The Kenney is announcing today that its CEO, Kevin McFeely, is leaving for a new job, leading The Hearthstone in North Seattle.

He has led the continuing-care community north of Lincoln Park for almost a decade, and told us, in an interview at The Kenney (WSB sponsor) this morning, that he has “mixed feelings” about leaving his “extended family” there – both the 200 residents and the staff, including his dozen-plus-member leadership team, but the move feels like “the next logistical step” for him.

One thing they’re doing at Hearthstone that is not happening right now at The Kenney: Expanding.

McFeely says his new employer is building a new campus with new apartments blocks away from its current one, while The Kenney’s redevelopment plan is on hold, after a challenging 3-year process.

The Kenney’s plan isn’t dead, McFeely stresses, just on the shelf till the economy improves – and remember, that’s a scaled-down plan, not the bigger proposal that first came to light in summer 2008.

What began as the Samuel and Jessie Kenney Presbyterian Retirement Home has advanced in other ways during McFeely’s tenure, even though the redevelopment plan was halted. We asked him about the accomplishments of which he’s most proud, and he ticked off, in no particular order, a list starting with the recently opened Memory Care Unit – “I’m very proud of that.”

On the other end of the “continuum of care,” he says, “We’re allowing people to age in place and age in place well” – no longer are there so few options that you might wind up in a “nursing home” when you have a lot of vitality left. Also to that point, he is proud of activity programming that has grown in scope and frequency, with residents sometimes even “complain(ing) there’s so much to choose from.”

The Kenney, he says, also has options for those whose finances are more limited, to live in a less-expensive part of the complex, while “receiving the same services.” And he says they have flexibility in choosing services – “you don’t have to go to every meal; some people are out all day and just want to make a cup of soup (in their apartment) at night, and be happy.”

There’ve been upgrades to apartments, he notes, to the point where you might enter a building that’s more than half a century old and never know that by what you see in the apartment.

And he’s proud to have integrated The Kenney into the community more than it had been before, including participation in the West Seattle Art Walk.

But overall, again, he says, “I am very proud of the team … they understand seniors. I’m very happy with them and sad to leave them.”

We asked him about any reflections on the process that ultimately led to the shelving of the redevelopment proposal. “It was hard,” he acknowledges. “I can appreciate all the community concern about the size and scope of it – but the comments were good; that helped us come back and put together a better project, better for us and for the community as well. We want to be a good neighbor; we want everybody to be happy. I’m sorry we didn’t get to bring it to reality, but it’s not dead … I think we can make it work (eventually) in a scaled-back version.”

McFeely and his family, including his 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, had just moved to West Seattle from Bellevue a year ago. But he says they’re not leaving, even though his career is moving north. When he started telling people last week about his new job, he says, his son’s Pony Baseball coach was worried the family might be moving out of the area.

Not only does his son play – McFeely umpires. (And he has a bit of a black eye to show for it, after getting hit during a Thursday night game!)

He has other community obligations, too, with local service organizations and boards.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, other than changing jobs – “I’ll still be around. … I just want to thank the community; it’s been supportive of the organization, and of me.”

His final day at The Kenney is scheduled to be July 3rd, and then, after the Independence Day holiday, he starts at Hearthstone on July 5th.

The Future of the Law Institute is a year-long program for high-school students interested in law careers, intended to help work toward a future when this area’s “Courtrooms and Law Offices reflect the diversity of the community they serve …” (as declared atop the organization’s website). This weekend brought a graduation celebration for its most recent group of participants, and Ted Reed shares the photo with the news that the graduates include two Chief Sealth International High School students: Cecilia Silva, front row/left, and Trevor Reed, third row/left. He says the program “provides students with substantive legal workshops, career counseling, a mock trial, courthouse tour, and opportunities to meet with legal professionals.”

(WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland and board member Amy Daly-Donovan)
Another night, another big party at The Hall at Fauntleroy! One night after The Taste of West Seattle, The Hall rocked Friday night with “Shake, Rattle, & Roll,” the cocktail-party benefit for WestSide Baby, held last year just hours after WS Baby’s big benefit tea, this year moved to a few months later. Another difference: While the tea moved to a big airport-area conference center, this bash was West Seattle through and through. West Seattle-residing radio star Marty Riemer emceed:

West Seattle band Not Dead Yet provided the music – including their signature “West Seattle Hey”:

We had to grab a separate pic of them once we heard their story, courtesy of Sherri Chun, a founding member of the “47th Ave Bookclub,” a moms’ group that gave birth to Not Dead Yet when the members’ husbands “learned they all have something in common – musical talent! … They write their own music, much of it about family, kids, and famous local landmarks.”

If you missed them at last night’s party, Not Dead Yet will be playing Seattle Summer Streets on Alki this Sunday. Back to the Friday night party – click ahead for more photos, and video!

Among the event’s sponsors, Wyatt’s Jewelers – whose Kirk Keppler, photographed with wife Joni, was celebrating his birthday! And what a great place to celebrate, given who was mixing the drinks:

That’s Matt Johnson, award-winning cocktail artist and co-proprietor of the Feedback Lounge. The fun also included a photo booth-type setup:

WestSide Baby executive director Nancy Woodland took a few minutes to speak about the people they help – and the people who make that possible:

(If you couldn’t watch the video – Nancy had big news – another major Kimberly-Clark donation on the way – 18 pallets of baby wipes!) More local businessfolk enjoying a break and supporting WestSide Baby – Kendra and Parrish Hammer from Budget Blinds in The Triangle, and Shannon and Jon Felix from Avalon Glassworks in Luna Park:

From Fauntleroy Chiropractic in The Triangle, Dr. Bryan Wiebe:

Next big event for WestSide Baby – the annual Stuff the Bus diaper drive, July 22nd! And you can help them any time … here’s how.

(Our standard disclosure, whenever we mention sponsors – of the businesses mentioned above, Wyatt’s Jewelers, Feedback Lounge, Budget Blinds, and Fauntleroy Chiropractic are all WSB sponsors as well as WestSide Baby supporters who happened to be on hand last night – as is, though not photographed, Ventana Construction)

Mimi (Marilyn Jean) Summersby Feisst passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Washington, on the 29th of April after battling cancer for several months. She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Annette and H. Samuel (Sam) Bartel, and husband Allan Feisst. Mimi is survived by son Scott Summersby and granddaughter Taylor of Florida, daughter Kristen Summersby, daughter Dana Brooks, son-in-law Jim Brooks, grandchildren Zachary, Zahn and Allyson, foster daughter Susan Tekola, son-in-law Fasil Tekola, grandchildren Tanesha, Sarra, Sophie and Nataly, sister Janet Deardorff and husband Jerry Deardorff, niece Molly, nephew Christopher, all of Washington, sister Susan Bartel and partner Lorraine Tarrant (of New Zealand), nephew Ian MacDonald (of Washington), and niece Sarah Bartel (of New Zealand).

Mimi’s first love was her family.

From special birthdays and holiday celebrations to everyday visits, family made her heart sing. Throughout her life, Mimi made every effort to create and capture special family memories. Her favorite travel adventures included the trips she shared with her children, sisters, and grandchildren. The trips with her family to the cabin near Snoqualmie were among her favorite outings over the years – she loved being surrounded by family and watching the grandkids experience wholesome outdoor fun.

Mimi’s love of travel was offered as a gift to her family – big trips and little trips, each one planned like a mission. There were historic trips, fun trips, scenic trips, relaxing trips…it didn’t matter if it was by train, plane, boat, car or bus, Mimi knew how to get there and what to do. She planned camping adventures, shopping trips, cultural trips, fishing excursions, skating outings, big-city trips, trips to dog races, trips to the biggest mall, the best county fairs, reindeer farms, corn mazes, afternoon tea, concert experiences and garage sales…every jaunt was a favorite – there was no such thing as just a trip with Mimi, every single one was special! And each one was recorded in the photos she took. In recent years, many trips were recorded in the personal photo books she created. She was our memory maker!

