Mother finds moments of solace in her grief

DARRINGTON — In her grief, Rae Smith found solace Wednesday.

She knew her daughter’s friends never stopped looking for her after her car was swallowed by Saturday’s deadly Oso mudslide.

Smith also knows it was Summer Raffo’s brother, Dayn Brunner, who lovingly lifted his sister from her mud-encased car Wednesday.

“He held her and he cried over her before they flew her out,” Smith said.

Raffo, two weeks shy of her 37th birthday, was one of 13 children, including 10 who were adopted.

She was pathologically punctual, which is why Smith immediately suspected the worst Saturday.

Raffo was driving west toward Trafton for an 11 a.m. appointment. A graduate of farrier school, she had several horses whose hooves needed trimming.

“She never didn’t show up on time for an appointment — ever,” Smith said.

From a young age, Raffo developed a strong work ethic, which served her well on the family farm where she helped raise Arabian horses and Yorkshire terriers. It followed her to the Summit and Hampton mills in town, where she worked for many years as a lumber stacker and later as a part-time janitor for the Darrington School District.

Compassion and hard work were traits she learned from her parents, said family friend Shari Brewer.

When one of Brewer’s horses was sick with colic, it was Rae Smith who drove through three feet of snow with the medicines.

“She was like her mom — caring, trustworthy and reliable,” Brewer said.

Brewer’s daughter, Rhonda Cook, shared Raffo’s love of horses. Cook was among the team of close friends and family who heeded Smith’s plea to find her daughter.

Knowing how tirelessly they searched gave Smith some comfort Wednesday evening.

“She was such a caring person,” Smith said.

“I know if she wasn’t in the mudslide she would have been up to her waist digging and looking for survivors.”

Raffo divided her time between her husband, Joel Sundstrom, at their home in Concrete and her parents’ farm in Darrington, where she helped care for the animals.

Her death is difficult for her mother to comprehend.

“This is the longest we have ever been apart,” she said. “Her leaving is going to make a hole in my heart.”

Talk to us

More in Local News

Emergency responders surround an ultralight airplane that crashed Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, at the Arlington Municipal Airport in Arlington, Washington, resulting in the pilot's death. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Pilot dead in ultralight plane crash at Arlington Municipal Airport

There were no other injuries or fatalities reported, a city spokesperson said.

An example of the Malicious Women Co. products (left) vs. the Malicious Mermaid's products (right). (U.S. District Court in Florida)
Judge: Cheeky candle copycat must pay Snohomish company over $800K

The owner of the Malicious Women Co. doesn’t expect to receive any money from the Malicious Mermaid, a Florida-based copycat.

A grave marker for Blaze the horse. (Photo provided)
After Darrington woman’s horse died, she didn’t know what to do

Sidney Montooth boarded her horse Blaze. When he died, she was “a wreck” — and at a loss as to what to do with his remains.

A fatal accident the afternoon of Dec. 18 near Clinton ended with one of the cars involved bursting into flames. The driver of the fully engulfed car was outside of the vehicle by the time first responders arrived at the scene. (Whidbey News-Times/Submitted photo)
Driver sentenced in 2021 crash that killed Everett couple

Danielle Cruz, formerly of Lynnwood, gets 17½ years in prison. She was impaired by drugs when she caused the crash that killed Sharon Gamble and Kenneth Weikle.

A person walks out of the Everett Clinic on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The Everett Clinic changing name to parent company Optum in 2024

The parent company says the name change will not affect quality of care for patients in Snohomish County.

Tirhas Tesfatsion (GoFundMe) 20210727
Lynnwood settles for $1.7 million after 2021 suicide at city jail

Jail staff reportedly committed 16 safety check violations before they found Tirhas Tesfatsion, 47, unresponsive in her cell.

William Gore, left, holds the hand of Skylar, 9, in a Baby Yoda sweatshirt as they go for a walk in the rain at Forest Park on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Keep your umbrellas, rain gear handy this week in Snohomish County

The National Weather Service says up to 1½ inches are possible through Wednesday.

The city of Mukilteo is having a naming contest for its new $75,000 RC Mowers R-52, a remote-operated robotic mower. (Submitted photo)
Mukilteo muncher: Name the $75,000 robot mower

The city is having a naming contest for its new sod-slaying, hedge-hogging, forest-clumping, Mr-mow-it-all.

In this photo posted to the Washington state Department of Ecology website and taken by the U.S. Coast Guard, people watch as emergency crews respond to the Walla Walla passenger ferry, which ran aground near Bainbridge Island west of Seattle, Saturday, April 15, 2023. (Lt. Cmdr. Brian Dykens/U.S. Coast Guard via AP)
Edmonds-Kingston shuffle: 64-car ferry replaces 202-car boat, for now

The system-wide boat swap stems from the vessel Walla Walla out of service for four weeks for repairs.

Most Read