IN MEMORY

Richard (Rick) Allen Miner was born in New York City on February 12, 1946, to parents Allen H. Miner and Marjorie Gordon Miner. Rick's early life took him from the East Coast to the West Coast, with his family moving to Beverly Hills, CA, and eventually settling in Brentwood, CA. His lifelong connection to the entertainment industry started after graduating from Palisades High School in Los Angeles. Rick studied film and motion pictures at USC Northridge and used his creativity and skills during his service in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a Mate Third Class with the Atlantic Fleet Combat Camera Group.

Following in his father's footsteps, Rick entered the Hollywood scene and found success as a writer and director on a number of television shows. His first notable achievement came in 1977 when he produced and directed a documentary titled Get It Together, which was nominated for Best Documentary in 1978. Though he did not win, this nomination earned him entry into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, where he became a voting member, strengthening his legacy in the industry.

During the writers' strike of the late 1980s, Rick pursued new opportunities and moved to Seattle in 1989 where he met and married the love of his life, Joyce Smith. During this time, Rick's creativity came to the forefront again with a new project, GET WET, a show he produced, wrote, and directed, a project he would describe as the job of a lifetime.

In 2001, Rick pivoted his career to real estate, combining his Hollywood-honed skills of storytelling and production with his love for the water to become one of the leading agents in Seattle's floating homes and waterfront homes. His unique approach and dedication to his profession made him a beloved figure in the community.

Rick is survived by his devoted wife, Joyce Miner; his children from a previous marriage, Michael Miner of San Mateo, CA; Kimberly Alexander of Thousand Oaks, CA; his sister, Kathy Miner of San Francisco, CA; and his brothers, Ron Miner of Los Osos, CA, Don Miner of San Marcos, CA and 4 Grandsons. He was predeceased by his parents, Allen and Marjorie Miner and his brother Peter Miner.

Rick's friend Courtney Neese said, "We lost Rick Miner last month. He had a big impact on our world for many decades. I wanted to take a moment and honor him because he was such a big part of our community for so long and he deserves it. He was a force of a real estate agent – a fierce but kind competitor. He was bigger than life and Always dazzled us. He had a Hollywood background in producing and directing and was an actual voting member of the Academy.

This enabled him to look at each of our homes as a Hollywood set. Rick was great at highlighting our lifestyle and always always always sneaking a duck or at least some major yellow into the listing pictures because that was his signature. In fact, If you saw someone walking down the dock wearing all yellow, then chances are that one of your neighbors was about to have their home be the star of his show.  We all owe so much to him. There are a lot of great agents on the lake, but none of them put our floating community on the map like he did. He would always have a camera as he drove his boat around the lake from dock to dock with Zoe the sweet goldendoodle. Everyone assumed she was his dog, but he actually had hijacked her from his friend and next door neighbor Dave Reith. That was Rick the agent. He lived and breathed the lifestyle and he loved it. Rick the private person was also bigger than life, but so warm. He was kind to my children and took great pleasure in giving them little ducks and duckin hats. My son thought he was as famous as Brad Pitt. As we got to know each other he became an amazing mentor, but mostly he became my friend. I will always smile when I see a happy yellow house or a yellow duck. None of this greatness was possible without the strength of his beautiful wife and business partner. Please have his sweet Joyce Miner in your thoughts."

Rick's creativity, "quack-y" sense of humor, and kindness touched everyone who knew him. He leaves behind a legacy of artistic achievement, love, and dedication to his family and friends. He will be dearly missed by all.

James (Jim) Donnette was born January 29, 1937 to Hazel Young Donnette and Joseph Lee Donnette of Warren, Ohio. After WWII the family moved to California, settling in Torrance. Jim was involved in student council throughout his high school years, and was Torrance High Student Body President in his senior year. He attended El Camino Community College and worked for Northrup earning an AA in Aeronautical Engineering. He married Patricia Rogan in 1956 and their firstborn, Joseph, was born a year later. 

