Meet the Board: Virginia Majewski

Nov4 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you hear from them. (Note: This is an updated version of Ginny’s story, first published in January 2017.)

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Virginia Majewski from Sequim. Virginia, more familiarly known to us as Ginny, is WSGS’s past President. Her dedication to WSGS is longstanding and worked many years to make it more relevant and helpful to local societies. Besides being WSGS president from 2017 – 2021, she previously served as WSGS’s Secretary, Region 3 Representative and Vice President.

Undoubtedly, one of Ginny’s greatest WSGS legacies will be her brainchild — the Pioneer Pursuit program. The effort encourages genealogists and history enthusiasts to document every man, woman and child in Washington Territory on or before November 11, 1889. To date, more than 3,500 individuals have been documented and verified as living in the territory before statehood. Ginny is very excited about the response the program has received. Although the contest element ended on October 31, 2023, Ginny encourages everyone to “keep sending in your families!”

Virginia Ann was born in Yakima to Wesley Roy and Nancy Jane (Grabill) Forney. She is a proud 4th generation Washingtonian and descendant of the Pioneer family of John C. Forney and his wife Kate H. Ebersold. Ginny’s name was handed down through her mother’s family – great grandmother, great aunts and aunts – even though Ginny’s dad maintains he picked out her name.

Ginny is a graduate of Quincy High School in Quincy, Washington (Grant County) and Sacred Heart School of Nursing in Spokane. She is married to Moe, her husband of 36 years. She is the mother of four grown children and, most importantly, grandmother of eight, ages 23 – 7. She retired from her career of 42 years as an Obstetrical Nurse in 2013. She is active in her church and manages its annual holiday bazaar, selling all hand crafted items.

Ginny has been involved in genealogy for more than 20 years. It all started with a couple of boxes of “junk” from her grandparent’s estate. She was bitten by the genealogy bug and it became one of her life’s passions. Her maternal and paternal lines go back to exiled Mennonites in Switzerland. In 2000, she took a three-week genealogical tour of Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands – following the path of her exiled ancestors.

Virginia holds a Certification in Advanced Genealogical Studies in both American Records and Methodology from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies in Toronto, Canada. Currently, she is the Treasurer of Clallam County Genealogical Society after having served as its president for a number of terms. She is also a member of a variety of genealogical and historical groups. She loves to do genealogical traveling and giving educational presentations to genealogy groups..

When asked what she finds most interesting about genealogy, Ginny muses about a bigamist, unknown illegitimate cousins, a civil war hero and many more interesting characters!

A few more interesting tidbits about Ginny:

Her favorite color is turquoise.
Her favorite dessert is a Cream Puff Cake.
She urges anyone searching for their ancestors to use FamilySearch.org – an amazing resource available to everyone.
Besides genealogy, Ginny’s other life passions are quilting, reading, gardening and travel – oh, and don’t forget those grandchildren!
When asked what word describes her, Ginny laughs and asks if “genie-nut” is a word. We think it is when it pertains to Ginny!

Now you know a little more about one of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Ginny, say hello and thank her for her service to the WSGS.

Meet the Board: Roxanne Lowe

Jun21 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them. (Note: a variation of Roxanne’s story was published in September 2017.)

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Roxanne Lowe. Roxanne lives in McCleary (Grays Harbor County) and is WSGS’s secretary, web manager and on the blog team. She’s also in charge of the Recognition program. She has been a member of the WSGS since 2008. She was named as a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer in 2010. She’s a proud, long-time member of the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society, serving as president and newsletter editor of the GHGS Family Tree Searcher newsletter.

Roxanne was born in Aberdeen, Washington in January 1955, the first child of George and Patricia (Murphy) Ferbrache. She is the great-granddaughter of Patrick Murphy and Mary Donovan who moved to the Chehalis River Valley in the spring of 1888 from New Brunswick, Canada.

Patrick Murphy, Roxanne’s great-grandfather

Roxanne’s interest in genealogy began as a child. Her paternal grandmother gave her a written family history, loaded with names, dates and locations. It was many years, however, before Roxanne learned enough about genealogy to realize that:

• Ferbrache can be spelled a multitude of ways.
• There may be more than one (or two or 10) Daniel Murphy’s, Lawrence Ryan’s – and even Thomas Ferbrache’s.
• Middle names are not a big deal in her family (Roxanne doesn’t even have one).
• Her descendants moved around – a lot – with little or no regard to leaving a paper trail.
• Whoever wrote that family history was a creative writer.

