Nancy “Karlene” Izenhower was finally relieved of her pain when she died March 23, 2007 at Whidbey General Hospital in Coupeville. She was born on Feb. 7, 1939, in Missoula, Mont., to Rene and Carl Izenhower.

Rene moved Karlene and her only brother at the time, Wes, to Seattle. There Rene married Dan Atkinson who was as beloved to Karlene as was Carl and they raised their combined family of brothers and sisters while having another son between them.

In Seattle she met Raymond Allen Squillace and after he joined the Navy, they were assigned and moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and were married there in 1959. They had two daughters, Teresa and Rita, and moved via the Navy around the country to Boston, Sacramento and finally landed in Whidbey Island in 1977.

In 1972 Karlene had colon bypass surgery to help her lose weight, which it did, but it lead to a life of chronic health problems and reduced quality of life.

Karlene had worked outside of the home from the time she was married and continued to do so regardless of her health challenges. One of her greatest strengths was her love of people and the human condition and although many of her jobs were administrative she was able to most use her gifts in her job assisting substance abusers at the CAC center at NAS Whidbey, and while working with the Oak Harbor Police Department (OHPD). No matter the job, she brought her smile, sense of humor, warmth and a bottomless candy dish.

She had begun attending community college in Sacramento and slowly but continuously earned enough credits to get her AA degree. In 1981, Ray and Karlene divorced. Karlene started work at the OHPD but left to move to Seattle with her parents and finish earning her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at the University of Washington in 1986. Her daughters were in attendance at her graduation and are still so proud of her commitment to her education while working full time and raising a family.

After that, she moved around between Seattle and Whidbey Island but mostly resided in an adjoining home with her daughter Rita. She had significant health challenges along the way and was forced to retire from the OHPD in 2002. It was a painful decision for her as she loved her job there. In June 2004, Rita and her husband Michael Begley gave birth to Karlene’s first grandchild, Noah Elijah Begley. Since they all lived within feet of each other, Karlene was very involved in raising Noah and life was pretty idyllic. Teresa and her husband, Harry Steiner adopted Karlene’s first granddaughter, Ruby Charlene LanJia Steiner, in December 2005 and they also visited with Karlene, also known to the grandkids as “Mimi.”

In December 2006, Rita decided to move back and forth between California, where Mike was working, and they planned on moving Karlene with them but her health problems continued. She fell and broke her shoulder on March 9 and declined rapidly until her death. Teresa and Rita honored her wishes of not prolonging her life unnecessarily or making her endure any more pain than she’d already tolerated and they were by her side holding her hand until the last moment.

She is survived by countless family and friends. Her brothers and sisters are Wes Izenhower of Lewiston, Idaho, Danny John Atkinson of Auburn, Doug Atkinson of Maple Valley, and Vicki Miller of Moosejaw, Canada. Former husband Ray and his wife Peggy were constantly in contact and a great source of support. Other family and friends include Dale “Bunk” Eldridge of Santa Cruz, Renee Mueller and Martha Folsom of the OHPD, the Crones group of South Whidbey Island, her daughter-in-law Annie Steiner of Mercer Island as well as her constant companion dog, Mad About You “Maddy” Izenhower.

The loss we feel at her passing is heartbreaking. She was incredibly brave, accepting, loving and had a great (though sometimes dark) sense of humor. She was a great listener and guide for us. We know that she didn’t want to leave us but needed to leave her body and for her quick and fairly painless passing, we are grateful. Although she wasn’t very religious, she was extremely spiritual and we look to one of her favorite biblical passages, Psalm 23 for some comfort: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” And from The Prophet: “And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.”

We believe that all around us, Karlene’s spirit is dancing.

Per her wishes, her body has been cremated. Family and friends are welcome to join and honor her life at a memorial gathering in August. If you’d like to attend, please email Teresa at TSquillace@Comcast.net.

Donations can be sent in her name to Enso House, a Buddhist supported adult care home at: 6339 Wahl Rd., Freeland WA 98249 or www.ensohouse.org.