Obituary

Billie Eileen Riddoch McLaughlin

A proud native of Seattle, Billie Eileen Riddoch McLaughlin was born on November 17, 1924 and raised hell until she "croaked" (a favorite word) on May 31, 2012, peacefully at her home. She was raised on Capitol Hill, graduated from Broadway High School, and received a BS from the U of Washington in 1946. Billie worked as a dietician before marrying her husband John in 1950. She treasured her daughters Chris, Ann, Katie and Sue, their partners, her grandchildren Jonathan, Addie and Mollie, and many generations of neighborhood kids. She was deeply engaged in numerous activities: working at the Census Bureau and Children's Hospital, running school board campaigns, spearheading historical preservation work for the Broadway Alumni Association, and volunteering for the Seattle Public Library. She was a woman of strong opinions, a feminist, a lifelong Democrat, and - as everyone who knew her will attest - a force to be reckoned with. She was a font of knowledge about old Seattle (her grandparents arrived in the Washington Territory in the 1870s), cooking, and local news; we will be adrift without her wisdom, advice, and weekly stacks of news clippings. She is predeceased by her parents, Adelaide Yoris and William Riddock, her sisters Marjorie Wilcoxon and Berta Mumford, her husband John, and many beloved friends. She will be buried next to John at Lake View Cemetery so she can continue to watch over Seattle.