Maxine Engstom

Maxine Engstom, age 83, of Newport, Oregon, died February 9th of complications to the heart. It will perhaps not come as a surprise to those who knew her that it was her heart that tired after serving double-duty so lovingly for over eighty years. To know Maxine was to encounter a fiercely loving caretaker, an indomitable spirit, behind a gentle smile. In addition to being the wife of Richard Engstom for 62 years, she is the mother of four: Christine, Lynette, Gary and Curtis; the grandmother of three: Alissa, Bryan and Leslie; and the great grandmother of two, with another great grandchild expected in May: Sierra, Grayson and baby Mads. Maxine was the middle child of Nettie Marquette (Ellett) and Homer C. Ellett along with sister Betty May and brother Jim. Her husband and brother preceded her in death a few years earlier. She was born in Vancouver, Washington and lived on a farm in Washougal as a girl, while her father served as an officer in the military. Her senior year of high school, the whole family moved to Yokohama, Japan to be near her father as he served overseas. Later her family returned to the Pacific Northwest and on July 20, 1952, Maxine married a young airman, Richard Joel Engstrom in St. Helens, Oregon. He was a shy, stoic fellow, but fifty years later he still spoke of seeing his bride and being overcome by "that beautiful, blonde girl that smiled at me." Maxine was a longtime member of Plymouth Presbyterian Church in St. Helens, Oregon, where she was famous for her lemon meringue pies. These would often arrive at events with slices gone missing from her husband's late night foraging. Later in life, after she and her husband relocated to Newport, Oregon they both were active members at Trinity Methodist Church in Toledo. Maxine was many things to people- a dear friend, a wonderful cook, a quiet counsel to troubled hearts, a worker, a worshiper of Christ, and a wonderful, patient grandmother. She was a lady in every sense of the word, and will be sorely missed. A celebration of Maxine's life will be announced at Trinity United Methodist Church later this spring. Arrangements to be made through Bateman Funeral Home.

Tributes

Maxine Engstom

February 9, 2017