Doug Andreassen

@frankmSounders I was there, Frank! I think I still have the program, too!

#OTD 1995 – Capacity crowd of 3,291 sees hometown favorite Michelle Akers and USWNT beat Brazil 3-0 at Tacoma's Franklin Pierce High School. Mia Hamm scores 2 goals. It's 1st USWNT appearance in WA.

@jtwilcox111 What an amazing life story, well lived and loved immensely by many. Thank you for sharing this journey.... He is at peace now.

very talented musician who was widowed about the same time as Don. Her name is Elaine and she and her deceased husband had also worked at Boeing. They got married a few years later and were very happy. Don was a little smug because she is 10 years younger than he was and he was also very proud of her serious art and music talent. They were both quite pissed off about Covid and a little confused. They had sold their large house on the bluff above Browns Point and bought into a small house at a retirement community. One day they absconded and showed up at their house in Arizona during all the complications of Covid. Elaine's family was a little more alarmed than Kathy and I however we all became concerned when their friends started calling about them getting lost, losing their golf cart and some serious behavior changes. It became apparent that they were less functional than they needed to be and Kathy and Katie took off to bring them back. It was not easy. Confusion, anger and more confusion. It was plain they couldn't live alone. Elaine's family were a big help. It also became plain that driving was a risk to others and Elaine's son took the car away. Both Don and Elaine resented this and often forgot whom to resent. I once got a call in my office in Olympia, during the fully remote covid session, from the local police. The nice policeman said "Representative Wilcox, I know you didn't steal your father-in-laws car, but could you get him to stop calling us and saying you did?" Don and Elaine moved to a really good retirement living facility called Village Concepts at Fairwood. Kathy and Elaine's family picked it in part because it had a seamless transition to memory care and that is where Don and Elaine ended up. Other than dementia, there was no real disease that killed Don, his big farmer's heart and other essential body parts just wore out. We knew it was coming and Kathy was prepared. It was still sad and hard. The staff at the facility were great. They would talk to Don even though he was non-responsive in the end. They would brush his hair and touch his head. These weren't high-paid healthcare professionals for the most part. They were the people who come in and change the sheets, help the residents move, remind them of their meds and clean up. It was very moving watching this empathy appear. Probably it helped that Don was very likeable. Kathy has been responsible for Don's affairs and life decisions for several years. She does the same for her sister, who declined during Covid and is now non-responsive in a very nice adult family home. It's a hard thing for her and for Kathy, but anyone that knows Kathy knows that she is responsible and if she needs to do it, she does it. We will schedule the memorial service in late June, at the farm, possibly at our house.

Kathy's Dad, Don Friesen passed away Wednesday morning. He was 91 and had been in memory care for about a year but was still mobile and sociable to the end. I met Don when he and Gladys arrived at UPS in Tacoma to take us out to dinner for Kathy's 19th birthday. I think he was a little smug that Kathy was with a farmer... Don grew up in a Mennonite farming family in Aberdeen, Idaho. He was the middle of five other brothers and one sister. They farmed rented and sharecropped land. Don went to the Bethel College in Kansas. It was a Mennonite college and he met Gladys Wiens there. Gladys was from a Mennonite Missionary family and her father had grown up in India. Gladys was probably the most glamorous woman at Bethel. I've seen pictures. She was determined and Don would freely admit that he became an Electrical Engineer because Gladys told him she wouldn't marry him unless he made something of himself. It took Don 8 years to get that degree because he would go to school for a semester and work for a semester. Gladys became a nurse and worked for a docter in private practice to help the last few years. Don was offered a job at Boeing around 1962 and worked for Boeing until his retirement around 1990. He was almost always in aerospace, missiles, mostly and had to have a security clearance, which was complicated because like most Mennonites, his family all came from Russia. Kathy once asked him what he did and he said "You know the MX Missile? I make sure there is access to anything that can break." Gladys once told Kathy that she didn't want her to go to Bethel because she would end up marrying a farmer...Fate is inexorable. Don was among the most sociable people I have ever known. He never left a grocery line without new friends. He really had little self-counsciousness, which made him fun and often beloved but which could also cause consternation. He liked to comment out loud on things and Kathy once had to tell him that the parents of the kid who blew a play in Yelm Little League that Don felt deserved loud comment were the people sitting next to them... Don and Gladys liked to come out to the farm and I think they came to terms with Kathy's farm marriage. Don wasn't much of a drinker but he was pretty lit and had more fun than anyone at our wedding in 1987 on the farm. Don was extremely loyal. He was proud of his career at Boeing. He had some very hard things happen, too. His oldest daughter, Karen is about my age, She was born with Spina Bifeda and has lived her life with crutches and paralysis below the waist. Don once told me that he was so inexperienced about insurance that he immediately scheduled a surgery for Karen after he was hired by Boeing and found out too late about the waiting period before insurance takes effect. Gladys appreciated Don for many things and once to told Kathy that as a nurse she was around a lot of families with disabled children and that many Dad's couldn't face it. Don never wavered. Don and Gladys planned their retirement meticulously and were able to retire somewhat early. Gladys dreamed of travel and they were the best savers I've ever known, with the goal of traveling. The started traveling a little early with Don saying that they could live on his salary and travel on Gladys's nursing job-share arrangement. They did a number of great trips but it was quickly cut short when Gladys developed ovarian cancer and passed away around 2000. I can imagine no more devoted husband and caregiver than Don during those hard months. Gladys was very honest about her disappointment at missing so much. We got to spend a lot of time with both of them and our kids have very fond memories of both Grandma Gladys and Pa Don. Don and Gladys lived part time near Chandler in an over-fifty community and as these things always develop, the ladies at Sunbird put the right people together. Don was introduced to a fun and

@SullyCNBC Classic Ted Turner, a great memory for you.