Somewhat disillusioned with aeronautics after working on military projects requiring security clearance, Jim, Pat and Joe moved to Berkeley so Jim could begin his studies in Architecture at Cal. In 1959 they welcomed Darryl to their growing family. During the summers they worked at the Cal Summer Camps in the Sierras. Jim was the Teenage Director and learned to sail so he could teach the youth involved. In addition to his studies, Jim worked many jobs on campus, as well as in partnership with his friend George Horvath in their architectural illustration firm, Horvath Donnette. Jim and Pat divorced in 1963 and both continued to parent their boys. Jim received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1963. He worked for a variety of firms in San Francisco designing schools, airline support buildings and most notably BART stations. In the spring of 1966 he was offered a position in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. 

Jim and Barbara Rayburn married and moved to Seattle. With a secure position for fall, they stored their things with friends and took off camping around the US in a VW convertible. With the boys they toured many National Parks, Washington DC and cities of the east coast. They returned to Ann Arbor in time for the boys to start school. Jim and Barb dashed homeward stopping for a few days of hiking in Yellowstone. While camped at Money Creek, near Gold Bar, they searched for a houseboat. At a life changing moment, they met Terry Pettus, Mr Houseboat, who led them to the end of the 2331 Fairview dock. On a lark, they bought houseboat H (as in Heaven) enough space for the boys.

Jim found his real calling as an Assistant Professor in the Architecture Department at the University of Washington. Jim proved to be a natural teacher, particularly in the area of architectural drawing and graphic simulation. His empathic nature and sincere desire to help students understand conceptual relationships was always foremost in his teaching. This made him one of the most popular faculty with students. 

While teaching, Jim continued his own studies, focusing on graphics as a critical tool of communication. In 1969 he was awarded a Master of Architecture by the University of Washington and was tenured and promoted to Associate Professor. A big year, as he received his WA State License to practice Architecture too. Jim founded the Graphics Laboratory, teaching critical thinking through graphics to thousands of students in architecture, interior design, urban, planning and construction management. 

Jim also had an uncompromising integrity and sense fairness that made him a natural selection for administrative roles within the College of the Built Environment as he was able to work well with all of the departments. When then Dean Gordon Varey established an All-College Undergraduate Degree program, he appointed Jim as Program Director. Jim also served as Chair of the Construction Management Department. 

Jim loved sailing. He seemed especially intrigued with the independence and freedom it afforded him. With his wife Barb, they explored the American and Canadian San Juan Islands; first with their thunderbird, Pangloss, and later in their Westsail 32, Panthalassa. 

Just learning to sail was insufficient. Jim became a celestial navigator. This was prior to GPS but it afforded the opportunity for blue-water sailing. Soon Jim, Barb and daughter Jen (5) and friends Paul and Pam Lewis and their son Andy (18 mo) were off sailing to Hawaii, returning to Seattle in time for Jen to start kindergarten. Again, this wasn’t sufficient. In 1978, Jim took a year's leave from teaching and they sailed Panthalassa down the coast and to the South Pacific Islands: Marquesas, Tuamoto Archipelago and the Society Islands of Tahiti, Moorea etc. They returned via Hawaii to their beloved houseboat.

The next years were filled with teaching, learning and work. Jim with the Department of Architecture, Jen in public schools and UW and Barb managing the city’s P-Patch community gardens. On retirement, they joyfully became founding members of Tenderfoot Adventures started by their neighbor Val Burgess. They walked, hiked, backpacked, talked, biked, sailed, sang, played games and travelled together and created life-long friendships. All because of Val and her philosophy of 'Just Show Up'.

In addition to Tenderfoot Adventures, the sailing adventures continued over the years with 3 passages from Maui to Seattle returning other peoples racing boat for those without the leisure time of retirees. The crews included Jim, Doug, Paul and Barb (chief cook and bottle washer) and children and friends. 

Over the years and many improvements, 'houseboats' morphed into 'Floating Homes'. They were finally recognized as amazing places surrounded by nature, boating, floating, and a relaxed life style with fabulous, supportive neighbors. Jim and Barb lived their dream there until Jim's dementia progressed and he needed extensive care. On November 10th 2024, Jim Donnette, ever the optimist, sailed on.....

