Cyrus Happy III's Obituary
Cyrus Happy III
A noted local historian and plant expert, died May 9, 2018 at age 95. A celebration of life will be held at Woodbrook Hunt Club on June 30 at 1 p.m.
Cyrus was born in Tacoma on July 5, 1922, the son of Cyrus Happy Jr. and Marjorie Antoinette Sayre Happy. He was an only child and grew up on five acres on Gravelly Lake. Childhood friends knew him as "Jim," a name he gave himself when he was two. When he was a boy, his wonder pony, Ginger, took him all over the Lakes District on trails through the woods. He began to ride hunter/jumpers at Woodbrook Stables, and roamed hundreds of acres of the military reservation on horseback. He was a longtime member of Woodbrook Hunt Club and a fearless rider. For decades he rode horseback on the prairie every week, and he knew the locations of every pioneer homestead and orchard and every location of endangered native plants. Cy graduated from the first class of Clover Park High School in 1940. He enlisted in the Army in 1942. He was a graduate of University of Washington, a lifelong learner, and avid reader. He built a library of historic photos and books and for years told the stories of local pioneers to hundreds gathered in clubs and schools. He received the David Douglas award from Washington State for his work in documenting and saving historic sites and structures through the Washington State Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation. He was a founding member of Lakewood Historical Society, life member of Steilacoom Historical Museum Association, and longtime member of Tacoma Country and Golf Club and Gyro Club. Cyrus became an expert on Western Washington's native plants, photographing and documenting their habitats. He hybridized rhododendrons and roses, but he was known internationally for his work with primulas. A specialty was development of an exquisite line of green-edged auricula primroses. He led local and national primrose societies, and served as editor of the American Primrose Society Quarterly. He was an authoritative judge at primrose shows in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia, and was featured in a Time-Life Encyclopedia of Gardening titled "Perennials" for his prized collection of auriculas. Cy's interest in the area's pioneer orchards developed into knowledge of old apple varieties. He could identify dozens of varieties, and planted many of them at his Gravelly Lake home. He raised vegetable gardens and created an impressive alpine garden with choice plants from around the world. Cyrus spent 30 years as a banker with National Bank of Washington, which evolved into Pacific National Bank of Washington and Wells Fargo. His favorite assignment was as photographer and editor for the bank and its magazine. He made friends throughout the banking system for his insightful writing and exquisite photographs. He won international competitions for his photographs. After retirement he continued to use his photo skills, producing candid wedding pictures and illustrating freelance articles. An expert genealogist, he researched generations of family members. He knew their names and their stories. His paternal grandfather, Cyrus Happy, became an attorney by "reading law" in the office of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. His maternal grandfather came west from the maritime region of eastern Canada to become a builder and contractor in Tacoma in the 1800s and early 1900s. He was contractor for the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company Transfer House now the signature campus building and library reading room at University of Washington, Tacoma. He also built the original Titlow Lodge, which began as a taller Hotel Hesperides, a luxury resort. Cy first married Amy Strout. Their children are Cyrus Happy IV (Marilyn), Martha Todd Happy Behnke, and Edwin Sayre Happy. Edwin Ned died in 2016. Grandchildren from this family include Joseph Behnke (Jaimie; great-grandchildren Mei and Hiro) and Charles Behnke (Hailey), Sayre Happy, and Edwin Sayre Happy Jr. He married Rita L. Wheeler in 1971. Their children are James Wheeler Happy (Melissa; grandson Finnegan) and Emily Elizabeth Happy (granddaughter Devan Grace). Stepchildren are Juan Antonio Trujillo and Lisa Lorraine Trujillo. Celebrate Cy's life by planting primroses, telling family stories, patting a dog or cat, waltzing around the living room, or playing old songs on the ukulele.
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