Barb and Bob, Ted and Lola
In honor of Women's History Month and each of the brave, generous, tenacious women described:
Barb and Bob, Ted and Lola: Loss, war, love and enduring friendship.
The story begins at the meeting place: 4711 Meridian Avenue, Seattle.
 |
| 4711 Meridian Avenue, Seattle, Courtesy of Google Maps |
Four families and a legacy of connection
What seems like chance—the convergence of four young lives in one small house in Seattle—created bonds that would last lifetimes. The story of Bob and Barb, Ted and Lola reminds us how seemingly random moments can shape generations, including the author's very existence.
The Meeting Place: 4711 Meridian
The story begins in a modest house in Seattle, owned by Mary Shutt, a woman who had already weathered more than her share of grief. Living with her was her daughter Barbara Jean, known to everyone as "Barb," a bright Lincoln High student with her whole life ahead of her.
The Foundation: Mary's Journey
Mary Reese was born in Indiana in 1888, daughter of a Welsh coal miner. The family migrated to Washington by 1892, first settling in Wilkeson, Pierce County, where the men worked the coal mines. By 1910, they had relocated to Seattle, where Mary's father became a peddler until his death in 1913.
Mary's life was marked by a series of losses. She married Bert Shutt in 1906, but by 1910 had already lost her first child. Her father passed in 1913, followed by another son in 1924. Her mother, who had been living with them, died in 1935, and then her husband Bert in 1939. Through it all, Mary persevered, maintaining the family home that would become a crucial meeting point for the next generation.
Barbara Shutt, born in 1927 in Seattle, lost her grandmother in 1935, and her father in 1939. She had an older brother Ray who was married and living in Bremerton before Joanne and Lola moved into the house. She was attending Lincoln High by that time. Barb graduated in 1946, and married that Bob Foster that November.
The Sisters: Joanne, Lola and Kathleen McBee
Sisters Joanne and Lola McBee had their own story of hardship. Born in Indianola, Iowa, their family of seven relocated to Alberta, Canada in 1930. Life grew difficult after their father abandoned the family. When their youngest brother Sidney died in August 1944 at just four years old, the family gathered to mourn, including their oldest sister Kathleen.
Kathleen had forged a new life in Washington state years earlier, seeking better education and job opportunities. Hearing of her younger sisters' struggles, she offered Joanne and Lola a chance at a fresh start in Seattle. She purchased bus tickets and initially brought them to the home she shared with her husband Stan Stapp.
 |
| 4 August 1944: Joanne, Lola & Kathleen's crossing card from Alberta Canada to Idaho, USA |
Daily Life: Work and School
Ted Cowan: A Seattle Son
Theodore "Ted" Cowan was born in Seattle to Tom Cowan, a Canadian immigrant who arrived from Vancouver after WWI, and Elsie Schell, whose Swedish parents had brought her to Seattle as a baby from Duluth, Minnesota. Ted had one younger brother, Donald.
Bob Foster: From Victoria to Seattle
Robert "Bob" Foster was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, as was his mother, Alvana Ball Foster. His father hailed from Yorkshire, England, having immigrated to Canada as a toddler. The Foster family moved to Seattle when Bob was just two years old, but tragedy struck when his mother died two years later. Though raised without siblings, Bob grew up surrounded by extended family. His father moved to California when Bob entered school, working as a clerk.
Paths Converging
The circumstances that brought Ted Cowan and Bob Foster together as friends remain unclear. They grew up in different neighborhoods and attended different high schools. Perhaps Ted's outgoing nature led to their meeting through mutual acquaintances, or maybe they knew each other from childhood, as Ted's family frequently visited his maternal grandparents in the neighborhood where Bob attended Broadway High.
Whatever the origins of their friendship, when World War II ended and both young men returned home, a special connection was forming at 4711 Meridian Avenue. Ted met Lola, and they introduced Bob to Barbara. When Bob and Barb fell in love and married in November 1946, Ted stood as Bob's witness. The following year, in June 1947, Lola's sister Joanne married Dick, possibly another member of this close-knit group of friends.
Lola still lived at that 4711 Meridian when she and my father, Ted Cowan, applied for a marriage license in August 1948.
 |
| Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Tuesday, 31 August 1948, page 24, column ?, "Marriage Licenses" for Theodore Cowan and Lola McBee; Ancestry.com : accessed 22 February 2025. |
The friendship between these couples endured for decades, with Ted and Lola traveling to Port Townsend to share dinner with Bob and Barb long after their youthful days at Mary Shutt's house had passed.
Lingering Questions:
- How long had Ted & Bob been friends?
- Where was Bob’s dad after his mother’s death and why did he leave?
- Did Bob serve in WWII? I’ve not seen records. Perhaps in Canadian Forces, as his father did?
- Did Bob & Barb introduce Ted & Lola, rather than the way I remember the story? How did Ted meet Lola? Odd that I never heard (or remember) that story!
- Joanne & Dick married June 1947 soon, soon after Barb & Bob (Nov 1946); were they part of the friend group too?
- What connection brought Kathleen McBee Stapp and Mary Shutt together?
 |
| Background Vectors by Vecteezy March 2, 2025 |
 |
| Valorie Zimmerman |
Comments
Post a Comment