Sigrid E. Powers

Sigrid was born in Bellingham in the old St. Joseph Hospital to parents Carl Westman and Agnete (Iverson) Westman. The family first lived in a home on Old Samish Drive and then moved to Marietta, where the family resided until her parents moved into Bellingham proper. Sigrid attended Marietta school and then Bellingham High School, which was housed at Whatcom Middle School. When she graduated in 1940, her class was the first to graduate from Bellingham High School on Cornwall Avenue.

After graduation, Sigrid moved to Seattle, where she was a nanny and attended Griffin Business College. After completing her training, she moved into a Seattle apartment with three friends. One of their big adventures was a road trip to Lake Louise and Banff. Sigrid was hired as a clerk typist at the Puget Sound Shipyard in Bremerton and moved again with friends to their new jobs. It was at the shipyard that she met Bill Powers, and they were married on December 17, 1950, at Our Lady Star of Sea Catholic Church.

They bought a house in Bremerton and brought home daughter Karen Powers in March 1954. In late 1956, Bill got a promotion, but it meant moving across the Pacific Ocean to Guam. Bill sailed to Guam in December of 1956; Sigrid and Karen embarked on their voyage in February 1957 on the USS David Shanks, arriving on Guam (Guahan) three weeks later.

The family first lived in the village of Tamuning and later moved to Navy civilian quarters at Apra Heights. Sigrid was hired as a clerk into the office responsible for moving Navy and Marine-Corps families’ property on and off the island. She became the office supervisor, a position from which she retired in 1975.

Sigrid chose to be baptized as a Catholic in 1962. Father Alvin, the pastor of St. Francis Catholic Church (Yona, Guam), was the celebrant. She took a turn on the boards in a local theater production, which she never thought she could do. Sigrid overcame her stage fright, and she said that really changed her life. She also took up playing golf, and Sunday was a regular family golf day with Bill and Karen. She was often heard to say, “Oh sugar,” when a shot went awry, which might have included a foot stomp.

In 1970, she and Bill bought property and built a house on Guam where they lived until returning to the mainland. Over their many years on the island, they had a large circle of friends. As friends moved away, Sigrid was the faithful correspondent who kept in touch with all these friends.

In 1977, Bill and Sigrid had both retired and made the decision to move to Bellingham where they built yet another house. After Bill’s death in 2002, Sigrid continued to live independently until 2024, when she was 101.

Because Sigrid had kept in touch with their friends, they were invited to several “Guam reunions” in Las Vegas, where they were able to see their long-time friends from both near and far. As a result of his WWII service, Bill became involved in the Fourth Corner Chapter of Ex-POWs. Sigrid became active in the organization, serving as both secretary and commander of the organization, even after Bill passed away.

Sigrid LOVED to travel! The family used their vacation time from Guam to drive cross-country on two long trips, one from the East Coast to the West Coast, and another from Texas to Washington with many stops in between. They traveled to the Philippines, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the 60s and 70s. After Bill passed away, Sigrid visited friends in Arizona and made new friends there as well. She traveled with groups from Assumption Church on a pilgrimage to Fatima and other Marian shrines, ending in Paris. She then went on another trip to Israel. She made three trips to Iceland. The first trip she won in a raffle put on by the Whatcom Icelandic Club; she and Bill added a side trip to Denmark, where Sigrid met a cousin. She then took two more trips, traveling with her dear friend, Pam Spencer. Her last big adventure was in 2019 (when Sigrid was 96) on a river cruise on the Danube, starting in Budapest and ending in Prague. She recently said that she never expected that she would be able to see all these places in her lifetime.

Sigrid has three granddaughters for whom she has always been “Ami.” Her six great-grandchildren call her either “Ami Ami” or “Ami Kiggie.” All the granddaughters have been schooled in fashionable dressing by their Ami’s example. They were recipients of clothes made by their Ami - from pajamas to prom dresses. When shopping for clothes, Ami would observe and comment on the clothing construction, “That’s well made,” or “That’s cheap construction.” As a result, this observation has continued for these three fashion-conscious women.

Sigrid is imprinted on all who’ve met her. Somehow it seemed that she would live forever, but alas, here we are. If ever the phrase “a life well lived” could be personified, her name would be Sigrid Ellen (Westman) Powers.

In lieu of flowers, Sigrid would suggest donations to Hope House, Assumption Catholic School, or a deposit toward the trip of a lifetime.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 11, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bellingham followed by a Committal at Greenacres Memorial Park in Ferndale. A reception will follow at Westford’s Broadway Hall.