Florabelle “Flo” Pennington Main

Florabelle Main passed away Monday, July 26, 2010, with her daughter at her side while at Home Place in Oak Harbor. She was born in Twisp, Wash., Jan. 29, 1920, to John and Minnie Pennington. Flo and her sisters, Dorothy and Nila, grew up on the family dairy farm in Winthrop. She graduated from Winthrop High School and then attended business college in Kentucky.

On April 27, 1950, she married Ralph W. E. Main in Deer Park, Wash. They made their home on Curlew Lake in Republic, Wash., and raised their children, Mike, Claudia, Doug, Mary Lou and Susan.

In 1968 the family moved to Coupeville, and upon Ralph’s retirement in 1973 they returned to Curlew Lake. During her working years, Flo was a secretary at a law office and worked in the title insurance business.Ralph passed away in 1995, but Flo remained on Curlew Lake until 1998 when she then moved to Oak Harbor and resided at Harbor Towers until she moved to Home Place in 2007.

Throughout the years Florabelle remained close to her family and many friends. She loved to play bridge, bingo and dominoes and she never lost that special twinkle in her eye even as her memory began to fail.

Florabelle was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Ralph, son Michael Main, daughter Claudia Lavalle and grandson Marc Moon. She is survived by her sisters Nila Bracken of Spokane and Dorothy Ericksen of Missoula, Mont., son Doug Main of Republic, daughters Mary Lou Moon (Martin) of Wapiti, Wyo., and Susan Blouin (Dana) of Coupeville, daughter-in-law Barbara Olson (Jim) of Spokane, son-in-law Andre Lavalle of Londonderry, N.H., 13 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

The family would like to express their gratitude to Home Place for the loving care taken of Flo for the past three-and-a-half years, you made her last years very special to all of us.

A visitation for Flo was held at Burley Funeral Chapel on July 29 followed by a service to celebrate her life. A second service will be held at The Republic Presbyterian Church in Republic, on Saturday, July 31, at 2 p.m.

Arrangements were entrusted to Burley Funeral Chapel where friends and family may go online at www.burleyfuneralchapel.com to sign a guest register and leave memories for the family.