Fortunately for Roxanne, she joined the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society who taught her a thing or two about genealogy research. She’s attended many conferences, workshops and seminars – learning something new at each. She’s even traveled to Ireland and New Brunswick, Canada looking for Murphy’s and Ryan’s. Next on her travel wish list is to go to Guernsey in the Channel Islands (with a side stop in London) to visit her Ferbrache ancestral land.

Roxanne retired a few years ago from the Washington State Auditor’s Office in Olympia. She had previously worked for Governors Gregoire and Locke as a project manager on the welfare and performance measure programs. When not searching for her family history, she enjoys scrapbooking, quilting, sewing, machine embroidery and just about every other paper and fabric art. She and her husband Gary have five children and nine adored grandchildren. You can often read about Roxanne’s fun-filled adventures with her grandchildren on her Facebook page.

Roxanne on Stanserhorn Mountain in Switzerland, June 2023.

A few more interesting tidbits about Roxanne:
• Favorite genealogy websites: Ancestry, MyHeritage and Google
• Favorite color: Red
• Favorite dessert: Apple pie
• When asked for one word that described her, she replied, “Busy!”

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Roxanne say hello and thank her for her service to WSGS.

Meet the Board: Frank McLean

May15 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them. (Note: a variation of Frank’s story was published in July 2017.)

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Frank McLean. Frank lives in Yakima and is the WSGS Treasurer and chair of the Pioneer and First Citizen Program. He is also one of the main reviewers of the Pioneer Pursuit submissions. He has been a member of the WSGS since 1986, previously serving as President and Vice President. He was named as a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer in 2003, 2005 and 2006. He’s been a proud member (and past President) of the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society since 1986.

Frank Leroy McLean was born in Chewelah (Stevens County), Washington in 1937 to Jonathan Cornelius and Margaret Ella (Starz) McLean, the third of six children. After high school, Frank served proudly in the Army for 20-plus years, then worked for 19 years at the U.S. Department of Defense, with a short break in between working in Spokane. In 1958, Frank married Delma Dee Roloff. They have three surviving children and seven grandchildren.

Frank has a special interest and knack in technology and computers. In fact, he manages the WSGS Pioneer and First Citizen certificate database — almost 30,000 strong. For an index of the names, click here.

John Robertson McLean (1847 – 1919). Frank’s grandfather was born in Nova Scotia and moved to St. James, Minnesota in 1870 where he started a church in a boxcar.

Speaking of Germans from Russia…that’s how Frank got his interest in genealogy. No, he doesn’t have German ancestors from Russia, but Delma does. She joined the Central Washington chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia Society in 1985 and Frank tagged along as “driver, cemetery walker and microfilm cranker.” From there, his interest grew. His ancestors hail from Germany, Nova Scotia, Maine and Minnesota. Frank’s grandfather, John Robertson McLean (pictured at left) was born in Nova Scotia, but moved to St. James, Minnesota in 1870. While there, he started a church in a boxcar. Frank and his family attended the 125th anniversary of the church, where they were given a copy of the picture that hangs in the church. There is also a miniature replica of the boxcar on the lawn in front of the church.

Frank likes the research part of the genealogical search, but he’s not as thrilled with the documentation part. He also prefers his hard-copy paper charts and lists over paperless research.

A few more interesting tidbits about Frank:
• Favorite genealogy website: Family Search
• Favorite color: Blue
• Favorite dessert: Lemon Cream Pie

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Frank, say hello and thank him for his service to WSGS.

Meet the Board: Charles Hansen

Mar15 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them. (Note: a variation of Charles’s story was published in October 2017.)

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Charles Hansen from Spokane. Charles is WSGS’s Blog Master, as well as chair of the Resource Guide Project. He is a longtime member of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society where he serves as their Registered Agent, email chair, chief researcher (since 1998), head of library volunteers and one of their bloggers.

We know him as Charles, but he was born Charles Michael Hansen and called “Mike” by his family for as long as he can remember – probably to avoid confusion with his maternal grandfather Charles Rupert Kelly after whom he was named. His middle name honored his paternal grandfather Anton Mikkel Hansen.

