Surrounded by her loving family, Nora Frances Tibbetts, a former resident of Coupeville and Oak Harbor, passed away Dec. 3, 2004, in Santa Rosa., Calif.

She was born in 1918 in San Francisco, attended school and worked there, marrying Tom Leroux in 1936. They had four children. In 1949, she married Jack Tibbetts, and they had two children. He took them on sailing trips to the South Pacific, then Jack and Nora enjoyed power boating, ending up in Oak Harbor in 1976, where they lived on their boat. Jack built a special home for her at the top of San de Fuca hill. He passed away in 1984, and is buried in Sunnyside Cemetery, Coupeville.

Nora moved to Oak Harbor and became active in Oak Harbor Yacht Club, but still attended mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Coupeville where she had many friends who remember her funny stories and joyful sense of humor. She accompanied Dorothy Neil and others on a memorable trip to Ireland in 1986.

Nora moved to Bodega Bay, Calif., and then on to Santa Rosa, Calif., to be with her daughter Nora Ernst and family. Other survivors include Joan Sailer of Pebble Beach, Calif.; Dottie Leroux of Sausaleto, Calif.; John Tibbetts of Oakland, Calif.; and Katie Tibbetts of Anacortes. She is also survived by numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A son, Tom Leroux is deceased.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10, at Valley Catholic Church in Oakmont, Calif., with Monsignor Keyes as celebrant. At a later time, the family will have an old-fashioned Irish wake on Whidbey Island, before interring their mother in Sunnyside Cemetery, beside her beloved husband, Jack.