Remembering the life of Sydney Pugh (2024)

Keith & Keith Funeral Home
Sydney H. Pugh, 92, passed away peacefully on November 28, 2014 at the Cottage in the Meadow in Yakima. Sydney was born on July 3, 1922, in Great Falls, Montana. Her father, Edward L. Houtz, was a linotype operator who worked in Spokane, Wenatchee and Kalispell, Montana. Her mother, Eula Logan Houtz, was the daughter of a prominent Montana pioneer family. Her grandfather , for whom she was named, Sydney M. Logan, was an early mayor of Kalispell, MT. and her great uncle was the first superintendent of Glacier National Park. Sydney graduated from Wenatchee High School in 1940, and met her husband, William O. Pugh shortly after that. She joined the U.S. Navy as a member of the Women's Auxiliary Volunteers for Emergency Service in 1943. She took storekeeper training for the Navy in Boston and enjoyed playing table tennis. She and Bill were married on September 12, 1943, in Santa Barbara, California while Bill was a newly commissioned officer with the Adjutant General's Department of the U.S. Army. Their oldest son, Michael, was born at Fort Lewis in 1944, followed by Randall (1947) in Walla Walla, while Bill was on the faculty of Whitman College. From 1949 to 1952, Sydney lived abroad, in Beirut, Lebanon, as her husband taught at the American University and worked for the United Nations. Their son Christopher was born in Beirut in 1952. Among Sydney's fond memories of her overseas sojourn was nursing her infant son on the steps of the Acropolis in Athens. When they returned to America, Sydney and Bill lived in Missoula, MT, Port Townsend and Steilacoom before permanently locating in Yakima in 1953. Their daughter, Julie, was born in 1954. Sydney was a member and past president of the Nature Artist Garden Club, and was honored with numerous awards for flower arranging at the Central Washington State Fair. She continued her love of gardening her entire life. She was a longtime member of the U.S. Figure Skating Association, and served as a certified test judge for that organization in the 60's and 70's. Sydney was a driving force in the formation and continuing operations of the Yakima Figure Skating Club. Family members and friends still marvel at the Pughs' backyard ice rinks of which Sydney was the chief engineer and patron saint. Her youngest brother, Keith, was lost to a drowning accident when he was just 9 years old, and Sydney was a passionate advocate for swimming lessons and water safety. Some of her most precious experiences and memories centered around the family's summer place, Little Bitterroot Lake in western Montana. Children and grandchildren remember her teaching them how to make moss gardens and hollyhock dolls and foraging for wild strawberries for pancakes. Her grandchildren believe that Grandma Sydney always made Christmas a special, magical occasion. Her appreciation for children, animals and the natural world was uncompromising. Sydney was devoted to, and supported, numerous organizations including the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society. A sign which still hangs on the refrigerator door may best express her self concept: "This is no ordinary housewife you're dealing with!"
Sydney was preceded in death by her brothers, Ted and Keith. She is survived by her husband, Bill, four children (Mike, Spirit Lake, ID; Randy, Portland, OR; Chris, Yakima, and Julie Barnett, Ketchum, ID), five grandchildren (Miranda Robertson and Dustin Pugh, Portland; Tiffany Wood, Pinedale, WY; Patti Nichols, Toppenish and James Roberts, Vancouver) and five great-grandchildren (Cameron Clutter, Craig and Meredith Wood, and Abigail and Gwenyth Robertson).
Viewing will be held at Keith & Keith Funeral Home on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014 from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. A Memorial service will be held at Keith & Keith Funeral Home on Friday, December 5, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. Private interment will be at West Hills Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Yakima Humane Society in care of Keith & Keith Funeral Home.

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Published on March 29, 2022