Pauline "Polly" Livengood

IN LOVING MEMORY Pauline Louise Livengood was born September 18, 1921, in the back bedroom of her family's home on their beautiful, 160-acre farm, in St. Mary's, Ohio. Her parents, Lafayette August Haeseker and Amelia (Dammeyer) Haeseker had four boys; Leroy, Charles, Norman and Frederick, when she was born, they all worked on the farm. Pauline helped her Mom with sewing and keeping the boys fed. She became a fabulous cook. Pies were her specialty. She made the best Gravenstein Summer Apple Pie. She was in 4-H and, much later in life, took chef classes at Cordon Bleu and at the Walla Walla Community College chef school. Polly’s family was blessed to have a farm during the Depression, so they always had food to eat. Her Mom would feed anyone who came up the lane and was hungry. As a child, her best friend and cousin was Marcella Grundish. They attended school together through High School. Polly met Robert William Livengood when she was 19. They loved to dance, and when Big Bands came nearby, they danced to Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. Bob was in a band, and played the big bass fiddle. He learned to play the steel guitar after listening to Hawaiian music on a radio show called "Hawaii Calls." He then taught the guitar with Hawaiian and country music over the radio. Bob and Polly married September 2, 1942, right as World War II broke out. Bob was stationed at a Navy blimp base in Norfolk, VA, when the war ended, and their first daughter, Patricia Anne, was born. Bob loved the west, so the family moved to Liberty Lake, WA, where their last two daughters, Susan Jane, and Barbara Louise, were born. Then they moved to Walla Walla, WA. One of the houses they lived in Walla Walla was on Gladys Street. Bob and Polly loved to fish. The family vacationed often to Westport, WA, for salmon and Downs Lake, WA, for perch. Polly's father, Lafayette, would come for the Westport trips, as well as her brother, Leroy, and his wife, Lillian. One year the trip also included Charles and his children, John and Mary, and they all caravanned with their trailers and went to the 1962 World's Fair where the Seattle Space Needle was introduced. Polly loved to cook. Bob and she were in a dinner group that would cook and eat together. Polly and friends created the Newcomer's Club that welcomed people who moved to Walla Walla, and as their children grew, it became the Evergreen Garden Club. They planted many of the trees and flowers at Pioneer Park and Walla Walla High School. The girls all rode horses and played in the stream at their beautiful 2-acre home, where Polly planted elaborate gardens. She was president and vice president of the Berney School PTA, alternating with her best friend, Lillian McClure, who was also in the garden club. Polly was an active member of Pioneer United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday school. She taught cooking as a 4-H Leader and was always willing to help with anything that came up. The family had a pet burro named Dum-Dum who was quite a character. Polly wrote children's stories of his adventures with the family and other pets. Polly loved to write. She wrote her life story, and had articles about her adventures published in magazines. Polly’s amusing tales will live in her family’s hearts forever. She loved taking writing classes at the Community College and a writer's school in Tillamook, OR. The family later had a book privately published with some of her stories. Their oldest daughter, Pat, married James Rasmussen in 1965. Then Polly and Bob became grandparents to Debora Ann Rasmussen (Fisch) in 1966. After the family moved to Fremont, CA., Debbie would come to visit often during the summer. Debbie and Polly swam everyday together. Polly also invented a special cake she named Debbie’s cake. One eventful trip was when Polly took Debbie at age 9 to Europe with her so that Pat could give them a tour around Europe during Pat’s summer studies in Paris, France. There was also a trip back to the farm in Ohio with Susan and Debbie. Polly helped Bob raise quarter horses and Polly worked at the cable company as well as demonstrating the newfangled microwave. They then moved to Auburn, CA. In 1984, when Susan married Roy Baughman, Polly and Bob happily became grandparents to Jon, Noreen and David. As they have grown and started families of their own, Grandma Polly has been a bright spot in the family. Over the years, the family grew. Jon and Angie Baughman and