Starrlette Lee Gatens

Starrlette Lee Gatens, 65 of Naselle, died Saturday, November 28th, 2009 in Portland Oregon after a valiant fight against diabetes for 47 years. Born July 20th, 1944 in Seattle, Washington, she was the daughter of Walter and Hazel Smith. She spent her childhood years growing up in Altoona, Washington and loved to share stories with her family and friends about the adventures she had at Pillar Rock. She graduated from Naselle High School in 1962 and shortly thereafter married Pat Gatens on December 22nd, 1962. The two of them moved to Naselle after their marriage and began building their family. Starrlette primarily stayed at home while raising her children but did waitress for a while. She enjoyed baking, cake decorating, making stained glass, sewing, canning, candle making, macramé, and of course her cats. She was her family's Martha Stewart! Starrlette enjoyed working with many different organizations such as Junior Women, 4-H, The American Legion and volunteering at local schools. She was actively involved at her church the Naselle Congregational Church which she called her home church most of her adult life, and there she was active with the Martha Circle. If there was a need she was always willing to pitch in and help out because she loved giving back to her community. She is survived by sons Jim Gatens and Alan Gatens; daughter Angela Fitzpatrick and her husband Joe; brother Evart "Butch" Smith and his wife Dorothy; grandchildren Laura Gatens, Zachary Gatens, Anthony Hampton, Kaitlin Gatens and Peyton Fitzpatrick; and many nieces and nephews. Also surviving is her life partner John Larson who brought her many years of unconditional love and joy and has been a real blessing in her life for the last 16 years. Funeral service will be held Sunday, December 6, 2009, 2:30 PM at the Naselle Community Congregational Church. Graveside service follows at Peaceful Hill Cemetery with a reception at the church hall. There will be a viewing prior to the service at the church. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Association in care of Penttila's Chapel by the Sea, PO Box 417, Long Beach, WA 98631. her guestbook is available at www.penttilaschapel.com.