Lyman Henry DAY

Other Events and Attributes:

• Occupation: Cannery Mechanic
• Social Security Number: 536-05-0084

Notes:

Or Layman, the name used several times in the Bellingham Herald’s articles.

At the time that he married Esther Williams, he claimed his occupation as deck engineer. His parents were Edward Warren Day, born in New York, and Ida May Griffin, born in New York.

Neither he nor Esther are listed in the 1917 or 1918 Bellingham city directories.

Registered for the draft on June 5, 1917, in Bellingham. At that time he was living at 1513 E in Bellingham, the same address as Andrew Lynde Williams. On his draft registration, Lyman indicates that he is a cannery worker at the Lummi Bay Packaging Co. at Lummi Island. Lyman is described as of medium height and build with grey eyes and black hair.

Working at a fish cannery in the 1920 census. He and his wife and his daughter and his father-in-law and his brother-in-law lived at 1408 Humboldt in Bellingham, Washington. Lyman owned the house. He and both of his parents were born in New York.

In the 1921 Bellingham directory, he and Esther lived at 1408 Humboldt. He was a laborer.

In the 1922 Bellingham directory, he was a machinist. He and Esther W lived at 1408 Humboldt.

He is not listed in the 1923 Bellingham directory.

In the 1930 census, the family has moved to Okanogan where they are renting a house for $30/mo. Lyman, 38, and Esther, 36, have been married since they were 23 and 22, respectively. They have two children, Joy, 11, and Wilma, 6. Lyman is a machinist at a garage. Also living with them is Esther’s brother Andrew, 39, who is a mechanic for steamships. Andrew is a veteran of the World War, Lyman is not.

In the 1940 census, he and Esther and Joy Geraldine and Billy lived in Okanogan in a rented residence. Lyman was a truck driver for a lumber company. He had earned $1200 in 1939. His wife was an apple sorter for a fruit company and Joy Geraldine was a stenographer for the U.S. Forest Service. Billy was still in high school. Lyman and Esther were high school graduates.

He registered for the World War II draft in 1942. At that time, he lived at Box 603, Okanogan, Washington. He gave as the “person who will always know your address” Mrs. M.F. Hawley of Ferndale, Washington. This Mrs. Hawley is Lyman’s sister Dorothy, the wife of Myron F Hawley. Myron married the 22 year-old Dorothy A Day in Bellingham, Whatcom County, on 13 April 1923. Her parents were E. W. Day and Ida Griffin.

In the 1948 Seattle city directory, he and Esther W lived at 3956 W Kenyon. He was a mechanic for Alaska Year-Round Canneries Co.

Lyman married Esther Geraldine WILLIAMS on 4 Apr 1915 in Bellingham, Whatcom County, Washington. Esther (daughter of Andrew Ove WILLIAMS and Mary Melissa KING) was born on 2 Apr 1893 in Waupaca County, Wisconsin; died on 6 Jul 1976 in Seattle, King County, Washington; was buried in Omak Memorial Cemetery, Okanogan County, Washington. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In the 1940 census, she was Joy Geraldine, age 21. She was a stenographer for the U.S. Forest Service and had made $553 in 1939. She had one year of college. She had lived in Pullman in Whitman County in 1935 although her parents and sister had lived in Okanogan.

She was Joy Day in the State College of Washington-Pullman yearbook of 1936.

Her obit:

Joy Sullivan’s life spanned nearly a century. Her mother Esther Williams (later known as Gah) was the Whatcom County Sheriff’s daughter who learned to drive on a fire truck and was the first woman to strip off her long stockings to swim in Bellingham Bay. Her father Lyman (Gus) Day was a seaman on the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal en route to the West Coast. When ashore, he fell in love with Esther. Esther and Lyman married and settled in Bellingham where Joy was born.

Joy was a child of the depression. Esther and Lyman purchased an apple orchard and moved with Joy and her sister Bill to the hills of Okanogan. It was a hard life – an outdoor privy and bathwater heated on the stove. Hers was a happy childhood. She was a pianist, violinist, and a voracious reader. Their home was a magnet for friends, welcomed day and night with food, music, and joy. After many years, the orchard became a victim of the depression and was repossessed by the bank. The family moved permanently to Seattle.

