downtown Seattle on Howell Street. At age five, the family moved to Burien, where her father started the Danish Bakery on 152nd in Olde Burien. Raised during the Depression, her childhood years were spent working long hours beside her parents, living in the house behind the bakery. She graduated Highline High School in 1943 and went on to get a degree in Nursing. While working at Harborview Hospital on Christmas Eve 1949, she met her future husband, Elmer Wittman. They were married on June 17th, 1951 and moved to West Seattle.
After marriage June “retired” from nursing (and baking) and had 3 children in 4 years. Together Elmer & June raised their children in West Seattle starting in a one bedroom house on Gatewood Hill, then a house nearby that Elmer built himself, and finally in their “temporary” home of 56 years at the base of Genesee Hill. She spent the next few decades being a Boy and Girl Scout leader, chauffer, chore enforcer, and consistent attendee at her children’s activities. June possessed the special courage required to be a police officer’s spouse. She loved entertaining, sending cards, talking on the phone, reunions of any kind, and keeping her family in line. June was loving, funny, direct (in that Danish way), thoughtful, and a great cook. She was passionate about Childrens Hospital, Law Enforcement, anything Danish, and Thank-You Notes (not necessarily in that order).
June lost both of her parents by the time she was 30. She was followed in death, two days after her own, by her husband Elmer.
Elmer was the second of seven children born to Alexander and Amalia (Schneider) Wittman. Elmer was born and raised in Bazine, Kansas, so he was able to enjoy both the Depression AND the Dust Bowl years. He walked 5 miles uphill both ways to school every day and graduated from Bazine High School in 1942. He worked with his father doing carpenter work until he enlisted in the Navy on his 18th birthday. He served in the Pacific Fleet during WWII on a Destroyer Escort (USS Connolly) surviving both a kamikaze attack and a typhoon.
In December of 1948 Elmer moved to Seattle. He found work as a carpenter until 1950 when he joined the Seattle Police Department (Serial #1145). His assignments included motorcycle, accident investigation, polygraph, fugitive, robbery, and homicide, before retiring in 1978 as a Sergeant. After retirement he was the go-to guy for any friend or family member who needed a house constructed, kitchen remodeled, deck built, or any sort of carpenter work done. He pounded nails on rainy days and golfed on sunny days.
Elmer was scoutmaster during his sons’ scouting careers and long after they lost interest. He was active in retired police organizations, Kiwanis, and was an honorary member of the Danish Brotherhood. Everyone loved Elmer. He was kind, wryly funny, McGyver-like, and he would be horrified at what we paid to run this obituary.
For health reasons Elmer & June chose to move to Providence Mount St Vincent in 2015. The family would like to thank the Assisted Living staff for showering our parents with love and attention. We’d also like to thank the 4N Neighborhood Skilled Nursing, Spiritual Care, and Hospice teams for their loving care and patience, helping us guide our mother through her journey with dementia.
Elmer & June will be missed every day by their three children: David, Ann (David Smith), & Mark (Douglas Durbin); four grandchildren: Christopher Wittman & Melanie Wittman, along with their mother Mary P. Wittman; and Scott (Kelsey) Smith & Riley Smith. They also leave behind June’s cousin Lise Wilber, David’s girlfriend Maya Padilla and Elmer’s siblings: Violet Black, Robert Wittman and Arlene (Marvin) Davis. Elmer was preceded in death by his parents and siblings: Florene Ummel, Edna Ummel and Leroy Wittman.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests all remembrances be sent to Seattle Childrens Hospital ( seattlechildrens.org ).
A joint faith service will be held for Elmer & June on what would have been June’s 92ndbirthday and Elmer & June’s 66th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 17, at 10am at First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, 4105 California Ave SW, followed by a celebration of their lives at West Seattle Golf Course 4470 35th Avenue SW from 11:30am to 1:30pm.