Her second love was travel, with an emphasis on Alaska. Mimi planned tours, booked tours, created custom tours, personally guided tours, and even processed tour records. She was the quintessential tour guide! Her in-depth knowledge of Alaska and her creativity made her the perfect visitor-relations representative – she was tireless! Mimi got up early and retired late; she wrote poems for travelers, took their photos, sent mementos of their trips. It was her personal goal to ensure her travelers were engaged, informed and went home happy. And they loved her! In 1986, Mimi was awarded the prestigious Gold Pan Award by the Alaska Visitors Association for her excellent service in Alaska tourism.

Mimi was a native of West Seattle and a life-long resident of Washington State. Life took her away at times, but Washington was home. After living in Washington, DC and having two of her children, Mimi returned to West Seattle, where she raised all three of her children and launched her successful career in travel and tourism. Eventually, she relocated to Puyallup where she finished her career with Alaska Airlines this winter.

While in Puyallup, Mimi held an honored role in the Red Hat Society as Queen of the Sans Souci Scarlet Chapter since 2006. Her volunteer work with the Red Hat Society allowed Mimi to serve her community and help many women in the organization, and it offered the perfect venue for Mimi to share her many wonderful talents and creativity with other women. She loved her involvement in the Red Hat Society and discovered many new friends through the group. She was a dedicated leader and enthusiastic member, and she remained active in the society through her illness. Her Red Hat friends will miss her friendship, her dedication to the Society, and her leadership.

A memorial service to honor Mimi’s life and share stories and memories with the family will be held on Sunday, May 20th at the Sanctuary at Admiral in West Seattle from 1:30 pm to 4 pm. For information on the location, please visit www.sanctuaryatadmiral.com.

Not everyone gets a Mimi in their life! All of us who knew and loved her are the lucky ones. Her absence is only softened by sharing her memory. Mimi will be missed deeply and forever by her family and friends.

(WSB publishes obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)

(Bride Thelema, aka “TJ,” tosses her bouquet)
Thanks to Kevin McClintic for sharing photos and info about a noontime event today: As previewed in a news release on Friday, Mother’s Day was wedding day for two couples at the eastern West Seattle encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville.” The day also marked exactly a year since the encampment returned to the spot where it began in fall 2008 – at that time, under the administration of its namesake, it was evicted days later, but this time, it’s been allowed to stay, though not allowed to hook up to city services. Kevin says that today at the camp, “the wedding overshadowed the 1 year anniversary by a long shot.” The Christian Crusaders Motorcycle Club of Tacoma officiated; Kevin says most are fully ordained ministers:

TJ’s groom is Charlie Smith; the couple at right, Charlie’s brother Josh Smith and his bride Barbie Houseman. TJ and Charlie are camp residents; Josh and Barbie used to be, but, according to this WSB Forums post, found housing before their baby was born. Before the noontime ceremony, Kevin reports, “The CCMC showed up about 11 AM with about a dozen bikes (mostly Harleys) and a box truck with a trailer. They brought all the food needed, a powerful generator, two propane BBQs, and lots of donations for NV residents consisting of boots, blankets, clothing, and other needed items!” He got them to pose for a group shot before they left around 2:30 pm.

Meantime, on Friday, the city released its “draft investment plan for homeless services” – how it proposes to better appropriate and track tens of millions of dollars spent on those services each year – and is inviting public comment. Read about it here.

Tables, bellies, and hearts were full Saturday night at Our Lady of Guadalupe, as Boy Scout Troop 284 hosted its annual spaghetti dinner and auction. Lots of food, and lots of donations for the auction:

As the original announcement of the event, shared by Teresa Syrstad, noted, “Having just celebrated our 97th year, Troop 284 is the fifth oldest, continuously charted troop in the nation! The boys are involved in numerous service projects in the West Seattle community. We look forward to them becoming community leaders and passing on their skills, inspiration and leadership to countless other youth.”