their children, Sydney, Mackenzie and Jackson. Noreen (Egurbide) Baughman and her boys, Alex, Cristian and Lucas. David and Kirsten Baughman and their children Marley and Josh. Roy brought a large and extended family and she was fondly known as Grandma Polly by all. In 1986, Bob passed way after an extended illness. The bright spot in that year was the birth of her second granddaughter, Erica Lynn Baughman. She then was lovingly invited to live with Susan and Roy and was able to help raise Erica over the years. While living in Petaluma CA., Polly worked Bio Bottoms, a children’s mail order catalog for 10 years. She took her job seriously and loved that the women who started it worked out of their garage until they were a popular business. She made life long friendships at Bio Bottoms. Polly shared her time between her daughters Susan, who lived in Petaluma, CA, and Barbara, who lived in Wahiawa, HI. She loved to swim and was lap swimming in pools, or in warm Hawaiian waters, into her 90s. She loved helping raise her grandchildren, Debbie (Rasmussen) Fisch, Erica Baughman, Heather (Malia) (Suzui) Carlson and Amber Suzui. Polly dated Stan Crain for 10 years and they were very active in the antique car club. There was dancing every weekend and they had a lot of fun together. They also took numerous trips around the country in Stan’s 1963 Chevy. In 1992, they travelled to Wenatchee, WA to welcome Polly’s first great grandson, James Nielsen Fisch. In 1998, she moved back to Walla Walla with Susan and her family and loved rejoining the garden club and joined Walla Walla Antique Historical Auto Club with her beloved 1953 Buick Roadmaster. She drove it in parades and club drives and kept it in mint condition. When Susan moved to Florence on the Oregon Coast, Polly moved in with Barbara at the original house she and Bob raised their daughters on Gladys Street in Walla Walla. While visiting Susan on the Oregon Coast, they researched some family history due to pictures that were found of a family store in Yachats OR. The museum in Yachats had pictures of the original home before it became a General Store in the early 1920’s. Susan and Polly supplied the small museum with pictures of Bob's great-grandpa, Robert O. Livengood, who was a pioneer there, having arrived by stagecoach. Family, including her nephew, David Haeseker and his wife, Arlene, came to her 90th birthday party in Florence and they all went to the Yachats Museum together. Another fun birthday, Barbara found that Downs Lake had reopened and she surprised Polly with a weekend there in a 100-year-old cabin, where they out-fished everyone, catching many perch. In 2014, Amber married Preston Muth so Polly and family went to Maui for their wedding on the beach. The same year, Heather married Jake Carlson in Charleston SC, then the wedding party all went on a cruise to the Bahamas. Lots of fun for Polly! She was also living in a 4-generational household at that time and spent many hours with her great-granddaughter, Aurora, having tea parties, card games, and more. In 2021, the family celebrated Polly's 100th birthday at the Pioneer Park Garden Center in Walla Walla where she had potted flowers with the Evergreen Garden Club 65 years earlier. 2022 brought a move to Wenatchee, WA, to be near her granddaughter Debbie (Rasmussen) Fisch and her family. Polly enjoyed talking politics with Debbie’s husband, Mark. He was so proud to be called grandson. They had a wonderful year together and her 101st birthday was at the BeeHive Grange. The theme celebrated Polly’s love of Lighthouses on Highway 101 on the Oregon and Washington coast. She also celebrated the birth of her first great-great-granddaughter, Berkley Fisch. She passed peacefully on March 4, 2023, with 14 family members surrounding her, including daughters, granddaughters, great-grandchildren, and her great-great-granddaughter. She is survived by her daughters, Patricia Rasmussen, Susan (Roy) Baughman, Barbara Suzui; granddaughters, Debbie (Mark) Fisch, Erica Baughman, Malia (Heather) (Jake) Carlson, Amber (Preston) Suzui; great grandchildren, James (Sharon) Fisch, Jeremy (Paityn) Fisch, Jerissa Fisch, and Aurora Muth; great-great- granddaughter, Berkley Fisch and soon to arrive, a great-great-grandson. She was and still is loved by many friends and family. Thank you to all who took such good care of her in her last years. You are all appreciated very much!

Tributes

Pauline "Polly" Livengood

September 18, 1921 - March 4, 2023