Melissa Ann Yowell
Aug. 23, 1939 – Jan. 20, 2015
Melissa was born in Baltimore, MD, the second of four girls born to Gabrielle vonPlanta Yowell and Joseph Wilson Yowell. She attended public schools in Westport, CT, where in high school she played three sports and was elected best girl athlete in her class. She attended St. Lawrence University and earned a BA in History from the University of Connecticut. She then attended Katharine Gibbs School to secure some "practical" skills. Melissa was an East Coast girl by birth but her heart was on the West Coast, more particularly in Astoria, OR. In the early 60s she hopped in the little green MG TF1500 and headed west, first to Seattle and then to San Francisco, where she worked as a paralegal. In 1976, she traveled to Astoria for her grandmother's burial and first saw the home on 17th Street that her great-grandfather had built in 1890 and where her "Gram" had grown up. In 1982, while enjoying a full life in San Francisco, she took a vacation, traveling up the coast to Astoria to put some flowers on her Gram's grave and take a picture of the house. She found the house shrouded in scaffolding, BUT for sale. It had to be hers and it was later that year. Shortly thereafter she left SF and moved to the Martin and Lilli Foard House on 17th Street, overlooking the Columbia River. While working as a paralegal, she ran a bed and breakfast on the weekends and became a Master Gardener. She loved her colorful and floppy Victorian garden. Preserving and improving her family home and her community were important to her. She had the home placed on the National Register and it was selected to appear in the book "America's Painted Ladies." She was active in the historic preservation of Astoria, including the Liberty Theater and the Lower Columbia Preservation Society. In 2013, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer and went back east for treatment at Duke University and to be with family. She returned to Astoria in February 2014 to continue her activities. She enjoyed taking ENCORE classes and was an enthusiastic, accomplished and competitive bridge player. She enjoyed her bridge time with friends and was returning home from bridge when she was broadsided at an intersection. She died shortly after the incident. She is survived by two sisters and their husbands, Melinda Yowell Small and Raymond Rutan of Harpswell, Maine, Marcia Yowell Bingham and Tayler of Raleigh, NC; two nieces, Whitney Foard Small of Bangkok, Thailand and Somers Foard Killian of Boston, MA; three nephews, Sebastian Somers Small and wife Naomi of Brunswick, ME, Seth Harrison Bingham and wife JoEllen of Raleigh, NC, and Matthew Foard Bingham and wife Amy of Cary, NC; and three grand nephews and a grand niece. Her youngest sister Molly Somers Yowell predeceased her in 2008. At Melissa 's request there will be no funeral or memorial service. However, the family is looking forward to meeting with her friends in the home she loved so much. If you would like to remember Melissa through a charitable contribution, please select an organization that reflects her love of Astoria.
[The Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, January 26, 2015]
Aug. 23, 1939 – Jan. 20, 2015
Melissa was born in Baltimore, MD, the second of four girls born to Gabrielle vonPlanta Yowell and Joseph Wilson Yowell. She attended public schools in Westport, CT, where in high school she played three sports and was elected best girl athlete in her class. She attended St. Lawrence University and earned a BA in History from the University of Connecticut. She then attended Katharine Gibbs School to secure some "practical" skills. Melissa was an East Coast girl by birth but her heart was on the West Coast, more particularly in Astoria, OR. In the early 60s she hopped in the little green MG TF1500 and headed west, first to Seattle and then to San Francisco, where she worked as a paralegal. In 1976, she traveled to Astoria for her grandmother's burial and first saw the home on 17th Street that her great-grandfather had built in 1890 and where her "Gram" had grown up. In 1982, while enjoying a full life in San Francisco, she took a vacation, traveling up the coast to Astoria to put some flowers on her Gram's grave and take a picture of the house. She found the house shrouded in scaffolding, BUT for sale. It had to be hers and it was later that year. Shortly thereafter she left SF and moved to the Martin and Lilli Foard House on 17th Street, overlooking the Columbia River. While working as a paralegal, she ran a bed and breakfast on the weekends and became a Master Gardener. She loved her colorful and floppy Victorian garden. Preserving and improving her family home and her community were important to her. She had the home placed on the National Register and it was selected to appear in the book "America's Painted Ladies." She was active in the historic preservation of Astoria, including the Liberty Theater and the Lower Columbia Preservation Society. In 2013, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer and went back east for treatment at Duke University and to be with family. She returned to Astoria in February 2014 to continue her activities. She enjoyed taking ENCORE classes and was an enthusiastic, accomplished and competitive bridge player. She enjoyed her bridge time with friends and was returning home from bridge when she was broadsided at an intersection. She died shortly after the incident. She is survived by two sisters and their husbands, Melinda Yowell Small and Raymond Rutan of Harpswell, Maine, Marcia Yowell Bingham and Tayler of Raleigh, NC; two nieces, Whitney Foard Small of Bangkok, Thailand and Somers Foard Killian of Boston, MA; three nephews, Sebastian Somers Small and wife Naomi of Brunswick, ME, Seth Harrison Bingham and wife JoEllen of Raleigh, NC, and Matthew Foard Bingham and wife Amy of Cary, NC; and three grand nephews and a grand niece. Her youngest sister Molly Somers Yowell predeceased her in 2008. At Melissa 's request there will be no funeral or memorial service. However, the family is looking forward to meeting with her friends in the home she loved so much. If you would like to remember Melissa through a charitable contribution, please select an organization that reflects her love of Astoria.