Born in Spokane, Charles graduated from Washington State University in Pullman in 1971. For many years, he’s been an “Enrolled Agent,” someone considered by the IRS to be the equivalent of a CPA – able to do examinations, collections and appeals. In case you were wondering, the name Enrolled Agent came about soon after the Civil War when Enrolled Agents were authorized by the government to fill out paperwork for the veterans and families of the veterans for benefits provided by the government.

Charles and his grandfather Charles Kelly, Aunt Mayme McMichael and his grandmother Cleo Kelly

Charles became interested in genealogy back in 1990 after he and his sister Jacque decided to hold a family reunion. They started looking for their Hansen relatives – not an easy task considering that Charles and Jacque have more than 100 second cousins! After corresponding with their Dad’s first cousin Lorraine Erickson, a Family History Center volunteer in Arizona, Lorraine sent them a group sheet — something Charles and Jacque had never seen before! Lorraine suggested they send blank group sheets with the reunion packets. Imagine their surprise when they got 350 family group sheets back! They dutifully typed the information into a program called the “Enhanced Family Tree” and printed a book for everyone that came to the reunion.

That started the ball rolling. Wanting to find out more about their family, they took a beginning genealogical course through the local community college taught by Donna Potter-Phillips, past president of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society — and WSGS Vice President. She encouraged Charles and Jacque to join EWGS and the rest is, well…history.

A tip from Charles: I didn’t record who sent me each group sheet, so for the first 500 names in my genealogical file today most have no sources, but I do have the hard copy group sheets. Also the Enhanced Family Tree program did not have the ability to save data as a GEDCOM so when I switched to a better program, I had to retype all the data I had.

Charles and Jacque recently returned from a road trip to visit family and the Montana State Genealogical Society conference in Missoula to hear Judy Russell and Amy Crow. Charles has also visited Minnesota where the five original Hansen brothers settled. He’s also got ancestors from Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, New England, Denmark, England, Scotland and Germany.

When Charles isn’t blogging on the WSGS Blog (or his own blog http://charles-mikkelshus.blogspot.com/), researching at the county courthouse, volunteering at EWGS or doing his own genealogy, he’s out in his garden puttering here and there.

More trivia about Charles:

His favorite color is blue.
His favorite dessert is ice cream.
His most used genealogy website is the Washington State Digital Archives – where he’s transcribed over 568,000 records — 568,650 to be exact!
He says the single word that best describes him is “introvert.”

Now you know a little more about one of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Charles, say hello and thank him for his service to the WSGS.

Meet the Board: Kathy Sizer

Feb18 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them. (Note: a variation of Kathy’s story was published in October 2017.)

Kathy and her 2nd cousins, once removed in England.

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Kathy Sizer. Kathy lives in Granger (Yakima County) and is WSGS’s President. She has been a member of the WSGS since 2011. She is also a member of the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society where she has been president, vice president, recording secretary, hospitality chair and current treasurer.

Kathleen Louise was born in Oakland, California in 1951 to August Edward and Vivian Jane (Washburn) Weddle. Her mother liked the name Kathleen (as did approximately one million other mothers at the time), but when she told her husband, he said he did too as his former fiance’s name was Kathleen. Horrified, Kathy’s mother said they needed to pick another name, to which her husband replied, “I didn’t marry her. I married YOU, didn’t I?”

Kathy’s interest in genealogy began when her grandmother Edith Clarke Washburn and her sister Avice Ramos Clarke were discussing family history when Kathy was in the 4^th grade. That discussion sparked Kathy’s interest. Later, after college, Kathy found a handwritten family history her grandmother had done and that really secured her lifelong passion.

Kathy with her cousin Diana Walcom at their great grandfather John Clarkes’ home in Gargrave England.

Kathy and cousin Diana Walcom in England during Diana’s first trip to see the family home.

Even though her DNA ancestry says she’s only 36 percent English, Kathy’s ancestors come from England, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Scotland, Arabic and Ireland. She has been lucky enough to travel to England and Scotland to see where her grandmother’s family was from. A genealogist’s work is never done!