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Hazel Young Donnette and Joseph Donnette, his sister Joan (Jim) Allen. He is survived by his wife Barbara, sons Joseph and Darryl and daughter Jennifer (Shae) and grandsons Riley and Rowan. His brother John (Marcy) daughter, Erin, and son Justin (Vida) and son Jordan. 

Jann's commitment to our floating home community spanned more than forty years: she was the heart of our organization, someone who made things happen and brought energy and resolve to every project she touched. 

She launched the first floating homes tour, turning a simple idea into a showcase of our floating, colorful lifestyle. She handled calls from around the globe -- from film crews searching for that perfect scene to people curious about this funny life we have - that is, with fish living under our floors. 

Jann treasured her trips to Mexico with her husband, her collection of antique South American jewelry, her two cats and those quiet moments spent tending to her garden. Yet, Jann’s happiest times were perhaps those spent with a good friend on a raft, hovering gently over water next to the city and people she loved. Jann's fearless nature and genuine curiosity about people defined her. 

She was our community’s confidante and cheerleader, always ready to offer a listening ear, sound advice, and heartfelt encouragement. She championed Grand Community Missions and supported those who dared to challenge unfair norms, leading us all toward a better and stronger community.  Jann’s legacy is a reminder of the power of working together, giving back and the strength of a passionate heart. She is dearly missed.  

- Source Linda Knight and Stafford Green from FHA Newsletter Fall 2024

A former Houseboat Harbor International houseboat owner, Blaine died peacefully on Friday, January 14, 2022.  He was 98 years old. Blaine Gibson Hammond was born on Sept. 30, 1923 in Johnstown, Nebraska, but moved to Wausa, Nebraska, when he was young.  Blaine graduated from Wausa High School at the age of 16 and moved to Lincoln to attend the University of Nebraska.  While he was there, he met Eloise Carlson and they began dating.  When WWII broke out Blaine tried to join the Army but was rejected due to poor eyesight.  He and Eloise were married in 1942.  Blaine continued to work at various jobs, including at the Wichita Boeing plant, and to attend school.  In September of 1945 Blaine was drafted into the Army and this time they accepted him.  He worked with the Army Air Corps in Washington, DC studying the effects of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb. Meanwhile, Eloise was pregnant and in October of 1946 gave birth to Blaine Randol Hammond in Lincoln, Nebraska.  From there the family moved to Selah, Washington, where he became the pastor of Selah Methodist Church, which had been dying.  Blaine was hired by the Wesley Foundation (a campus ministry) at the University of Washington, Seattle, as their director in 1962. While they were there, Eloise was diagnosed with cancer, and after a long illness died in February of 1966.  Blaine took a one-year sabbatical, traveling with his daughters around the country.  On his return, he resigned his ordination and left the Methodist Church.  He spent time at a local Unitarian fellowship and then left religion behind.

Blaine began to work for the University of Washington in several capacities, but mostly at the Community Development Department. During that time, he began to date again, and eventually proposed to Solweig Ekström, a Swedish citizen who was a permanent resident of the United States, living in Seattle with her daughter, Paula.  They were married on New Year’s Day, 1969.  During his time at the UW Blaine and Solweig purchased an old which did not have a moorage and convinced Houseboat Harbor, Inc. (HHI), a community which owned its own land and docks, to rent him a space.  When the time came for them to want that space back, at almost the last minute, another owner decided to move and Blaine and Solweig became part of the HHI community.  That community and the houseboat became their lives for decades thereafter, and Blaine worked continually to improve the houseboat.  He said that every square inch of that boat had his sweat and DNA on it.  He dove under it, crawled between the joists and timbers, sawed open flooring and pushed out walls.  Eventually he hoped to put a deck on the roof at which point Solweig told him she was tired of never seeing him because he was always working on the houseboat, so he stopped.  For a while.

After losing his positions at the UW, he and Solweig moved to Sweden for two years, renting out the houseboat.  Blaine taught English as a Second Language and learned cross-country skiing.  Upon their return to Seattle, Blaine and Solweig took jobs with their brother-in-law Gary Meisner’s tax business, and after he felt he had learned enough, they began their own business, The Tax Center, in Kirkland, Washington.  He worked there until he retired in 2001.  He spent many years in one capacity or another, most often Secretary, with HHI.

