Harold Fred Abegglen Jr

Harold was born on July 16, 1932, in Columbus, NB to Harold and Helen (Ringlein) Abegglen.  Moving to Yakina in 1936.  They then settled in Seattle, at first where Boeing Field is now, then to the foot of Queen Ann Hill.  Harold had a paper route from a very young age riding up & down Queen Ann hill on his bicycle.  They finally settled in Georgetown.  After graduating from O’Dea High School, he enlisted in the Air Force in 1952.  After discharge he attended Seattle University getting a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.  He spent 35 years at the Boeding Company in various capacities, generally in the Aerospace Division.  He married Barbara (Bobbie) Schonebaum in 1963 and they had three children; Michael (Jessi) Jim, Michelle (John Yorke).  They have 6 grandchildren, Rebecca Robey (Wyatt), Ryan, Keegan and Kasey Yorke,  Katie Rose and Calvin Abegglen.  As a family they enjoyed camping when they weren’t on a soccer field with their children.  After retirement he and Bobbie traveled as much as possible visiting 38 countries.  We will miss his dry personality, winning smile & directions on getting anything done.  Harold was proceeded in death by his parents and brother Eugene.

A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, 11:00am, December 19 at All Saints Catholic Church in Puyallup, WA followed by a Celebration of his Life in the hall across the street.  In lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made in his name to O’Dea High School (802 Terry Ave. Seattle 98104) or Clipped Wings. Our charity for the mentally disabled. (13523 SE 251st Pl. Kent 98042)

Harold was in the Air Force with training and schools in Denver, Biloxi, MS and Suisun, CA.  He became an aerial photographer and was scheduled to relocate to Guam on the day of his discharge.  He was glad to be discharged and used the G.I. bill to attend Seattle University and get his degree in Electrical Engineering before signing up with Boeing where he spent the next 35 years.  He never talked about his days at Boeing but did tell many stories of his time in the Air Force.  To this day he shakes his shoes out in the morning to make sure no critter moved in, and frequently sprayed his shoes with Lysol in case there was mold.

His passion was WWI & WWII history and any aircraft of all sizes and designs.  He read as much as he could and had a bookcase full of books on the wars and aircraft.  He loved talking about his service days and his passion with friends and neighbors.

Hartold was quite a handy man.  He took on major projects like remodeling our kitchen in our big family home at Redondo, including cutting a hole in the ceiling and roof and , as an engineer, they matched perfectly.  He built big decks, rockeries, walls and a very intricate sprinkler system.  At our Pt. Woodworth home he had a separate garage and took to woodworking.  He made some furniture, cabinets, cedar chests and an entertainment center.  As he got older, he was worried he might cut off a finger or two so sold most of his equipment to a dear friend.

He was an avid soccer fan for over 50 years.  When Mike was in 2nd grade he came home and said he wanted to play soccer.  His dad said fine, but not on Saturdays when football season was on.  Before long he was taking kids to and from practice, lining fields, became an assistant manager, and enjoyed telling the referees what they were doing wrong.  Soccer continued with all three of our kids, then our soccer coach son-in-law, several grand-kids and recently our grandson playing for UW.

Oh, how he loved his kids, playing on the floor, then cheering.  He was always available for them. Sunday mornings we always had “dad’s breakfast”.  He adored his six grandkids – they could do no wrong and he took them out to breakfast (his favorite meal) frequently.

He will be greatly missed.