From an early age, Joy had a delightful sense of humor. She regaled in stories of her embarrassment.  The home brew exploded in the bathtub when the temperance-preaching school board president was present. She drove her father’s car into a ditch, after which he unfairly promptly removed the motor and transferred it to a tractor. The family horse Barney would immediately sit whenever she mounted him. Her much-adored “bratty little sister” hid in the apple tree witnessing her kissing a boyfriend and telling all in a message Joy discovered opening her suitcase on her first day at college.

Bill often described Joy as ‘the smartest student in their school.’As valedictorian, Joy was awarded a full scholarship to Pullman where she became a Chi Omega. She was self-depreciating. She often recalled that “she entered to study music and languages, only to discover she was good at neither.” She dropped out two years later, obtaining a position in the Bremerton Naval Yard. She was among the throngs of the heartbroken who witnessed hundreds of sailors, many who were counted as friends, return from Pearl Harbor in body bags.

Joy met her husband Ed (who grew up in Freeport, Long Island) on a train en route to Florida to see her sister. He was a handsome army lieutenant on leave to enjoy some sunshine before being deployed to the Pacific. He insists he hooked up with her because she was the only one on the train with beer. She emphatically denied this, but admittedly fell in love at first sight. They were married in New York City after knowing each other only a few weeks. They had three children – Candace (Candy), Michael (Mike) and Terrence (Terry). The marriage lasted until his death, just short of 50 years.

After Ed returned from the Army (and recovered from serious first-degree burns that occurred when repairing their car), Ed and Joy briefly lived in Liberty Lake, Washington. They later settled in Seattle where Ed was employed as a Boeing technician. Joy was active politically and served multiple times as a local precinct committeeman. She recalled family stress when she campaigned for Eisenhower and Ed for Stevenson. She was an avid supporter of Nelson Rockefeller for President (and wrote him in for many years when she disapproved of both party candidates). 

In recent years, she was a confirmed Democrat, finding that the Republican Party no longer represented her values. She proudly cast her final vote for Hillary, and fortunately did not live to see election results.

Joy was a stay-at-home mom for some 14 years. Her and Ed’s home was a hot-bed of activity. It was the gathering place for neighborhood children. There was a steady stream of friends for dinner, conversation, mushroom gathering, music, origami, and parties. She was renown for casual entertaining and outstanding cooking. She was especially recognized for her braided, home-made bread (though her children wanted Wonder Bread like all the other kids), sponge cakes, and cream puffs.

Tired of exclusively volunteering and concerned with paying upcoming college tuitions, she went to work at the University of Washington as a secretary. Her final position was in the Department of Psychiatry where she played multiple roles – researcher, editor, and office manager, as well as secretary. Her skills were recognized when a well-reviewed book “The Politics of Prostitution” was dedicated to her.

Work did not stop her volunteering. At one time she was active in three PTAs, the University Unitarian Church as a Sunday school teacher, and the Seattle Youth Symphony. Her happiest volunteer experience was serving as Secretary for the Japanese American Citizen’s League.

Upon retiring, Joy and Ed went to live on Angle Lake in her parents’ former home, a short walk from her much-loved sister Bill and brother-in-law Bud Jones. She prided herself on being a fine swimmer. She was a voracious reader. Her home was filled with books and magazines (her favorites being the New Yorker, New York Review of Books, Atlantic, and Discover). It broke her heart when her eyes began to fail and she could only read for short periods of time.
 
Ed died in 1992. She lived independently until double knee surgery in 2005 when she could no longer drive and Candy arranged for periodic home care. Terry moved in with her a few years later. Joy loved company and was known for her warm hospitality. She enthusiastically applauded performances by the Day cousin violin trio (Candy, Nancy, and Kacey), no matter how atonal.