Kathy has quite a few interesting characters in her ancestry. Her distant grandmother, Sarah Lord Wilson of Andover, Massachusetts, and daughter Sarah Wilson Preston (also Kathy’s grandmother) were imprisoned for witchcraft, but released when the community began to realize the awful practice of imprisoning (or worse) was wrong. Kathy also has a great grandmother, Marie R. Cornioley, who was governess to Louis Comfort Tiffany, the famous glass maker. And what about John Billington, her distant grandfather, who came over on the Mayflower and was the first man in the Plymouth Colony to hang for killing a man? True story.

When not searching for her ancestors, Kathy enjoys gardening, travel and reading. She has four grown children and seven grandchildren. “Her two sons are adopted from India and have done their DNA and have English and Irish blood (Queen Victoria and her British Empire most likely came into play).”

A few more interesting tidbits about Kathy:

Favorite genealogy websites: Ancestry, Family Search, Nantucket Historical Association and Newspapers.com.
Favorite color: Green, of course, as Kathy’s ancestry takes her to England and her DNA shows she’s 17 percent Irish
Favorite dessert: Eclairs, pumpkin pie and homemade oatmeal raisin cookies
When asked for one word that described her, she replied, “bookish.”

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Kathy say hello and thank her for her service to WSGS.

Meet the Board: Valorie Cowan Zimmerman

Sep14 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Did you know we have an Executive Committee and four standing committee chairs? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you.

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Valorie Cowan Zimmerman, WSGS’s Vice President. Valorie lives in Kent with her husband Bob. Her family calls her Val, but as an adult, she uses Valorie. She is very active in the South King County Genealogical Society, serving as President.

Valorie was born in 1953 in the Renton Hospital, which is now McLendon’s Hardware, the daughter of Ted and Lola (McBee) Cowan. Valorie’s father was born and raised in Seattle, while Mom was born at home in Indianola, Iowa, but grew up in Alberta Canada until age 15. She then moved to Seattle to attend high school and work.

Valorie’s professional career was varied: house cleaner, mother and in the securities and insurance business. She is proud to be a lifelong learner and now is a full-time volunteer for her genealogical societies.

Valorie’s maternal grandparents Harvey McBee and Anna Baysinger on their wedding day in 1914.

Valorie’s interest in genealogy was sparked in her teen years by her curiosity about her grandparents’ lives. The world they were born into was so different than anything Valorie had experienced. She is particularly interested in her grandmother’s Swedish ancestry. While she hasn’t been to Sweden (yet!), she connected with Swedish researcher/cousins who have helped her get back to the 1600s on some of her ancestral lines. Valorie says “Finding living cousins is the best!” Lucky her!

On Valorie’s stateside bucket list to visit is a trip to Warren County, Iowa where her mother was born and generations of Baysingers and Disneys lived. She’d also like to visit Grainger County, Tennessee where her McBee’s lived before moving on to Illinois, Iowa and Missouri.

Valorie and her husband Bob, a retired Boeing production engineer, have three children and a bonus: Thomas who now lives in Denver, Colorado at a computer company; Paul who lives in Seattle with his wife Tara and son Oscar; and Anne who also lives in Seattle with her husband Jason and their kitties. Valorie and Bob’s bonus child has been raised by them since their mother Carol, Valorie’s first cousin, died. They and husband Rory live for the time being in Seattle.

A few more interesting tidbits about Valorie:
• Favorite genealogy websites: FamilySearch, Ancestry and WikiTree
• Favorite color: Flower colors
• Favorite dessert: Dark chocolate
• When she’s not doing genealogy, Valorie likes to enjoy art, read novels and history books and chat with people
• When asked to describe herself in one word, Valorie replied, “curious.” (Her husband, however, might say “stubborn”!) Aren’t both of those words perfect to describe a genealogist?

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Valorie say hello and thank her for her service to WSGS.

WSGS President & Secretary Nominee Statements

Dec15 by Roxanne Lowe

Kathleen “Kathy” Weddle Sizer of Granger has been nominated to serve as WSGS President. To learn more about Kathy, click here.

Additionally, Roxanne Ferbrache Lowe of McCleary has been nominated as Secretary. To learn more about Roxanne, click here. The term of offices is 01 Jan 2022 through 31 Dec 2023.

Online voting for the slate will begin 17 Dec 2021 and run through 24 Dec. All WSGS members will receive an email with a SurveyMonkey link to their anonymous ballot. Members are asked to vote for each position. Write-in nominations are allowed.

