On Tuesday, April 20, 2021, Mary Sheila Hyatt, the much beloved matriarch of our family, passed away at age 84 after a courageous battle with ALS.

Mary was known to all her friends and family as Sheila.  Sheila was born in Buffalo, NY and spent her youth in the Cleveland area.  She graduated from Buffalo State Teachers College with a degree in Education.  Near the end of her college career, she began dating Chuck Siegwarth, a soon to be Navy pilot.  Once Chuck finished flight school they moved to Oak Harbor, WA, home of NAS Whidbey.  This would be their home for the next 20+ years and they raised five children during this time.  Sheila always loved fashion and worked part time at a boutique clothing store in Oak Harbor called the Casual House.  Once the children were grown Sheila and Chuck divorced and Sheila later married Roy Eerkes.  Within a few years Sheila and Roy moved to Mt. Vernon so Sheila could follow her passion for clothing where she began a long career at the Bon Marche.  Sheila always had a great eye for fashion and she loved working at the “Bon” helping women look their best.

Shortly after Roy passed away, Sheila decided to retire from the “Bon” in order to enjoy life to the fullest.  This is when Sheila finally met her perfect match, Stu Hyatt of Bellingham.  After a trip-filled courtship, Sheila and Stu married in April 2007.  Stu was a retired Westinghouse Engineer that played “old timers’ hockey” a few nights a week in Canada.  Sheila loved the close-knit family of hockey players and fit right in with Stu’s friends of decades.  Both Sheila and Stu loved to travel, and as luck would have it for Sheila, there were hockey tournaments all over the country as well as international events.  Sheila and Stu enjoyed 10 wonderful years of travel, companionship and hockey tail gate parties.

Sheila also enjoyed traveling with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.  Some of the crazy family adventures included: a cruise through the Panama Canal, as well as trips to: London, Paris, Rome, Monte Carlo, Zurich, the Amalfi coast, Athens and Santorini, Greece, to name a few.  As fate would have it, Sheila’s first trip to Paris was the same week as Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997.  This visit was followed a few days later by Sheila, and her daughter Jean, spending a week in London that coincided with the funeral procession for Princess Diana.  After her first European experience, with all its historic Princess Diana moments, Sheila always seemed just a bit disappointed in later trips abroad because nothing quite as “exciting” occurred.  That said, Sheila was always game for any adventure as long as there was a nice view, great company and decent wine.

In her later years, Sheila also became a member of the Bellingham Country Club (the “Club”).  She loved playing bridge multiple times a week with her pal Shirley and the rest of the bridge ladies.  She also loved the staff because they treated her like family.  And the Catering Manager, Jordan, was amazing.  He and the rest of the staff always made sure Sheila was well taken care of.  Sheila absolutely loved the “Club!”  From Sheila’s children, thank you Jordan and team for making our mom feel special!

As the ALS progressed, Sheila wanted to be in a sunny, warm climate as much as possible.  Thankfully, from December 2020 through April 2021, the family was able to rent a vacation home in PGA West in La Quinta, CA that overlooked the golf course.  Sheila absolutely loved the sun and warm weather.  Although Sheila was never a golfer, she did become a keen golf critic at the PGA West home while watching the golfers attempt to deal with the numerous traps on the 11^th hole.  She could be heard making snarky comments about “terrible” golf swings and “lousy” golf shots.  It was classic “Sheila” and made us all laugh.

Sheila was predeceased by her beloved husband Stu Hyatt.  She was also predeceased by her parents William & Mary Thomas, her brother Bill Thomas, her sister Ellen Kapelka and her son Matthew Siegwarth.  She is survived by her 5 children, Mike Siegwarth (Patty), Loretta Narby (John), Bob Siegwarth (Sharri), Bill Siegwarth, Jean Adams (Joe) and her many grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as by her two sisters Rosemary Begany (Jim) and Jennifer Schreck (Terry).

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date when family and friends are able to gather in person.

Donations can be made to the ALS Foundation, Evergreen Chapter.