Blaine and Solweig continued to travel extensively, most often to Sweden, where Solweig still had family, and to England to visit Paula and Thomas. In the mid 2000’s Solweig was diagnosed with cancer and died in 2008, and Blaine never pursued another love interest. By the mid-2010’s Blaine was falling occasionally and the doctors told him to use a cane.  He hated that.  He had always been proud of his strength and fitness, and he continually exercised.  Blaine experienced a TIA at Thanksgiving, 2016, and those continued over time.  Each one seemed to affect him a little more with longer-lasting results.  As his balance became worse, his doctor told him (as Beth had been telling him for some time) that he could no longer safely live on the houseboat.  They looked around for an assisted living home and chose Vineyard Park (VP), in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. The cane gave way to a walker and he continued to spend a lot of time walking around with it until he fell with that also and moved to a wheelchair in 2021.  After that he stopped going outside to exercise.  He had one final stroke, which took away his ability to speak clearly for a time and made it impossible for him to get up out of his wheelchair or move around much. But as long as he was able to speak and listen he loved to have conversations with the people he cared about. He had an exceptionally long life but such lives are never long enough.  He is sorely missed.

Caryl passed away August 29, 2022, age 75. Born February 5, 1947 in Tacoma, WA to Elwyn & Lorene Schumacher. She married her high school sweetheart Bill Keasler in 1969 after she graduated from the University of Washington. Caryl and Bill spent their newlywed years traveling throughout Europe, the Middle East, India, and Nepal before settling down in the Lake Union Floating Homes community in Seattle. From there they spent many summers traveling around the Pacific Northwest on their sailboat.

Caryl went on to have an extensive career in both the Bellevue and Seattle Public School districts teaching Language Arts and Special Education primarily working with middle school and high school students.

After retiring from full time teaching in 2004 she continued to work part time as a substitute teacher until 2008 when she fully retired due to her myelofibrosis. Despite that, she continued to travel as much as possible, with both Bill and her good friend Heidi, traveling places like Morocco, South Africa, Cuba, Costa Rica and more. Growing up in a musical household, she loved the arts and was a skilled piano player. Her favorite pastimes aside from travel included visiting museums, seeing ballets, and stage plays.

Caryl was quiet, but not afraid to speak up when it mattered, thoughtful, intelligent and a kind soul. She was easily loved by everyone who met her.

Caryl is survived by her daughter Karen Caplan (Leigh), grandson Holden Caplan, brother Terry Schumacher, nephew Jason Schumacher, sister-in-law Kathy Keasler and niece Lily Keasler. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband of 46 years, Bill Keasler.

A small celebration of life for close family and friends was held on the houseboat October 8, 2022 from 2-5pm.

Larry was born in Seattle to Lawrence I. and Genevieve Polson Bailey. The Bailey side arrived in America on the Mayflower in 1620. The Polson's emigrated from Sweden in 1868 and homesteaded on Fir Island, Washington Territory in 1870. He was very proud of both connections. He passed peacefully at home with his son, daughter, and best friend and companion holding his hands.

He had a lifelong love of the outdoors and went through the Scouting program achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1951 and the U.W. in 1955. A commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve flying fighter planes, and marriage to Maxine Joy Mundt followed. After the Navy he was hired as a commercial airline pilot flying DC-3's to start and retiring in the 747.

His family was the most important thing in his life. The outdoors, especially the mountains, was the second love of his life. The whole family was often included in forays into the wilderness. With the passage of time it was obvious that climbing had a built in ceiling, so he and Maxine started sailing to further stretch their horizons. That part of their life was climaxed with a 14 ½ year circumnavigation on their 41'sailboat, "Shingebiss2". They sailed all oceans, visited all continents and traveled in 72 countries while avoiding all canals. Larry was a long-time member of the Seattle Yacht Club, the Cruising Club of America and the Ocean Cruising Club.

He is survived by son Mark Lawrence Bailey (Kimberly), daughter Ann Bailey Compton (Richard), granddaughter Monica Compton, great grandson Landen Compton and his dearest friend Jo Sanderson.

His parting words: "Adventure, mental or physical, is an essential part of a worthwhile life."