Kathy’s statement:

Through the years it has been harder and harder to fill board positions. Many enjoy the benefits of organizations and clubs but few find the time to run for office. I am running for President to fill a need; I enjoy being the “play crew” and not the “actor” but see the need.

Washington State Genealogical Society has been a driving force for many years and can be for many more. Our focus has gone from helping form societies and hosting seminars with noteworthy speakers to being a clearinghouse promoting our many great societies here in our state and helping them to advertise their seminars, workshops and meetings. I and others have attended events other societies have put on over the years due to the fact that WSGS has promoted these events for the local societies. I wish to see this continue as each society has something to offer all of us and WSGS has made it easy for me as well as you to find events and attend those that will benefit genealogical research.

WSGS not only promotes local societies but has financially helped local societies through various grants and one-time gifts through the dues our loyal members have paid. Thank you members!

WSGS is embarking on updating the Pioneer Files for Washington State, an ambitious project but a boon for those with early families to our state. Let’s keep Washington State Genealogical Society relevant!

Roxanne’s statement:

I am a proud member of the Washington State Genealogical Society. Although the last few years have seen many changes and a few up’s and down’s, I believe the society is still relevant and supportive of local societies around the state.

We know the way we do business is changing. I will always be a strong advocate of local societies, but see a valuable role for a statewide umbrella, providing financial support, special programs, advocacy, recognition and/or communication.

Every organization is only as strong as its leadership and members. WSGS is listening to you, whether you’re in a local society or not. We want to support you in ways that are value-added to you.

I appreciate your support in being elected Secretary of the Washington State Genealogical Society.

Ginny Majewski Announces She’s Not Running For WSGS President

Sep29 by Roxanne Lowe

Virginia “Ginny” Majewski has announced she will not seek another term as president of the Washington State Genealogical Society. President since January 2017, Ginny feels it’s time to pass the gavel to someone else.

In a recent interview, Ginny was asked her proudest accomplishments in her five-year tenure. She replied:

Finding ways to help genealogical societies in Washington State through these difficult times. I am very proud of the financial support we provided to all of the genealogy societies during the Covid epidemic. Although WSGS could not give much to each society, in total we distributed over $10,000 to 40+ societies. I would like to think it helped keep some of our societies alive.
Also, I was honored to work with DSHS and with the IJGS and FGS to keep access to vital records in Washington State open for genealogists. Although we did not get everything we wanted, we were able to maintain access rather than have vital records be totally closed for 50-100 years. That process took over a year of conference calls and legislative interactions, but was worthwhile in the long run.

When asked where she hoped WSGS would go in the future, she expressed her optimism:

WSGS has found its niche. We are here to help genealogical societies and be a conduit for genealogical information. My hope for the future is that WSGS will be THE go-to place when searching for genealogical resources, information and activities in Washington State. I would like to see our website become more interactive and our blog have more contributions and highlight society events. I would also love to see us find a way to honor our wonderful society volunteers again.

If you think Ginny is going to end her presidency quietly, you’re wrong. Her parting comment was “I am looking forward to announcing WSGS’s plans for honoring our Pioneer ancestors next month.” We’re looking forward to that!

If you’d like to read more about Ginny, check out this “Meet the Board” article.

The WSGS Board is looking for members to serve on a nominating committee. If you’re interested in this very important short-term opportunity, please email the Board at Info@wasgs.org and type “Nominating Committee” in the subject line.

Meet the Board: Barbara Johnson

Apr4 by Roxanne Lowe

Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Did you know we have an Executive Committee, six standing committee chairs and three appointed non-elected officers? Who are all these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them.

Barbara Gorham Johnson

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Barbara Jeanne Gorham Johnson. Barb lives in Mount Vernon (Skagit County) and is in her first term as WSGS’s Region 1 South Representative. Besides being a member of WSGS, she is a long-time member of the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society where she has served on the Board as secretary, vice president, and currently as education chair and communications chair. She also belongs to Clan Johnstone in America and Saddleworth (Yorkshire) Historical Society.

