by Liv Stecker
Evelyn Yackley
It was March 9th, 1916 in Ballard, Washington, on the edge of Seattle, when the snow started to come down with a vengeance. Mrs. Shew was pregnant with her second child, and luckily, she and her husband had invited their good friend who happened to also be the local doctor over for a game of cards with his wife. When Mrs. Shew went into labor things progressed quickly and it was clear that they couldn’t get to the hospital in the terrible snowstorm. Evelyn Shew was born at home during the late winter storm, under fortunate circumstances.
After another 7 babies came along, the Shews moved to a 43 acre farm near Issaquah on Lake Sammamish. The family gardened extensively, canning and preserving vegetables and fruit to feed all nine children, while Evelyn’s father worked at the local lumber mill. Graduating from Monohan High School in the mid 1930s, Evelyn was a competitive long distance swimmer who would train by crossing the mile and a half wide lake. Her best friend introduced her to Delmar Fanning, a truck driver who built and drove race cars. “It was a very sexy time,” reminisces Evelyn, with a twinkle in her eye, “it was an exciting time.” She says it was love at first sight for the race car driver and the athletic swimming champion, they were inseparable right away.
She and Del were married, and Evelyn went to work for Boeing building airplanes as World War 2 was escalating. “I worked at a desk with a big spinning machine,” says Evelyn, reflecting on her time at the plant. The area she worked in was mostly staffed by men, she remembers, but they treated her and the other women well. “We were all in ‘essential programs’ or jobs, and the men respected us and helped us in every way.” Evelyn remembers that season of her life fondly. “I loved it. I was all for it - 100%.” During her time at Boeing, Evelyn gave birth to her first son, Delmar in 1940.
After a few years, Evelyn and Del had another son, Thomas, followed by a daughter named Velvet. The family lived in West Seattle, where Evelyn worked as a medical librarian for Virginia Mason Hospital, and held several other jobs in the Seattle area - including running a 1250 Multilith Printing Press - a cutting edge printing machine in the early 1960s.
In 1967, the unimaginable happened when Evelyn and Delmar’s son Thomas was killed in the Vietnam War. A decorated sergeant in the army, Tom was gunned down by Viet Cong soldiers before he turned 25. It was only a year later that Evelyn lost her husband Delmar. Evelyn channelled her grief into community service, becoming the president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars 9430 in Skyway, Washington, A Gold Star Mother who served for many years.
Sgt. Tom Fanning holding his Godchild in the Seattle area
Eventually, Evelyn remarried Doc Yackley in Seattle, while she was working for Andresen Chrysler. She remained in the Seattle area until the mid 1990s. After she lost her second husband and oldest son, she moved to Stevens County to be closer to her daughter Velvet and family who lived at Waitts Lake. She lived independently in Chewelah for more than decade. It was around this time that Velvet recalls a family weekend at Waitts Lake, when Evelyn snuck out of the house: “...next thing I knew, someone in my mother’s coat flew by on a four wheeler with grandkids on the back.” Velvet laughs, adding that they had to keep a closer eye on the 93 year old great-grandmother. Shortly after that, Evelyn broke a hip and after a lengthy recovery, she moved into Colville where she currently resides at Parkview Senior Living and enjoys every minute of it.
Evelyn "riding" a motorcycle at a classic car show at Parkview Senior Living
When Evelyn is asked what her favorite time of life has been, she responds quickly: “Every year was a good one. It was all a part of life, the good and the bad.” And she says she wouldn’t change a thing. Living on the family farm with her 8 brothers and sisters and swimming the cold waters of Lake Sammamish are some of her fondest memories, but for Evelyn, even the hard times played a part in making the last 100 years all good ones.
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