Ted Turner story Many moons ago I interviewed him live here in LA. He was rich and powerful and I was a newbie. We sat waiting to go live and he hated to wait. About a minute to go before the show he stood up to leave. I said “Mr Turner we’re about to go live on TV” “I know but I have to go. I have a plane to catch” “But Mr Turner it’s YOUR plane. They’ll wait” He paused for second and said “that’s a good point” and sat back down and did the interview. I have no idea what we talked about, but I’ll never forget that brief exchange.

athleticbusiness.com/sponsored/bett… Absurd statement and findings. The number of cancer-related deaths says otherwise.

@NEWSGUYSULLY @KIRONewsradio A sad story in so many ways, most importantly losing access to MRNP from Carbon River is a public loss, and now a decade + will pass before it opens again.

Where am I today? Check out #Chokepoints on @KIRONewsradio Thursday morning. This 95 year old bridge needs some TLC.

@BrandiKruse @UW Ummm, U-14 are 13-year-olds, what is happening here?

If boys don't have a competitive advantage against girls, why does the @UW Women's Soccer Team have a match this week against 14-year-old boys?

@jsolomonReports Seems very odd to the soccer world this move.

US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker leaves role just months before FIFA World Cup justthenews.com/nation/culture…

@PaulMarcoe Mattel Intellvision

You can age yourself by what your first gaming console was. Mine? Atari 2600. What was yours?

@mrandystevens Beautiful Trailer Andy, and the truck to match!

Just got home from a post session glamping trip to Fidalgo Bay this weekend, in preparation for a longer, upcoming summer trip with friends. Bonus: stopped by the Skagit flying heritage museum, where they had a huge Apollo 8 exhibit (with some Artemis).

@ChrisEgan5 @Mariners @KING5Sports @KING5Seattle Yahoo!!

King 5 TV announces multi-year broadcast partnership with the @Mariners !!! 10 games this season will air on @KING5Sports @KING5Seattle !!! The first game on King is Friday , April 10th!

@crumeology @PaulMarcoe Thank you. Will Mariners TV show up on my Xfinity channel list?

@dandreassen @PaulMarcoe You’re better off paying the $99 for Mariners tv vs paying Xfinity $360/yr.

Maybe I’m too stupid. But subscribing to mariners.tv I would think I would be able to watch every game no problem. Other than the home opener I have not been able to watch the last two nights. What am I doing wrong? Apple TV one game, now Peacock? WTH?

@CliffMass Why do they tell us otherwise?

Are Reservoirs are Now Full, Months Ahead of Time cliffmass.blogspot.com/2026/03/are-re…

@Iconic_sonics @sonicsguy RIP Chris, what a great guy? Miss seeing him.

I know @sonicsguy is somewhere smiling right now 🥹🤍

@NEWSGUYSULLY @Mynorthwest Just say, not in your lifetime Sully and that will cover all transportation projects in Washington. Over budget, over schedule and nothing but cost over runs...

@Mynorthwest And what was that finish date? 2041?

Oregon and Washington officials released a new cost estimate for the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program, putting the price anywhere between $7.8 billion and $15.2 billion. More here: mynorthwest.com/chokepoints/i%…

@NatlParkService Well done!

Forgot it was St. Patrick's Day, wore green anyway...

@manley_tnt @gbellseattle @thenewstribune Wonderful coverage, so much so, I went to watch this sports spectacle, thank you @thenewstribune,@manley_tnt and staff.

Signing off ✌🏻 Best state basketball tournament I’ve covered in years. Thanks for following our coverage all week. My son loved it, too. If you think high school sports are still worth covering, subscribe to @thenewstribune. None of it is possible without subscriber support.

@ChrisEgan5 @SeattleSC @ChrisDaniels_TV @AaronLevine_ We miss that guy, he had such a great personality for Sports and life.. RIP Tony

A week from today at the @SeattleSC awards I'm grateful to get the chance to honor a legend in Seattle , along with @ChrisDaniels_TV @AaronLevine_ , and Deborah Horne !!! Celebrating the great Tony Ventrella

@ChrisEgan5 @KING5Seattle @KING5Sports We are hearing those tones of the one and only Tony Ventrella... LOVE IT, Chris.

If you're looking for high school state basketball coverage, @KING5Seattle @KING5Sports is the place to watch !!!