Barbara Jean was born in Seattle in 1943, the daughter of Arthur and Emily (Kochis) Gorham. Her mother, the good Catholic that she was, named her daughter after St. Barbara and St. John. Her names mean “stranger” and “God/like/ly.” With a twinkle in her eye, Barb’s mother told her daughter that she was a “strange gift from God.” What a sense of humor!

Barbara in kindergarten

While born in Seattle, Barb grew up on the idyllic Vashon Island. After high school, she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Microbiology at the University of Washington and did virus research for several years. After marrying Roger Johnson, she became a full-time mom. After that, she became a King County police officer, then did security duty at Bellevue Square. After that, she became the first park ranger for the City of Bellevue. She has also been a science teacher with Pacific Science Center’s “Science On Wheels” program. When she and Roger “retired” to Skagit County, she worked part-time as a park ranger for North Cascades National Park. This girl loves the great out of doors!

Barbara and Roger

Barb has been interested in family history for years. She used to listen to her parents talk about their childhood years in New York City and (at that time) Czechoslovakia. Barb would often ask her maternal grandmother to tell her about the old country, curious about her native homeland. About 25 years, ago, Barb got serious about researching her roots. She has traveled to ancestral lands in Massachusetts, Ireland, Scotland and Yorkshire, England.

Barbara and her family

Speaking of Yorkshire, one of her most fascinating genealogical discoveries was finding her Yorkshire cousin who helped her with her research back to the 1500’s. Barb and Roger visited him in the Parish of Saddleworth in West Riding of Yorkshire last year. He was kind enough to escort them all over the parish, regaling them with stories of ancient and family history and architectural history.

Barb and Roger, a retired banker who is a model railroader, are the proud parents of Steven and Michelle. Steven is a Navy veteran now working for a defense contractor in Washington, D.C. Steven and his wife Jen, a school teacher who is also a Navy veteran, have two children: Jeffrey (age 12) and Lexie (age 9). Daughter Michelle and her husband Bob live in Edmonds. She is an early education teacher at Edmonds Community College, while Bob is a home inspector.

A few more interesting tidbits about Barb:

Barb does DNA and genealogy presentations in Washington and British Columbia. She also participates in a living history program as Abigail Adams.
Favorite genealogy websites: Ancestry.com as they have wonderful Yorkshire records that have been digitized
Favorite color: Blue
Favorite dessert: Dark chocolate – Death by Chocolate, in particular!
When she’s not doing genealogy, Barb likes to hike, quilt, scrapbook and do needlework.
It’s easy to describe Barb in one word: enthusiastic!

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Barb say hello and thank her for her service to WSGS.

Meet the Board: Diane Huckabay

Mar14 by Roxanne Lowe

Diane Huckabay

In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Diane Huckabay. Diane lives in Ellensburg and is WSGS’s Education and Outreach Chair. She is very active in the Kittitas County Genealogical Society, serving as President, Past President and Member-at-Large. She is also president of the Cascade Association of Museums and History (CAMAH), an organization that brings together and promotes all the museums and historical sites in Kittitas County.

Diane, her sister and brother, ca. 1966

Diane, one of three children, was born in Missouri in the 1950s, the daughter of Tom and Nannette. They gave their little daughter Nannette’s middle name, Diane. Tom and Nannette’s roots started in Oklahoma and Virginia. Diane’s other ancestral lines are in Texas, Kansas and Scotland. While she’s visited the states, Scotland is still on her Bucket List.

Diane’s interest in genealogy was sparked after she took a class so she could help patrons at the local public library. One of her most exciting discoveries was finding her grandfather’s siblings. One of her brick walls is finding more information about her great uncle Cecil Britton (1911 – 1959) who lived in Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma. If you know anything about Cecil, Diane’s looking to talk to you.

Diane’s great aunt Sisso, her grandmother and their little brother Cecil

Diane and her husband have a blended family of three sons and six daughters.

A few more interesting tidbits about Diane:
• Favorite genealogy websites: FamilySearch, Ancestry and the Digital Archives in Washington and Missouri
• Favorite color: Green
• Favorite dessert: Raspberry Lush and anything chocolate
• When she’s not doing genealogy, Diane likes to read, do art projects and dabble on the Internet.
• When asked to describe herself in one word, Diane replied, “curious.” Isn’t that a perfect word to describe a genealogist?

Now you know a little more about another of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Diane say hello and thank her for her service to WSGS.

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