Cynthia Wafstet, age 72, of Spokane Valley, Washington passed away while receiving hospice care on December 18th, 2022. She was in the care of an outstanding group of caretakers at an Adult Family Home after being discharged from a lengthy hospital stay battling kidney issues and a possible relapse of cancer for the 3rd time. It was her wishes to no longer seek treatment and live out the remainder of her time as comfortable as possible. At the time of her passing, she was with her son Christopher, daughter-in-law Hollie and cousin-in-law Maria.
Cynthia was the oldest of three children born to Dale E. and Lucille F. (Baas) Dean in Seattle Washington, born on December 6th, 1950.
Cynthia attended Nathan Hale High School in Seattle and was part of the class of 1969. Post high school, she began working at Pacific Northwest Bell as an Engineering Clerk, a Data Systems Computer Operator, and a Long-Distance Operator. While working at Pacific Northwest Bell, she met her husband, Timothy Wafstet and resided in the Lake Serene neighborhood in Lynnwood Washington.
It was Cynthia’s passion to care for others. This passion led her to start and manage HomeCrafts Daycare and preschool while she took night classes at Edmond Community college working towards a degree in Early childhood education. To this day, there are many former members of her daycare center who have remained in contact with her. Her passion for caring and mentoring others also led her to being a New Leader Trainer for Campfire USA and worked for the Mukilteo School District as a Parent Liaison and Volunteer Coordinator.
Cynthia was known for many things. She was known for her appetite for learning, in other words, she was a student of the universe. She thrived on researching and learning as much as possible on a variety of topics ranging from faith to foreign languages to the arts. She read anything she could get her hands on to expand her knowledge and understanding of the topic. One particular topic she had was a deep passion for genealogy which was introduced to her from her grandmother. She had traced the family tree back for centuries. She completed research online, collected articles and historical pictures to create an extremely complexed family history library. Being a gifted writer, she wrote and published many books including a cookbook and a children’s book inspired from the death of her daughter, Courtney.
Cynthia will be remembered for her wisdom, guidance, and her open-minded approach to connecting with others. Through-out her life, she touched and impact so many lives. She even made life-long impacts to people she never got the chance to meet in person, only thru social media, her online groups, and her blogs. It didn’t matter if she was healthy, battling an illness or suffering from intense pain, she never stopped reaching out to those who needed her help by offering assistance and guidance.
Cynthia was preceded in death by her husband, Timothy Wafstet, her daughter, Courtney Marie Wafstet, mother Lucille Underwood, stepfather Del Underwood, and father-in-law, William C Wafstet.
She is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Christopher and Hollie Wafstet, grandchildren Maliyah, Na’Tyia, and Cody, great-grandson, Houston James, her father and stepmother Dale & Terry Dean, sister and brother-in-law Dale and Glenn Fukura, brother and sister-in-law Stephen and Carla Dean and their children Makenzie and Carsen Dean, nieces and nephews, Kelsey and Ben Wozniak, Jason and Cari Fukura and their children Mikah, Tristen and Hana Fukura. Also survived by her in-laws, Bob and Margaret Wafstet, Monica Wafstet-Solin and Kim Solin, Dan and Elona Wafstet, nieces and nephews, Joanne and Joe Bonn and their children, Karla and Geoffrey Lancaster, and their children, Michael and Angel Van Houten and their children, Alexis Wafstet and her son Damian and wife Arielle, Tracy and Chris Holbrook and their children, Michelle and Mike Lewis and their children, Nathan Wafstet. Travis and Kari Wafstet, and their children, Kati-ann and Marcus Kelsey, Jared and Shana Stolz and his children, Becky Stolz and her children, Jennifer and Patrik Thomas, Hannah and Dayne Burrell and their daughter, and niece-in-law Maria Friesen.
There will be no services at Cynthia’s request and will be cremated thru Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home in Spokane Valley, Washington. She has requests that her ashes be joined with her husband’s, Timothy, and mother’s, Lucille, ashes in the burial plot directly next to her daughter Courtney’s, burial plot in Sequim WA. Her son, Christopher and daughter-in-law, Hollie plan to full fill this wish this coming summer. A tree with both her and her husband’s ashes will be planted in their honor as well.
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