Yakima, WA - Barbara Jean Arnett was born in Yakima, Washington December 5, 1938 to Earl and Eileen Gillis, the eighth of 12 children. The Gillis family, like many families during the Depression, moved more than once, to go where the jobs were. These included working in the orchards and hop fields in the Yakima Valley, Bethlehem Steel and Boeing in Seattle, and Hanford in Richland. While living in Richland in the early 1950's, Bobbie met and married Randall Arnett. They raised 3 children together- Pamela, Robbin, and Frank. In 1959, the Arnett family moved to Terrace Heights in Yakima. For several years in the 1960's Bobbie worked as a secretary in the insurance industry, at Farmer's Insurance, and later for Ross Dent Insurance. Later after her own children graduated high school, Bobbie started working at Yakima School District in the migrant education office. It was while working there that she started taking classes in education at YVC, and later at Central Washington University, graduating with a BA in Education. She was the first in her family to receive a college degree. Becoming a teacher was the defining event of her life and legacy. She was never happier than when she was teaching her 1st and 2nd graders at Nob Hill Elementary School. Teaching, for her, was truly a calling, and a labor of love, and in her last years teaching at Nob Hill almost all of the students in her classroom were there because their parents had requested Mrs. Arnett's room. As the years went by, she never tired of the chance meetings with former students and chatting with them about their lives and accomplishments.

Around the time that she was student teaching, our dad passed away unexpectedly, so for her first years as a new teacher, mom was on her own. Teaching was her refuge, and made life bearable during those first years without Randy.

In the late 1990's Mom met Don Stark, the second love of her life, and they enjoyed life together for over 25 years. They always enjoyed going out for lunch or coffee, hiking in the mountains, and then enjoying a meal at Gold Creek or Trout Lodge or Whistling Jacks. They also traveled to Europe and especially enjoyed Ireland, where some of their ancestors came from.

Another favorite activity was the road trips they enjoyed, traveling to see family in Eastern Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. The favorite, and most frequent trip was to the Lewiston/ Clarkston area to visit son Frank and his wife Jackie, and their children, Santana, Kodi, and Austin.

Mom was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Eileen, her brothers Earl Jr. ("Bill"), Richard, Melvin, Donald, and Kenny, also sisters Margaret, Dorothy, Betty, Joanne, and Patty, her husband Randy, and son Frank. Bobbie is survived by her sister Marilyn Ahrendt, her daughter Pam, son Rob, daughter-in-law Jackie, grandson Austin, his wife Cassie, and great-grandchildren Brock, Scarlett, and August, and nieces and nephews too numerous to list here! She will be missed by us all.

A graveside service will be held at Tahoma Cemetery in Yakima at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday May 31st, followed by a celebration of life at Provisions Restaurant from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.