4A • January 8, 2016 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
SignalViewpoints
Wendy Richardson would have been a great journalist
W
endy
Richardson
worked in the of¿ ce
next to mine in Sea-
side. She died the
week before Christmas at the all-
too-young age of 56.
Of course I didn’t know her as
well as so many others, but as I
helped prepared the newspaper’s
obit, read columns and tributes by
family, friend and colleagues here
at The Signal where she worked,
the more I wanted to add.
Upon my arrival to Seaside
last spring, Wendy made me feel
part of the group at the weekly
Thursday meeting of the Seaside
Downtown Development Associ-
ation at the Pig ’N Pancake. If life
is like high school, Wendy was
still the cool kid.
The next day, Wendy was the
unof¿ cial Tueen of the ³bad girls’
table” at the Twisted Fish, where
the chamber regularly meets.
They loved her.
At work, Wendy never backed
down. She was energized and
hard-working.
I really didn’t know much
about the tsunami threat before
I got here, but Wendy was pre-
pared. She took the threat of a
Cascadia Subduction =one Tuake
and tsunami very seriously. Since
SEEN FROM SEASIDE
R.J. MARX
my of¿ ce was right next to hers, I
realized that if a tsunami were to
hit, we’d probably be running out
the door together. If so, I was con-
¿ dent she would know the way.
Not to dwell too much on the
tsunami — although Wendy prob-
ably would have — that wasn’t
the only area where she would
lead the way.
She passionately believed in
the therapeutic bene¿ ts of can-
nabis, and wasn’t afraid to say
so at public forums. She helped
pioneer the special marijuana ad-
vertising section in the Daily As-
torian. The popular section was to
both draw attention and to spark
debate, as the federal government
sought to limit distribution of the
newspaper from Oregon to the
state of Washington.
Wendy proudly wore her Coast
Guard background on her sleeve.
It was interesting to hear her
brothers talk about ³The Captain”
— her father — as the revered
¿ gure in the clan. Wendy was es-
SEASIDE SIGNAL
Wendy Richardson in 2010.
pecially proud of ³Safeguarding
Our Coast: A Century of Saving
Lives and Building Community,”
a special edition Coast Guard an-
niversary edition.
³She thought it was a great way
to connect with that heritage,” her
co-worker Laura Kaim said.
A huge high-school sports fan
— and once an accomplished ath-
lete herself — Wendy loved The
Signal cover featuring the Gulls’
football place-kicker Whitney
Westerholm. Beautifully photo-
graphed by her good friend Jeff
Ter Har, the edition made Wendy
proud on many levels, and she
displayed it on the wall beside her
desk.
Wendy looked over every edi-
tion of The Signal before it went
to press, and special sections, too.
She offered great assistance for an
editor for identi¿ cations, because
she knew almost every face in
town, and she had the backstory on
most of them. Although it wasn’t
in her job description, wendy was
such a team player and dedicated
to making the newspaper the best
that it could be.
Wendy was a real storyteller.
It’s a shame she wasn’t a writer
too.
But the message I’ll take away
from Wendy wasn’t ¿ ction, but
science. The subject of the tsu-
nami made her angry, outraged,
impassioned. She had no illusions
that when the tsunami hit, we’d
better be ready to respond.
Wendy never shied from the
tough Tuestion.
City Planner Kevin Cupples
spoke at a recent meeting about
evacuation routes in the event
of a catastrophic Tuake. New,
enhanced ³You are here” evacu-
ation maps could save lives, he
explained.
That was well and good, Wen-
dy said, but then what" ³Once we
evacuate, will there be enough
food and supplies for all of us?”
No, the planner acknowledged.
It was great to have a chance
to work alongside her, even for a
short time.
She taught many lessons. And
God forbid if there ever is a tsu-
nami here in Seaside, I am sure it
will be her voice I hear, leading
us to safety.
Christmas concerts kick off a festive holiday season
O
n Dec. 19, Alvis Porter
took me to the Christmas
concert at the Liberty The-
ater. It was the combined effort of
the North Coast Symphonic Band,
conducted by (swing and sway)
Dave Becker; the Cannon Beach
Chorale, directed by Dr. Denise
Reed; and the Cannon Beach Cho-
rus, under the direction of Dr. John
Buehler who each brought out the
best in everyone. A married cou-
ple, Denise Dillenbeck and her
husband Mark Goodenberger,
played two duets of violin and xy-
lophone respectively, which were
so beautiful. The second xylo-
phone tune had a train theme and
was written by the performer Mr.
Goodenberger. He was very agile
and original. The Hallelujah cho-
rus, many traditional Christmas
songs and a great selection of hol-
SCENE & HEARD
CLAIRE LOVELL
iday band numbers kept us enter-
tained for Tuite a while.
