Maxine Klauser's Obituary
On December 17, 1917, Maxine Francis Trawicky was born in Plentywood, Montana, in the northeast corner of the state. She was the second child and first girl for Bernard and Laura Trawicky. She had an older brother, Barney, and 20 years later would get a sister, Janet. The family left Plentywood when she was 8 or so, and moved to Minot, North Dakota, where Maxine went to school and graduated from high school.
A few years later, she met and married a man who turned out to be an alcoholic, and abusive. It didn't take her long to divorce him, moving to Seattle, Washington. The couple who owned Vito's restaurant on Madison were friends with Maxine, and also with a grocer by the name of Russ Klauser.
Russ Henry Klauser was born in Shelbyville, Illinois, on February 25, 1910, to Fred and Nora Klauser, their only child. He and his widowed mother moved to Seattle in 1921, where he graduated from Lincoln High School. Russ worked in the grocery business in various capacities, including traveling salesman, before becoming friends with another grocer, Chuck Whyman. They became partners and opened their first store on Rainier Avenue in Seattle, Rainier Serve-U.
Introduced in late 1947, the 29- year old Maxine and the 37-year old Russ did what people sometimes do: they fell in love. And they never did fall out of love. They were married after only a few short months the following February on Valentine's Day, 1948. They spent their honeymoon in San Francisco, California, before returning to Seattle and their grocery business. In 1949, they (along with Chuck Wyman) purchased an additional store, Montlake Serve-U. But 1949 was better yet for another event, the birth of their first and only child: Sharon Kay Klauser, born January 30.
In 1956, they opened yet another store, Edmonds Serve-U, followed in 1957 by Villa Thriftway in Lakewood. The Lakewood store was a real innovation for the time, a large store with a bakery, fresh seafood, and gourmet food items. Things didn't start out so well at the Lakewood store, however, as theft was a problem. So Russ loaded up the family and moved to the Nyanza Park area of Lakewood to get things under control there, while Chuck handled the northern stores. And it was there in Lakewood that Russ and Maxine spent the rest of their lives. In 1964, they bought a house on Steilacoom Lake, which became their final home, and a place of much fun and merriment over the years. They made friends easily, and loved entertaining. Pool parties, costume parties, dancing, drinking and just a lot of fun.
In 1958, Russ joined Lakewood Rotary, a club less than two years old at the time. Maxine became a member of the wives' group of the Club, the Rotary Anns. Friends from Rotary would be a huge part of their lives from then on. Russ became a legend in the club when he was asked to get some participation in the Paul Harris Foundation, Rotary International's foundation. By the mid-1970's, there were no Paul Harris members in Lakewood Rotary. Russ called a meeting of 10 of Lakewood Rotary's more "well-heeled" members, and took them to lunch at the Mirror Room in the Lakewood Terrace restaurant. He fed them, then closed the door and said no one was leaving until they either wrote a check for $1000 for the Foundation, or signed an IOU to Russ, who would front the money. Lakewood Rotary soon had 11 Paul Harris Awards to distribute. Russ was that kind of man.
Maxine meanwhile remained fiercely devoted to Russ and Sharon. At one point, she took a class designed to help her make the best use of her time. To begin, her assignment was to assess what she did and when: 5:30 Make Russ eggs and toast; 5:54 clean up kitchen; 6:07 get showered and dressed; 6:41 vacuum hall and dining area; 6:54 vacuum family room and dust; 7:03 iron clothes; 7:32 etc., etc. She was hard working and dedicated, and took care of her family in all ways.
Russ and Maxine both loved to dance and took dancing lessons now and again, and used those skills at their many parties. They also loved to golf, and joined the Tacoma Country and Golf Club. Russ continued golfing all his life, and Maxine until the age of 90. They also love their dogs. Sandy, Koya 1 and 2, Dougie, Fritz. Russ would hunt with some of them, but they were mainly loved pets. Dougie was particularly a trooper, as he endured being dressed up in clothing by a young Sharon. And traveling: they took several cruises, had a condo in Cathedral City, CA for some time, and would go on car trips every so often, including around the United States with Sharon and a friend upon her graduation from high school.
In 1984, Maxine had problems with her heart, and was fitted with a pacemaker. This was but one of many physical "corrections" she had over the course of her long life. If her body was broken, she'd just get it fixed. No complaining, just fix it. This involved a couple back surgeries, a foot surgery, and various other operations, including a second pacemaker surgery to put the device on her other side, when the first machine wore out. When she was getting close to 94 years old, someone said that they were certain she'd reach that milestone age, and Maxine responded, "Well, I might as well. I have no reason to die." She loved living.
Sharon was married in 1970 to Michael Gates, and they had two boys: Shawn in 1975 and Brandon in 1980. Russ and Maxine adored their grandchildren, then and forever after. In 1989, Sharon remarried to Greg Rediske. Two more grandchildren joined the family, Lars and Noah. Maxine and Russ accepted them immediately, and loved them completely. The family that was once three, was now 8, and that new family enjoyed many glorious vacations in Sunriver, Oregon together. The grandchildren loved to tell the story of how their Grandpa Russ offered them $5.00 if they'd eat their squash at the Trout House Restaurant. They each accomplished this mighty and treacherous task, using the funds for important things like candy. As much as the grandparents loved their grandchildren, the feeling was returned with equal gusto: Shawn, Brandon, Lars and Noah adored these doting grandparents completely.
Russ was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 1994, when poor health required a return from a vacation in California. His health gradually declined from there, dying at home with Maxine and Sharon by his side on September 7, 1994.
Maxine continued to live at the lake house until a "silent" heart attack in December, 2007, just a week or so before her 90th birthday. She left the hospital to be cared for by Sharon (and Greg to some degree!) at their home. After about a year, she moved to Patriots Landing in DuPont, where she lived in the "independent living" unit. She made friends there, until a fall badly broke her right shoulder. During her rehab, she fell again and broke her wrist. After returning to Patriots, she fell again and broke her hip and two fingers. By now, she was wheelchair bound, and needed the extra care available only on Liberty Lane at Patriots. After a couple of years there, she met a man by the name of Terry Gutierrez, and they became constant companions.
Maxine received the great gift of three great-grandchildren: Brady Russ, Natalie Maxine, and Lucas Brandon. These children were the light of her life in her last years. Her face lit up with each visit.
On February 1, 2013, Maxine experienced great difficulty breathing and was taken to St. Clare Hospital, where she spent 8 days undergoing treatments. Each and every obstacle in her life was overcome by this amazingly strong woman before this, but not this time. She returned to Patriots Landing on February 8 under hospice care, and passed away at about 1:30 am on February 17, 2013. The caregiver in attendance, Toi, said that moments before her passing, she opened her eyes one last time, gave a big smile, while saying something to someone. We think she saw Russ, as she began her next well-deserved journey.
Russ and Maxine Klauser loved each other, loved their family and friends, and both left their mark on the world. They made the world a better place for everyone, and were much loved.
What’s your fondest memory of Maxine?
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Describe a day with Maxine you’ll never forget.
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