(That’s the troop portrait Teresa sent with the original dinner announcement.)

On Friday the 13th last year we set out on a secret mission – “The Black Cat Caravan.” Over 20 vehicles and 120 Nickelodeons and supporters left old Fire Station #39 in Lake City City, supposedly to talk to Seattle City Hall politicians. But we’d already concluded they weren’t ready to help, and kept on going toward The Duwamish, back to our first site where Nickelsville started in September of 2008. Slowly but surely,things have been getting better for Nickelsville ever since.

One year without moving, one year of building small simple sturdy sleeping structures and creating a self-managed Eco-Village. One year of growing together as a community as well as a year of getting to know our neighbors. One year of struggle for economic justice and environmental stability. One year of setting down roots without having to tear them up and move as we have done so often in the past.

The struggle isn’t over, by any means. The City of Seattle still will not recognize our existence, and we therefore lack either police protection or on site utilities. We never know what the next day holds. But an encampment of our size, staying for one year in one place in Seattle, hasn’t happened since the Great Depression. Some of us would certainly be dead without it, so Thank You Mayor McGinn.

We would like to invite you down to camp to share in our memories and plans this Sunday at Noon. The success of Nickelsville would have been an even harder fight without friends and allies such as yourself, and it would be impossible to celebrate it without your presence.

Another wonderful reason to come down is the double wedding being held onsite for two couples, residents of Nickelsville who have also shared the trials and joys of this great year. Thelema Johnson and Charlie Smith are being wed alongside with Josh Smith and Barbie Houseman. The Christian Crusaders motorcyclists will preside over the ceremony.

Here’s looking forward to another great year with our supporters and allies. May the memories be as amazing as this year.

As mentioned in the third paragraph above, the city has allowed the encampment to stay – the mayor’s office confirmed that to WSB days after its return last May – but will not allow it to hook up to city systems (as reported here last June). The event is scheduled for noon.

BOB OCHSNER, 1920-2012: The funeral Mass for Mr. Ochsner is planned for this Friday morning, according to the Times obituary, which you can read in its entirety here. He grew up in West Seattle, graduating from WSHS, and owned Bob Ochsner Cars for 55 years at locations including WS, and was active in organizations including the Rotary Club of West Seattle. His surviving family members include his wife of 59 years. The Friday morning Mass is at 11 am at Our Lady of Fatima, 3218 W. Barrett. You can sign the online memorial guestbook here.

GARY PUTMAN, 1954-2012: It’s been about a year since Mr. Putman’s fight against cancer led to the closure of his West Side Import Repair in The Triangle. Now, this week, comes word that he passed away. According to his Times obituary, Mr. Putman moved to Seattle in 1978 and worked at West Side for 33 years, starting as a mechanic before taking over the business. No memorial service is mentioned; instead, “a gift to your favorite charity or to cancer research” is suggested.

Mike shared that view from the Lincoln Park waterfront path tonight, as a beautiful weekend came to a close. Not everyone got to spend the weekend lazing around in the sun … dozens of volunteers worked hard on a variety of fundraisers. We’ve already reported on the ones for White Center Jubilee Days, for West Seattle Montessori (WSB sponsor), and for the Highland Park Improvement Club (and a family near and dear to their hearts) … here are shoutouts for a few more.

FIGHTING HUNGER: Keri DeTore and Ron Angeles were part of a full house of volunteers and supporters of the West Seattle Food Bank on Friday night at The Hall at Fauntleroy. The “Instruments of Change” dinner/auction was a hit once again, with the night including a keynote speech by former County Executive Ron Sims.

Saturday night, sports was in the spotlight at two fundraising dinners:

SEATTLE LUTHERAN FOOTBALL FUNDRAISER: In the kitchen at Seattle Lutheran High School on Saturday night, Julia, Shawne, Kerri and Holly worked to help make sure everybody got fed at the benefit dinner raising money for the football program. Two guest speakers were scheduled, as noted in our preview earlier in the week – Nesby Glasgow and Deacon Demetrius Duke Devers. P.S. The Saints have reason to be excited about baseball too – their undefeated team is off to postseason play.

WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL/SOFTBALL DINNER: This all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner, also on Saturday night, included lots of donations – check out the dessert dash lineup:

Thanks to co-chair Kim Gearon (right) for sharing news about this event:

(added) The team’s postseason play starts Monday. Meantime, lots of other great events on the calendar as spring continues, of course!

(Photo copyright Bob Venezia – Puyallup Fair, 2011)
The schedule is out for the Seattle International Film Festival, and it includes an award-winning short film by West Seattle photographer Bob Venezia, who shares this announcement:

“Animated Amusements,” a short film by West Seattle photographer Bob Venezia, is an official selection of the Seattle International Film Festival. It will be shown on May 26th at 9:30 pm at the SIFF Cinema at the Uptown as part of the program, “Animation for Adults.”

Scenes of carnival rides at night are set to the music of the late Rebo Flordigan. Shot in time-lapse and moving at hundreds of times their normal speed, the rides take on a life of their own and display brilliant patterns in colored lights.

Tickets for the program are now on sale.

Originally shot in 3D, this movie won the Artistic Achievement Award at the 2011 convention of the National Stereoscopic Association. SIFF will be presenting the 2D version.

Read more about the movie here.

Bob Venezia is a stereoscopic (3D) photographer and Photoshop expert. His love of 3D photography started in childhood with his first ViewMaster but it wasn’t until 1995 that he began creating these images on his own. Bob has been listed in the “Who’s Who” of the Photographic Society of America every year since 2006 and has a 4 Star rating with the PSA. He has had more than 220 acceptances in PSA recognized Exhibitions since 2003, and has won numerous awards, including a dozen Gold medals.

In 2009 Bob was the top exhibitor worldwide of digital stereoscopic photography according to the PSA. In 2010 he ranked number two worldwide in two categories (digital and slides). His long exposure of the Brooklyn Bridge took first place in the Electronic section of the Stereo Photo of the Year Competition for 2009 and his image of gondolas at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas was named Stereo Photo of the Year for 2010.

SIFF side note – though several films were scheduled at the Admiral Theater in the past few years, the festival is not coming to West Seattle this time around.

West Seattle-based Nature Consortium got the chance to share its wisdom this week with visitors from thousands of miles away. The World Affairs Council brought over a delegation from South Africa to talk with half a dozen NC team members “about how we engage and empower youth and exchange ideas with them,” as NC founder/executive director Nancy Whitlock explained it. “It was a really great meeting.” The visiting delegation included a member of South Africa’s Parliament and representatives of organizations including Heal the Hood. Next week, one of their restoration work parties will have guest participants from Burma, also here to visit the WAC (which is located on the downtown waterfront).

Cups around candles to shelter the flames from the wind, dozens of people gathered last night for a vigil at West Seattle’s Vietnamese Cultural Center, remembering and honoring those lost in the Vietnam War, on the 37th anniversary of its April 30th, 1975, conclusion.

They paid tribute to not only the more than one million South Vietnamese lost, but also the 58,000 Americans who died. Center director Lee Bui spoke words of remembrance and reflection in Vietnamese, with pauses for English translation by Phuoc Huynh:

Earlier this year, the center dedicated its Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial (WSB coverage here), which served again last night to honor heroes:

Visitors are welcome at the center (2236 SW Orchard) every Saturday, noon-3 pm.

Kevin McClintic shares the photo of (from left) Tim Hossner, Ken Beres, and Phil Sweetland, installing a new wayfinding sign for Fauntleroy Church this evening at Wildwood/Fauntleroy, a block south of the ferry terminal and about three blocks west of the church. The old sign has been out of commission since an early-morning crash we covered two months ago – when a suspected drunk driver’s car crashed into it before winding up upside down on the sidewalk nearby.