I saw a man there wearing a
³wee kiltie” and resisted the im-
pulse to tell him I liked his skirt.
I did look at his legs, though. So
many of the guys wear shorts and
go bare legged year ‘round now
that it’s become a serendipitous
chance to check them out. Guys
with gams, hooray! Bob Walters,
who played Santa, also led the
singing of carols and it’s always
nice to see our ex-lady mayor,
Rosemary
Baker-Monaghan,
when we go to the theater.
The Methodist Church choir’s
performance of the Christmas
Cantata, ³One Silent Night” on
Dec. 20, was fabulous and I wasn’t
even singing with the, ha. Director
Debbie Vail is always able to elicit
great sounds from her group. The
joyous season make it so much
easier. Every anthem they do is
good because men and women
perform in about eTual strength
and we have some great soloists.
It’s too bad the whole town doesn’t
hear them.
Christmas Day, I enjoyed solo.
I watched reruns of Poldark and
took in the West Point holiday spe-
cial — marching bands, Christmas
hymns and holiday songs many of
us love. I’m like Gen. Patton — I
think I was a warrior way back in
antiTuity. Anything military al-
ways thrills me. For today, I like to
see familiar insignia. So much has
changed in uniforms since World
War II. After TV, I just enjoyed the
Tuiet of Christmas although there
were several family phone calls,
which is always nice.
I was so sorry to learn of the
death of John Beneke on Dec. 27.
John was one of my babies at St.
Mary’s hospital in Astoria — of
which I reminded him every now
and then, perhaps to his embar-
rassment. His wife said he had
been ill for some time. Besides
his wife, John leaves four children
who were all with him at the last.
We’ll miss seeing him around. I
remember exactly how he looked
when he was new and offer my
sincere condolences to his family.
One afternoon at Safeway, a
perfect stranger came up to me and
said he reads my column and likes
By Katherine Lacaze
Seaside Signal
A full house was a tes-
tament to Wendy Richard-
son’s impact as friends,
family and community
members gathered for a
Celebration of Life cere-
mony in her honor Dec.
27.
The Paci¿ c Room at the
Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center was packed
full of people searching for
closure and comfort while
remembering Wendy, who
passed away Dec. 21 at the
age of 56 after suffering a
massive stroke the day be-
fore.
Wendy’s three broth-
ers, Scott, Jeff and Ran-
dy
Shannon,
shared
stories of growing up
with their only sister.
³She was what I call ‘the
princess,’” Randy Shan-
non said. ³She was the
Tueen, and deservedly so.”
People always À ocked
to Wendy, drawn to her
warm, infectious smile, her
inviting personality and
her kind, understanding
heart, they said. It was not
unusual for peers in school
to use friendships with the
brothers to have easier ac-
cess to Wendy. Because
she was so approachable
and sincere, she had many
friends, ³and always will,”
Randy Shannon said.
³How Wendy made you
feel after you were with
her was truly her trade-
mark,” he said.
In letters read aloud,
Wendy’s children — Alix,
24; Andie, 23; and Nick,
19 — described her as
their best friend, someone
they could depend on for
support. She helped them
recognize and achieve
their dreams. Even after
her passing, they wrote,
they still feel her presence
and strength. Andie Rich-
ardson wrote she is glad
they told each other ³I
love you” as much as they
could.
According to Wendy’s
husband of 25 years, Al,
the couple ³enjoyed a sim-
ple life” and their children
meant everything to them.
He remembers how she
³started every day with a
smile,” he wrote.
Community members
said Wendy was always in
the stands cheering on her
children at sporting events
and helping with fund-
raisers. She welcomed
her children’s teammates
and friends into her home,
gracing them with her hos-
pitality. Family was the
epicenter of Wendy’s life,
and she treated the com-
munity like her family, as
well. She balanced those
responsibilities with her
strong work ethic as a pro-
fessional.
Wendy’s father, Rog-
er Shannon, who served
three Clatsop County tours
with the U.S. Coast Guard
and retired in Astoria, also
attended the ceremony and
spoke about Wendy. Her
mother, Dorie Shannon,
died in 1996; the two were
very close. Together they
opened ’Tis the Season,
a year-round Christmas
store, in Cannon Beach.
Christmas was her favorite
season, according to her
family, making it appro-
priate to celebrate her life
alongside the holiday this
year.
PUBLISHER
Steve Forrester
EDITOR
R.J. Marx
REPORTER
Katherine Lacaze
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Betty Smith
PRODUCTION MANAGER
John D. Bruijn
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Heather Ramsdell
SYSTEMS MANAGER
Carl Earl
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Claire Lovell
John Rahl
Darren Gooch
Esther Moberg
ADVERTISING SALES
Laura Kaim
Seaside Signal
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Laugh line
A brunette walked into a doc-
tor’s of¿ ce saying, ³Doc, you’ve
got to help me! I hurt all over.” She
poked herself in the arm and said,
³Ow!” She poked herself on the
chest and said, ³Ow.” She poked
herself on her hip and said, ³Ow.”
