Marcella Chavis Gaar, 96, passed away on January 15, 2016 in Seattle, Washington.
Born Marcella Viola Chavis on January 23, 1919, Denver, Colorado, to Fred Chavis and Agnes Luna. Marcella was a resident of Seattle for 47 years.
Marcella graduated from San Diego High School in 1936, and attended colleges in California and Washington. She worked as a librarian at specialist libraries in California and Washington. Her last position was as Chief Information Officer at Washington Mutual Savings Bank’s main branch in downtown Seattle.
Marcella enjoyed reading, movies, musicals, dining out, discussing politics, and travelling. A lifelong animal lover, she owned several cats during her lifetime. She moved to Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood in 2002, and enjoyed the vibrancy and energy of the area. She liked walking to the local library and visiting her plot in the neighborhood pea patch, where she grew vegetables and flowers. During her life she traveled around the U.S., and also visited Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, England, Europe, and Russia. She last visited one of her favorite destinations, Honolulu, in 2014, and enjoyed cocktails at her favorite beachfront lounge, House Without a Key at Halekulani hotel. Always curious and inquisitive, she enjoyed meeting new people and finding out about their lives.
Marcella was married twice, and had two daughters, Suzanne Goller (Ridgway, Colorado) and Gillian G. Gaar (Seattle, Washington).
A celebration of her life will be held later in the year. Please feel free to share your memories of Marcella in the guest book.