[The Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, January 26, 2015]
Melissa Ann Yowell
Aug. 23, 1939 – Jan. 20, 2015
Melissa was born in Baltimore, MD, the second of four girls born to Gabrielle vonPlanta Yowell and Joseph Wilson Yowell. She attended public schools in Westport, CT, where in high school she played three sports and was elected best girl athlete in her class. She attended St. Lawrence University and earned a BA in History from the University of Connecticut. She then attended Katharine Gibbs School to secure some "practical" skills. Melissa was an East Coast girl by birth but her heart was on the West Coast, more particularly in Astoria, OR. In the early 60s she hopped in the little green MG TF1500 and headed west, first to Seattle and then to San Francisco, where she worked as a paralegal. In 1976, she traveled to Astoria for her grandmother's burial and first saw the home on 17th Street that her great-grandfather had built in 1890 and where her "Gram" had grown up. In 1982, while enjoying a full life in San Francisco, she took a vacation, traveling up the coast to Astoria to put some flowers on her Gram's grave and take a picture of the house. She found the house shrouded in scaffolding, BUT for sale. It had to be hers and it was later that year. Shortly thereafter she left SF and moved to the Martin and Lilli Foard House on 17th Street, overlooking the Columbia River. While working as a paralegal, she ran a bed and breakfast on the weekends and became a Master Gardener. She loved her colorful and floppy Victorian garden. Preserving and improving her family home and her community were important to her. She had the home placed on the National Register and it was selected to appear in the book "America's Painted Ladies." She was active in the historic preservation of Astoria, including the Liberty Theater and the Lower Columbia Preservation Society. In 2013, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer and went back east for treatment at Duke University and to be with family. She returned to Astoria in February 2014 to continue her activities. She enjoyed taking ENCORE classes and was an enthusiastic, accomplished and competitive bridge player. She enjoyed her bridge time with friends and was returning home from bridge when she was broadsided at an intersection. She died shortly after the incident. She is survived by two sisters and their husbands, Melinda Yowell Small and Raymond Rutan of Harpswell, Maine, Marcia Yowell Bingham and Tayler of Raleigh, NC; two nieces, Whitney Foard Small of Bangkok, Thailand and Somers Foard Killian of Boston, MA; three nephews, Sebastian Somers Small and wife Naomi of Brunswick, ME, Seth Harrison Bingham and wife JoEllen of Raleigh, NC, and Matthew Foard Bingham and wife Amy of Cary, NC; and three grand nephews and a grand niece. Her youngest sister Molly Somers Yowell predeceased her in 2008. At Melissa 's request there will be no funeral or memorial service. However, the family is looking forward to meeting with her friends in the home she loved so much. If you would like to remember Melissa through a charitable contribution, please select an organization that reflects her love of Astoria.
[The Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, January 26, 2015]
Aug. 23, 1939 – Jan. 20, 2015
Melissa was born in Baltimore, MD, the second of four girls born to Gabrielle vonPlanta Yowell and Joseph Wilson Yowell. She attended public schools in Westport, CT, where in high school she played three sports and was elected best girl athlete in her class. She attended St. Lawrence University and earned a BA in History from the University of Connecticut. She then attended Katharine Gibbs School to secure some "practical" skills. Melissa was an East Coast girl by birth but her heart was on the West Coast, more particularly in Astoria, OR. In the early 60s she hopped in the little green MG TF1500 and headed west, first to Seattle and then to San Francisco, where she worked as a paralegal. In 1976, she traveled to Astoria for her grandmother's burial and first saw the home on 17th Street that her great-grandfather had built in 1890 and where her "Gram" had grown up. In 1982, while enjoying a full life in San Francisco, she took a vacation, traveling up the coast to Astoria to put some flowers on her Gram's grave and take a picture of the house. She found the house shrouded in scaffolding, BUT for sale. It had to be hers and it was later that year. Shortly thereafter she left SF and moved to the Martin and Lilli Foard House on 17th Street, overlooking the Columbia River. While working as a paralegal, she ran a bed and breakfast on the weekends and became a Master Gardener. She loved her colorful and floppy Victorian garden. Preserving and improving her family home and her community were important to her. She had the home placed on the National Register and it was selected to appear in the book "America's Painted Ladies." She was active in the historic preservation of Astoria, including the Liberty Theater and the Lower Columbia Preservation Society. In 2013, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer and went back east for treatment at Duke University and to be with family. She returned to Astoria in February 2014 to continue her activities. She enjoyed taking ENCORE classes and was an enthusiastic, accomplished and competitive bridge player. She enjoyed her bridge time with friends and was returning home from bridge when she was broadsided at an intersection. She died shortly after the incident. She is survived by two sisters and their husbands, Melinda Yowell Small and Raymond Rutan of Harpswell, Maine, Marcia Yowell Bingham and Tayler of Raleigh, NC; two nieces, Whitney Foard Small of Bangkok, Thailand and Somers Foard Killian of Boston, MA; three nephews, Sebastian Somers Small and wife Naomi of Brunswick, ME, Seth Harrison Bingham and wife JoEllen of Raleigh, NC, and Matthew Foard Bingham and wife Amy of Cary, NC; and three grand nephews and a grand niece. Her youngest sister Molly Somers Yowell predeceased her in 2008. At Melissa 's request there will be no funeral or memorial service. However, the family is looking forward to meeting with her friends in the home she loved so much. If you would like to remember Melissa through a charitable contribution, please select an organization that reflects her love of Astoria.
[The Daily Astorian, Astoria, Oregon, January 26, 2015]
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