Clara Huie

Clara B. Huie, 87, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Feb. 2, 2015, at the home of her son and daughter-in-law, Marty and Susan, where she had been lovingly cared for during the last years of her life.

Clara was born on Jan. 2, 1928, in Seattle to Chin S. and Hui Shee Bong. Following her father’s death, she moved at age 5 to China, where she attended school. It was after her mother’s death, and then the death of her brother, Tom, that she returned alone to Seattle in a post-war battleship at age 18.

She graduated in 1950 from Edison Technical School – a school that taught the English language to U.S. citizens returning from other countries. While attending the University of Washington, she was introduced to Jim Huie. They married in Seattle on March 4, 1951, then moved to Walla Walla to work on the family’s Chinese vegetable truck farm.

Jim and Clara started Huie’s TV and Appliances in 1954. After building and moving into a new store site in 1964, they added furniture and later expanded into wood stoves and a mattress sleep center. After Jim passed away in 1989, she turned the business over to their son, Myron, and went on to pursue numerous other business interests. She found great joy in teaching authentic Chinese cooking classes in her home, and loved to hear of families throughout the community using her recipes and methods.

Clara laughed easily, traveled extensively, created her memories in scrapbooks, cared for elderly friends, and volunteered at her church, then the First Church of God.

Clara loved her family deeply, participating as she was able in many of their activities. Always enjoying people, her home was a center of hospitality and, of course, food. She took seriously the responsibility of teaching her grandchildren practical homemaking skills. Her love for her Lord Jesus Christ was evident in how she lived.

Clara is survived by her two sons, Marty (Susan) and Myron, both of Walla Walla; daughter, Lindy Ko (Bill) of Corbett, Ore.; nephew, Benjamin Chinbong (Allison) of Foster City, Calif.; six grandchildren, Sara Watson (JP), Michael Huie, Cherylyn Hoerner (Chris), Cory Huie, Chet Huie, Jed Ko (Winni); and nine great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jim Huie; and brother, Tom Bong.

A celebration of life will be on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at 1 p.m. at Blue Mountain Community Church. Pastor Tim Bruner will officiate, along with Pastors Jim Snyder and Ernie LaFont. Interment will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.