Judith Marie Mecham

June 21, 1926 – September 30, 2016

Judith "Judy" (Tweten) Mecham, 90, was welcomed home into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father on Friday, Sept. 30, 2016. She passed peacefully, surrounded by her loving family.

A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 15, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 527 SW Mt. Si Blvd., North Bend, WA 98045.

She was born to Jacob and Jensine (Hartvikson) Tweten on the family farm in Nashua, Mont., with the help of the midwife, Mrs. Torgerson. Both her parents had immigrated from Norway and passed on many Norwegian traditions and farming skills. She loved to share those life skills with her own family. Baking lefse, krumkake, eggkake, sewing, canning, gardening, oh how she loved to weed gardens. Caring for the animals - cows, horses, chickens - making butter, stretching a dollar for weeks, she had done it all. Always calm and a great listener, everyone knew who to go to for that special personal attention. She looked the same in every picture for years and years, never seemed to age.

She graduated from Nashua High School in 1945. A loyal Porcupine, she was on the girls' basketball team and member of G.A.A. After high school she worked at the bakery in Nashua and Buttreys in Glasgow.

She married George Lamond Mecham at the Bethel Lutheran (Grain) Church in North Nashua, and spent time in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

Becoming a widow in 1976, she moved to the state of Washington to be near her son and family. Her greatest joy in life was her son, Randy, and his children and grandchildren.

She attended school activities, personal and family celebrations. Entertaining everyone with her jokes, farm stories and cooking ability. She was a master at word search, puzzles, embroidery, bingo, country music and dancing. If she ever found herself with nothing to do, or thought you needed help, she would show up at your door (via access bus) offering to clean, do laundry, iron, cook or watch children. She always had a bag packed, ready to go help and a box of cookies in hand. Spending week days in North Bend and weekends at her own apartment gave her the chance to be closer to the family and part of all the action.

She loved embroidery. She teamed up with her sister, Olga, to make baby blankets. Family and friends came to expect customized towels for weddings/birthdays and baby blankets for new arrivals. She would travel miles on the bus searching for patterns, fabric and thread. When not sewing, she was busy making cookies for all occasions. Thanksgiving, Christmas, football teams, school activities, Cub Scouts, church and even baking horse cookies for the local riding club. She loved to see the smiles on everyone's face when she came to visit with a box or two of cookies. She found gifts for you that you never realized you really needed. Everything to make your life better and simpler.

She never forgot a face, name, birthday, anniversary or special occasion. The good Lord blessed her with a sound mind, sense of humor and independence to the very end. Our family will do our very best to carry on the Norwegian traditions, and learnings from this wonderful, strong, loving, humorous woman. Judith is a woman too special, too loved, to ever be forgotten!! We will miss her, but know our families will be together ... forever.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jacob A. Tweten and Jensine M. Tweten; her husband, George Lamond Mecham; two brothers, Leonard and Hjalmer Tweten; and a grandson, Stephan Ryan Martin Donovan.

Survivors include one sister, Olga Terhark of Spokane, Wash.; one son, Randal Lee Tweten and his wife, Gail, of North Bend, Wash.; four grandchildren, Tanya M. Maw and her husband, Russell, of Snoqualmie, Wash., Daniel W. Martin of North Bend, Tyler J. Tweten and his wife, Cassie, of Salt Lake City, Utah, and Jacob L. Tweten and his finance, Veronica, of North Bend; great-grandchildren, Harley Rawson, Jaxen Maw, Caitlin Vaughn, Taylor Maw, Brady Maw and Elijah Maw; and many nieces and nephews.