Major Stanley Smith Honeywell, US Army (Ret.)

HONEYWELL, Maj. STANLEY SMITH, US Army (Ret.)

Born April 8, 1921 in Everett, WA to Sylvia and Smith Honeywell. Stanley peacefully passed away, surrounded by family, on June 26, 2007 in Kirkland, WA.

Stanley graduated from Mt Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, CA in 1939 and attended junior college in Marin County, CA until enlisting in the US Army in 1943. He served both stateside and in the Philippines as an NCO personnel clerk. During the post-war years Stanley served in the occupation government in Japan. While living in Japan, he was able to climb to the summit of Mt. Fuji.

From 1951 to 1952 Stanley served in Korea, where he earned a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star and a received his commission to Captain. He served with the 963rd Field Artillery, which was one of the first racially integrated battalions in the US Army. He married Phyllis in 1952 in San Francisco, CA and they soon traveled the globe as members of the US Army. During the time in the Army, they were stationed in Oklahoma, Germany, Texas, and finally, Seattle. He retired as a Major from the US Army in 1963.

In 1963, the family settled in Redmond, WA and, after receiving his teaching degree in 1965 from the UW, Stanley began his second career as a teacher in the Bellevue School District. Initially he taught at Three Points Elementary in Medina, in 1967, he moved to Ardmore Elementary in Bellevue. While at Ardmore he taught in an experimental 'open concept' environment, and oversaw the model rocketry program, until his retirement in 1983.

Stanley had a third career, that as a tour bus driver/guide for Grayline Tours in Seattle from 1968 through 1989. While with Grayline, he helped create the scripts for most of their tours, working his love of the quirky history of Seattle and Western Washington into his work.

After his retirement from Grayline, Stanley was a volunteer for Hopelink Food Bank in Redmond, WA, picking up food donations.

Stanley had a level head and a steady hand in raising all six of his children, and was an active participant in the lives of his grandchildren. His quiet voice and calm demeanor will be missed by us all.

Stanley is survived by his wife of 55 years, Phyllis, daughters Cathy Smith (Tom) and Lisa Close, and sons Scott (Lori), David (Melanie), Paul (Karen), and Philip (Amy). He is also survived by his seven grandsons and one granddaughter. He was preceded in death by his father Smith, mother Sylvia and his younger sister, Peggy.

There will be a memorial service at 3:00 pm on July 12, 2007 at St Johns Episcopal Church in Kirkland, WA.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to Hopelink (www.hope-link.org or P.O.Box 3577 Redmond, WA 98073) or the charity of your choice.

I miss my dad...

Now things get interesting

Well, the waiting ends this weekend and the Honeywell Family (northern division) moves to Pullman.

I signed on the dotted line (actually the line was solid, there were no dots...except for the candy I was eating) and got the keys for our rental house today. The yard in MUCH smaller than I remember. However, there are parks around and we'll find a way to make up for it. It's seriously, two steps to get across it, whereas our place in Bothell has lots of space for running and jumping and all that. That is the hardest part of this move, leaving that awesome yard behind. However, it's like I said to someone at the BBQ, we are trading an awesome yard for an awesome life. I'll take that trade every time.

Well, wish us luck and we'll see you all on the other side....

There is never a good time...

The situation with my Dad isn't getting better so we are preparing to say goodbye to him. There is no good time for something like this to happen, but with all the move related stuff that is going on I really haven't had time to dwell on it. We are doing what is right for my father and, frankly, that is all that matters at this point.

The BBQ was awesome. We had so much fun, and the kids just about exploded with all the fun they had. I think it was Annika's best day ever, she would not stop laughing and running around. It was wonderful to see all the people and get a chance to talk to everyone. I know that we will be back for visits and all, but it was just a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The best thing of all was that the rain held off until after everyone had left, that was amazing.

OK, that was actually the second best thing. The best thing was the GIGANTIC stainless steel grill that Amy got me for Father's Day. I was stressing all week about just how we were going to cook for all these guests, and I had worked out a loan deal with my brother and my neighbor, but I was still having a hard time with the logistics. Then I get home on Friday to find this sitting in my side yard. I have the best wife in the whole world, that is an indisputable fact.

Special thanks to Jill and Coug for overseeing the food and to Sammy and Sara for overseeing the kids.

Yes, pictures will be forthcoming on the weekend.

Not the kind of weekend I was thinking...

...when I left Pullman on Friday morning...

THE BAD
My dad had a very bad weekend and is in the hospital. I spent most of Saturday morning with Scott and Mom taking him to Virginia Mason in Seattle and trying to figure out what is going on. Please keep him in your thoughts, prayers, wishes, etc.

