Thea L. Pyle

Thea Linnaea Pyle, 66, of Grays River, Washington, died Nov. 20, 2013, at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Astoria, after 10 years' courageous and challenging co-existence with ovarian cancer.

Born Thea Peterson in Seattle on September 3, 1947, she grew up and attended public schools on Mercer Island. At the University of Washington, she studied with and worked in the herbarium for the great botanist C. Leo Hitchcock, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in botany in 1969. At the UW she met and married David Reagan Hellyer in 1968. Following graduation, they traveled the country, studied and worked at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyoming, and served as VISTA volunteers in Cheyenne before Hellyer enrolled in Lewis & Clark Law School. They made their home in Chelan, where he continues to practice. Their children are Thomas Michael, born 1972 in Portland, and Dorothea Alix, born 1975 in Chelan. After a divorce in 1982, Thea lived in Wenatchee until she moved to Gray's River in 1984, where she married biologist and writer Robert Michael Pyle on October 19, 1985. She lived the rest of her life in the historic 1899 H. P. Ahlberg home known as Swede Park, situated above the Gray's River Covered Bridge. Thea traveled widely in the USA, Europe, Latin America, and China, but loved most being home in Wahkiakum County and exploring natural areas all over Washington.

Thea Pyle worked as a homemaker, orchardist, goatkeeper, laboratory technician, wildflower teacher, silkscreen assistant, shopkeeper, manager and long-time book-buyer for Redmen Hall, Spartina researcher on Long Island in Willapa Bay, and self-employed artist. Her silkscreened prints of wildflowers and other plants and creatures are widely admired; many say they can't bear to use her note-cards, framing them instead. She also made exquisite woodcuts, lino-cuts, and drawings. She was a member of Broadway and Tsuga galleries and showed her work in many others. After her cancer began, she switched her artistic energies to weaving, and (all too briefly) much enjoyed working on her big loom. A member of the Clatsop Weavers and Spinners Guild, she also studied rug weaving with the Finnish ladies of Naselle, and wove some beautiful rugs as her final artworks.

Thea was a superb field botanist and gardener and an uncannily observant naturalist. She loved running and walking Loop Road, and most especially, mushrooming. Thea made magic in her kitchen (lucky were the diners at her table!) and with her sewing machine. She gave much of her time as a volunteer for Friends of Skamokawa (FOS), Johnson Park, Naselle Timberland Library, and many other groups. A constant reader and a fine poet, Thea chaired the initiative for a library district, first county-wide, and then for Western Wahkiakum County alone, which came within a few votes of passing. A lifelong conservationist, Thea took part in many efforts to protect natural habitats for plants and animals, save rural landscapes, foster community, and promote the arts. She always supported our local resources—fishing, farming, and forestry—and the people and other species who depend on their sustainable use.

Thea leaves a sister Anne (Leon) Martin, of Twin Falls, Idaho; a son, Tom (Iliana) Hellyer, a realtor, of Lake Chapala, Mexico; a daughter, Dory (Jeb) Van Bockel, an employee of the City of Portland; four grandchildren, David, Cristina, Edward, and Francis; a nephew, Aaron, of Portland and a niece, Phoebe, of Baker City, Oregon, and five great-nieces and nephews; her former husband David (Terri) Hellyer of Chelan and other beloved Hellyer family members; her husband, Bob, loving spouse of 28 years, partner of 30, and friend of 46 years; a cat, Bo Diddly, who keeps looking for her; close friends, including three small groups of women very near and dear to her; and hundreds of others bereft at her loss. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edgar David and Lucille Bernice Peterson, who came from Iowa to settle on Mercer Island in 1942.

Arrangements for cremation were made by Ocean View Funeral and Cremation Services in Astoria. Thea's ashes will be returned to her garden, compost pile, secret chanterelle woods, and other best-beloved spots, and to her husband's eventual resting place in Gray's River Grange Cemetery. Thus will she live on in molecules and memories. A happy celebration of Thea’s life will be held on April 26, in Gray's River Valley, when loving tales, tears, and laughter will be shared. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to FOS, GRFD, the Washington Native Plant Society (of which she was a life member), Columbia Land Trust, or any other charity of choice.

Thea Pyle was an uncommonly kind, intelligent, and lovely person who left us way too soon. Everyone who met Thea wanted to know her better. Her unforgettable smile, strength, spirit, and whole dear self are deeply missed by her husband, family, and friends all over this world she loved so much.