Joy spent her final 15 months in home hospice care. Until the end, she insisted that visitors “have something to eat and come by for a swim.” She died as she wished in view of her beloved Angle Lake.

Joy mourned the recent deaths of her sister and brother-in-law, son-in-law, and close friends of her generation. She is survived by her three children and her son Mike’s wife Linda. 

The family deeply appreciates those who provided Joy with loving care in her final months. These include Robbi Badure, Saida Mukhtar, Lisa Berlin, Cynthia Finney, Chaz Lindsey, Vivian Karanja, Hannah Gikonyo, and Sarah Schott. We are also grateful to her long-standing friend Cathy Gosho whose visits and brownies cheered her days, Susan Randlett whose flowers and visits always lifted her spirits, Sun Dat who made sure she always had food and drink, Erna Brodber who shared her writings and always remembered her birthday, Niece Nancy Erickson an adored regular visitor who also took over caregiving oversight when Candy was travelling, and Nephew Andy Jones and Niece Kacey Jones Miller whose periodic visits and support brought her great joy.

A memorial celebration will be held on April 21 at 12:30 pm at Tahoma National Cemetery. It marks the occasion of what would have been her 99th birthday. The cemetery is located at 18600 SW 240th Street, Kent, WA 98042. Her husband, sister and brother-in-law, and son-in-law are buried there as well. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the Seattle Opera or Audubon.

Birth:
Her birthdate is 21 Apr 1914 in Washington Births on Ancestry. However, she was 20 months old at the time of the 1920 census.

Family/Spouse: Edward Daniel SULLIVAN. Edward was born on 28 Sep 1909 in New York; died on 29 Nov 1992 in Seattle, King County, Washington; was buried in Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, Washington. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Articles in the Bellingham Herald in the 1930s referred to her has Belle, Bill, Billie, and Wilma.

In the 1940 census, she was Billy, a 16 year-old high school student living with her parents.

It is with heavy heart that we report to the community one of our pioneering Shore Club members and beloved neighbor, Wilma Mary Kathleen Day Jones, known to many around the lake simply as Billie, died Saturday, January 16 after a sudden illness. She was in the loving presence of family at the time of her passing. 

Born in Okanogan, Washington, Billie was the second of two daughters born to Lyman and Esther Day. She spent her girlhood on her parents' apple orchard ranch in the Boston Heights area 'chasing jackrabbits and swimming in the Okanogan River' as she would fondly remember. 

Billie briefly attended college at Washington State University, until she heeded the call of duty to her country as WWII began. She was among the first young women to venture to the other Washington and later Miami, FL, working for the government and Red Cross to help the war effort. She was thrilled with her independent life and made many friends, with whom she remained in contact for years to come.

On April 13, 1947 she married Charles Arthur Jones, a handsome U.S. Marine, whom she met on a blind date orchestrated by her mother. Bud and Billie settled in a cottage on Angle Lake, where they continued making and nurturing lifelong friendships. In their 66 years together, they lived life to the fullest; raising children, swimming and sailing, skiing, partying, traveling, and relishing the company of family and friends. Their July 4 celebrations will forever remain a staunch family tradition. In her later years, despite the weather or the month, Billie was famous for inviting anyone she met to 'come on out for a swim at Angle Lake!' 

Billie loved music, singing, dancing, and being a center of festivities. She instilled a love of music in her three children and was insistent they all learn to play an instrument. She treasured her beautiful home on Angle Lake and would express her gratitude every day for all her blessings. She is survived by her children Nancy Erickson (Glenn), Andrew Jones (Lois), and Kacey Jones Miller (Bruce) and her sister Joy Sullivan. Billie was preceded in death by her husband, her beloved 'Bud'. She cherished her eleven grandchildren. She lived to see eight of her nine great grandchildren, missing by only four days the arrival of her ninth.

Wilma married Charles Arthur (Bud) JONES on 13 Apr 1947. Charles was born on 22 Dec 1922; died on 7 Mar 2013 in Washington; was buried in Tahoma National Cemetery, Kent, Washington. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]