THE GOOD
I played keeper for The Wheezers on Sunday in the Championship Game at Summit Playfield in Seattle. We brought all the kids, Gretchen met us there to oversee the mayhem, and they had a blast. For part of the first half, whilst Annika was napping, the boys hung out behind the goal and cheered for me, including Max complementing me for a 'nice catch' when I had to make a 1v1 save on (kind of) break-away. That was pretty funny. So, what was the final, you ask? The Wheezers pulled out a 2-1 victory with an AWESOME goal in the last two minutes of the game. Will crossed it in from the deep left corner and Kelly hammered it home on a one touch that the keeper did not have a chance on. It was really pretty. I was very happy with my play, I had 4-5 pretty good saves and I was hitting the ball well on re-starts and drop kicks. The one goal they got was a beautiful shot from inside the 6-yard box, near post, to just inside the far post. An impossible angle, but she hit the shot REALLY well, I COULD have taken another step towards her but...Amy and I started dating because of playing together on this team and they have been an awesome group of people to play with. Adam, Eric, Lynn, Mark, Erin, Karen, Kelly, Kris, Dina, Kevin, Jim, Susie, Pat, Mike, Tammy...I could go on like this for pages, but they have been a really great group of people to get to know and play with over these last 12 years...Thanks for having us and we will come back to sub when we are in town...

THE UGLY
Driving back to Pullman in the dark...alone...First off, I do not like drive at high speeds on two lane roads after dark. Call me quirky, but I don't. So, after the game and visiting Dad in the hospital, I head for Pullman. From Washtucna to Pullman, about 60 miles, it was after sundown and I was tired. I made it but, let me tell you, I am glad there is only two more weeks of the SUPERCOMMUTE left.

Quick Hits...

1. Have you seen Google Maps Street View, or Zillows Bird's Eye View? The Google thing is really cool, I hope they are planning a metro/nationwide roll-out. The Zillow deal is also very cool. They are both kind of freaky though, as now we have proof that there are camera everywhere.
2. I rode my bike to work every day this week. This is not very impressive when you consider two things; the commute is a whopping 2.5 miles each way and my friend Chris has ridden to work more often than not for the last 3 years and his commute is 17 miles. Still, I am very happy that I was able to do that.
3. If you read two books this summer; the aforementioned Good Faith by Jane Smiley and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident is a novel about a mildly autistic boy in England, and it is absolutely amazing. I would also suggest The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon, although it is not for the faint of heat of easily offended, but it is very good.

Thank you and good night.

The relative importance of numbers...

One interesting (at least to me) side note about when we are moving, as the moving van will show up at our place in Bothell on Monday, June 25, 2007.

For those of you that do not know, I am a six year survivor of advanced (Stage IIIA) testicular cancer. The disease initially presented itself as a grapefruit sized tumor in my left lung. This was right around the time Max was born, so we had our hands full. Anywho, after consulting with the several doctors and having several CT scans, chest x-rays, tests, and an fun little thing called a mediastenoscopy, we decided that the tumor had to come out. Which meant that I was, more than likely, going to lose the lung as well.

All this upheaval gave rise to some interesting reflection and discussion with Amy, internally, and with all our friends and family. One thing I came to realize, in rather abrupt fashion, is that family and friends are really what matters in this life. If you don't have that, then you are missing out on the best parts of this life. Friends that mow your lawn when you too sick to, friends that shave their heads when you are undergoing chemo, family that comes to doctors appointments with you, family that spends hours in the hospital comforting your wife and newborn son, and family & friends that understand what making a change for the better really means and encourages you to take that path.

Anyways, that surgery to remove my left lung happened (I did lose the whole lung) and that was the beginning of the path that has lead us to Pullman.

The surgery happened on June 25, 2001...It was a Monday then too...

We have less than a month to go...

So we are into the home stretch now. The family will be in Pullman on the 26th of this month and I, for one, cannot wait. After yesterday's drive across Washington on the hottest day of the year, I am more than ready for them to join me over here. Yesterday's drive was crazy, it was over 90 from Issaquah to Colfax and it was steamy when I got here. Throw in a brush fire/car-b-que that was happening outside Vantage, and you have a kind of exciting drive. Oh wait, from Vantage to Pullman, nothing happened, check that, it was not an exciting drive at all.

I did get to finish a great novel about the early '80's called Good Faith, by Jane Smiley. It was just a really entertaining way to pass the time as I drove back and forth. Good characters, that you could get invested in and it ended very well. I was quite happy to have finally listened to all SIXTEEN hours of it.

Anywho, I will only have to make that drive three or four more times (as it relates to this move) so I am very happy about that. This week I am commuting to work by bicycle, this town is very hilly and is at 2500' which makes your one-lunged host feel VERY out of shape. My commute time tonight on the way home, 15 minutes.