Finally, she poked herself on her
leg and said, ³Ow. You see that,
doc? Everywhere I poke myself
it hurts.” The doctor looked her
over a few minutes. Then he said,
³You’re not really a brunette, are
you?”
³What do you mean by that?”
she asked.
³Your ¿ nger’s broken!” said the
doctor.
OBITUARIES
Community pays tribute to Richardson
Longtime resident
remembered for
supporting family,
friends, colleagues and
community
my jokes, Tuoting the most recent
one about bed bugs. He said, ³I
have one for you” and here it is.
Alice Ann Olp
Dec. 12, 1938 — Dec. 29, 2015
Alice Ann Olp (Cook)
has been called home. She
passed away peacefully on
Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, at
Chesapeake Woods Center,
with family by her side. Alice
Ann was born on Dec. 12,
1938, in Cambridge, Mary-
land, to the late Wheatley and
Helen Cook.
She was married on Jan.
5, 1976, to the late Lambert
(Bud) Olp. They made their
home in Gearhart and Sea-
side, Oregon, for 27 years
before moving back to Cam-
bridge.
Besides her parents and
husband, she was preceded in
death by her siblings, N. Lee
Spear (Mary), Louise Wind-
sor (Sonny), Faye Bell (Le-
roy) and Betty Harrison, all of
the Dorchester County area.
Alice Olp
She is survived by her son
Wayne (Cookie) Cook and
his wife, Dawn, of Vienna,
and her daughter Rose Marie
Foxwell of Bivalve, two sis-
ters Josephine (Josie) Sauls-
bury of Cambridge and Mari-
an (Bug) Moore (Elwood) of
Madison, and a uncle Frank
Durant (Diane) of Long-
wood, Florida, along with
many nieces and nephews.
Mom Alice, as she was
fondly known by many, was
an amazing athlete. She was
an avid golfer, bowler, bas-
ketball and softball player.
One of her proudest accom-
plishments was having four
hole in ones. She was also a
talented artist and crafter.
There will be a graveside
service on Saturday, Jan. 2, at
12 p.m. at Dorchester Memo-
rial Park, with Gary Hickman
of¿ ciating.
Arrangements are in the
care of the Thomas Funeral
Home P.A. in Cambridge.
Pallbearers will be mem-
bers of the Rescue Fire Com-
pany.
Scott Mitchell Rice
July 29, 1955 — Dec. 21, 2015
The family and friends
of Scott Mitchell Rice
mourn his passing on Dec.
21, 2015. He was a beloved
member of his community,
and is deeply missed.
Born in Los Angeles,
California, he attended Ed-
ison High School in Hun-
tington Beach, California.
He moved to Oregon in
2000, where he worked at
the Cannon Beach Chris-
tian Conference Center as
a grounds assistant. While
there he met his wife, Su-
san, and they were married
in 2001. After working in
the construction industry
for several years, he start-
ed his own company with
a showroom in Gearhart:
SMR Construction.
He loved sky diving,
hang gliding, was a li-
censed pilot, avid motorcy-
clist, and enjoyed kayaking
and playing practical jokes.
As elder for buildings and
grounds at Cannon Beach
Community Church, he
was instrumental in get-
Scott Rice
ting the steeple built. Also,
he organized the Angel
Tree Project of Prison Fel-
lowship at the Community
Church every Christmas,
this year included.
He is preceded in death
by a son, Ryan Rice. He
is survived by a son, Cory
Rice of Florence, Oregon;
his wife, Susan Rice of
Cannon Beach, Oregon;
his mother, Beverly Rice of
Seaside, Oregon; a brother,
Gregg Rice and his wife,
Julie, of Los Banos, Cali-
fornia; a sister, Alison Rice
and her husband, Paul, of
Pleasant Valley, Oregon; a
sister, Vikki Redhawk of
Vancouver, Washington; his
nieces, Rose Stewart and
Dory Stewart of Mendoci-
no, California; a stepson,
Tim Burke, and his wife,
Cassia, and son, Thomas,
of Bremerton, Washington;
and a stepdaughter, Deb-
orah Burke of New York
City.
There will be a memori-
al service at Cannon Beach
Community Church on Sat-
urday, Jan. 9, at 1 p.m.
,n lieu of À owers, do-
nations in Scott’s memory
may be made to the Angel
Tree Project of Prison Fel-
lowship, Cannon Beach
Christian Conference Cen-
ter or Cannon Beach Com-
munity Church.
Hughes-Ransom Mor-
tuary is in charge of the
arrangements. An online
guest book may be signed
at
www.hughes-ransom.
com