Carol Lee Tavtigian

“She’s gone….”, that’s the text that let us know my mom had passed. My brother, sister, and I were taking turns letting her hear our voices from afar as she faded, and the hospital told my sister she had passed while on the phone with us.

Carol Lee Tavtigian passed away on Friday, October 17 in the hospital in Coos Bay, Oregon at the age of 86.

Where to begin? What Mom loved the most in life was a house full of family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. We had that a lot growing up. Our Mom would spend hours cooking and baking and making everyone feel warm and welcome.

When we were kids, Mom was always cooking and singing (mostly to our dogs, who would sing back) and talking to herself. You could join in her conversation, but she would continue long after you left the room. Our house always smelled of something baking, usually a pie. My grandmother always said “food is love”, and baking was mom’s love language to all of us. Our house was warm, and inviting, and filled with the people we loved the most.

Mom is survived by her sister, Shirley Parker, her son Sean Tavtigian (Mia Hashibe) and their sons Andre and Marcel, her daughter LeAnn Tavtigian (Vince Milich) and their sons Nick and PJ, and her son Richie Tavtigian (Elizabeth) and their sons Victor, Isaac, and Roman.

Mom was preceded in death by her daughter Julie Lynn Tavtigian in the fall of 1998, she was running from ghosts ever since. I hope our mom finds the warmth and serenity she once knew when we were kids.

If you knew Carol and would like to remember her well, gather your friends and family and people you love the most into your home. Share with them your favorite meal, and be liberal with the wine. For dessert, bake an apple or peach pie. Serve the pie warm in a shallow bowl with a little half and half poured over the top, and eat with a spoon. That’s the Tavtigian way….

Donations in her name can be made to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center at Oregon State.  Link below, but people need to type in "Marine Mammal Stranding".  

https://give.fororegonstate.org/PL1Uv3Fkug

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