Muriel Pickard continues to amaze her daughter.
Pickard is 93 yet is busier than ever, enjoying an active, social life in Bellevue, according to Jan Pickard.
Ever since Muriel Pickard moved from Whidbey Island last year after residing for more than half a century in Coupeville, she’s kept her schedule full, listening to book club lectures, playing bridge and attending symphonies, among other pursuits.
“It’s go, go, go, go,” Jan Pickard said.
“It’s like she left home and went to college.”
Muriel Pickard will be returning to Whidbey later this month as the honored guest of the Island County Museum’s Autumn Banquet &Auction.
The benefit will take place at 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge, celebrating 25 years since the museum was built at its present day location on Alexander Street near the Coupeville Wharf.
Pickard is a former board member with the Island County Historical Society and longtime museum booster.
She also was one of the founders of the Pacific Northwest Art School, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary next month.
“She’s one of my favorite people,” said Rick Castellano, the Island County Museum’s executive director.
“Just about every community event you can imagine, you’d see Muriel at. She’s very supportive of her community. She always has smile on her face.”
Pickard’s Central Whidbey roots date back to the 1940s. She married Coupeville native Herb Pickard in 1942 and they ran the Prairie Center Mercantile business for decades.
It was the hub of the community then and remains that way today as the Prairie Center Red Apple Market, said Jan Pickard, who still calls Coupeville home, along with her brother Ken.
“The Pickard family has played a huge role in shaping the history of Island County,” Castellano said.
“Herb Pickard was really instrumental in leading the campaign in getting the museum built and opened in 1991. Muriel was involved in that as well.”
But there was one more reason Muriel was selected as the night’s honored guest.
“We just miss her,” Castellano said. “We really want to see her again.”
The banquet and auction is one of the museum’s major fundraisers. Tickets are $75, which includes dinner and a drink ticket.
The event will include a live auction run by Coupeville’s Dale Sherman, featuring getaways on and off the island, dinners, club level seats to a Seahawks game, and 10 cooked Dungeness crab and hand-crafted beer delivered to your front door, among other auction items.
“We have an equally cool silent auction with a lot of artwork,” Castellano said.
n Those interested in attend the banquet and auction are asked to RSVP by calling 360-678-3310.
