Patsy Love jammed with friends

Patsy Love sailed boats, taught special needs students, mended library books, repaired clocks and wrote books – but she was best known for making jam.

“We met while she was picking up plums in my yard,” said neighbor and good friend Jo Ann Mulanax. “She made all kinds of jam for people, preferably from fruit picked up for free.”

The La Conner resident died in her home on Fifth Street on November 26.

Patsy and her late husband Hal Love moved to La Conner from Bellevue in the 1990s. Ten years of part-time life aboard the Echo Summit at the La Conner marina were followed by almost 20 years in a home across the street from Mulanax.

Years later, neighbors Linda and Charles Talman saw Love sitting on a bench at the marina, looking at the boats. “We knew she was remembering all the good times she and Hal had there,” said Linda.

“What they loved about La Conner were the friendly people and the small town spirit,” said Patsy’s daughter Robin Tanner. On shore and off, Patsy threw herself into civic life. She was an enthusiastic participant of the marina community, a longtime member of La Conner Sacred Heart church and volunteered so often at the Skagit County Historical Museum that she was once named Docent of the Year.

At the La Conner library, she mended books – reading the ones that appealed to her – and volunteered in the thrift shop, walking to work “right down to the end,” said neighbor Linda Talman. For the Talmans, Patsy made raspberry jam from the canes the Talmans donated to her garden.

The jam made from Mulanax’s plums launched a relationship that deepened after both women were widowed. Together, they did errands, shopped the Dollar Store – a favorite place for the frugal Patsy – and shared meals. “One of Patsy’s funny little quirks was that she always had to have her wine in a stemmed glass,” Mulanax remembers. “La Conner Seafood and Prime Rib staff made sure that she had one.”

Love also brought jam to Claire Swedberg, who teaches the creative nonfiction class at the La Conner Senior Center. During her decade in the writers group, Love was prolific. “Boats and Blunders: Stories about Sailing and Fishing in Northwest Waters” covered her family’s adventures on the water. “Good Clean Dirt” was a memoir about the family apple ranch in Hood River, Oregon.

“Mom would like the world to think that she had a totally perfect life from start to finish, but she didn’t,” said daughter Robin. “She always wanted to look on the sunny side and keep things on a positive note, especially for people who aren’t in the family. Claire opened an avenue for her to explore a lot.”

“A full, rich life includes hardship, joy and success,” said Swedberg. “Patsy brought us writers many stories that we could all learn from and better understand our history.” Those stories shaped “My Topsy Turvy Life,” Patsy’s memoir for her children and grandchildren.

Patsy typed her manuscripts on the public computer at the town library and asked staff to proof her work before class. “We learned an awful lot about Patsy that way,” said former library director Joy Neal.

Of course, there was jam. “Every Christmas she would fill crystal containers with jam, wrap them with aluminum foil and a pretty little bow and give one to each of us,” said Neal. “I’m going to miss it.”

Besides homemade jam, stemmed wine glasses and books, Patsy was also known for her car – a 1987 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon that drew admiring glances wherever she drove. In August, she told the Weekly News that she had somebody lined up to buy it. That new owner – also a La Conner resident – will take possession soon.

“People in the writing class always said, ‘Patsy was a real love!’” said Swedberg. If you loved Patsy and her jam, come share your Patsy story on January 18, when her memorial service takes place at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church.