She died at 78, but Nathylie Ross was neither old nor young.
She could captivate a roomful of toddlers. She could also engage the best and the brightest.
Ross is primarily known for the former – thousands of area children knew her only as Nana of Nana’s Puppets.
For more than two decades, busloads of youngsters would arrive at the Ross home in Everett. She would usher the children to her basement, where four rows of padded benches faced an elaborate puppet theater.
Whether for birthday parties, church activities or as part of a school class, the kids would flock to watch her one-woman puppet shows, complete with sound effects, lighting and music.
Ross – who was also a skilled artist, musician and all-around creative type – handcrafted nearly all of her intricate props, backdrops and puppets, and even wrote the stories they told.
There was Mr. Miller, a crotchety old farmer, and Garden Gulper the gopher, a creature with an appetite for the farmer’s prized flowers.
There was bossy, big-haired Hildegarde, basketball player Jim Shoes and cross schoolteacher Ms. Goggins.
“Her themes centered around loving other people and showing love,” said her daughter, Georgia Rigler of Bothell. “I think that’s what made her stand out.”
Ross was also a prolific painter and writer. The walls of her house are covered with her own intricate paintings and drawings – birds, grandchildren, landscapes or whatever captured her imagination.
Whatever creative endeavor she would try, she would find she was good at it, her daughters said.
“It was just delightful to see what she would do next,” said another daughter, Colleen Kunz of Palm Springs, Calif. “She truly is the most gifted person I have ever known, and I work with gifted children. We are celebrating her life.”
As concentrated as Ross was on her talents, family came first.
She painted a large family tree on the wall of her dining room, with a patch on the trunk for each of her six children and their spouses. She is survived by her husband, Bill, 27 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.
Longtime friends David and Angela Lindstrom, who attended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with Ross, say she was a woman of deep spirituality.
“She would say, ‘Just remember – it’s all about love. This whole life is about love – being able to give and receive it and seeing that it’s the core of everything,’” Angela Lindstrom said.
Ross loved reading and learning as much as she loved passing life’s lessons along. Her daughters say she unwrapped each day like it was a gift, and then shared her presence.
The puppet theater came down this week. Ross’ daughter-in-law Terri Ross is taking the theater and boxes of puppets to Boise, where she will perform under the name Nana’s Puppets.
But on the wall next to where the theater was are Ross’ handwritten note cards, most of them reviews from her young audience members.
On one card, Ross wrote:
“A group of 3- 5-year-olds were coming up the stairs full of hugs for me as I sat on the landing.
“As they were passing by, I felt a tap on my shoulder and a little girl said to me, ‘You are really make-believe, huh?’
The little girl’s teacher on the stairway replied with a smile, “No, she’s real.’”
Reporter Jennifer Warnick: 425-339-3429 or jwarnick@ heraldnet.com.
Memorial service
A memorial service for Nathylie Ross will be at 1 p.m. today at the Everett chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 110 50th St. SW.
A viewing will precede the service at noon.
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