Today, tomorrow, and years from now, people will walk through Everett’s Grand Avenue Park. They’ll take in sweeping views of Port Gardner. They’ll examine the maritime details of a mosaic called “Compass Rose.”
They’ll read the words on a nearby plaque: “The measure of a life is not its duration but its donation.” They’ll see that the circular artwork, 27 feet in diameter and crafted of pebble and tile, was dedicated in fond remembrance of Becky Fauver, an Everett city planner. They’ll note Fauver’s too-short lifespan, 1976 to 2006.
They’ll wonder: Who was she? And why, as the plaque says, was “This Compass Rose dedicated by Barbara Lamoureux 2008.”
“Her real goal in life was to take care of people,” said Fauver’s father, Gary Gales of Edmonds. “She was a career-type person, but much more into helping people.”
Lamoureux, owner of an Everett real estate business, couldn’t agree more. She met Fauver in 2003 while planning and acquiring permits for her new Lamoureux Real Estate building at 19th Street and Wetmore Avenue in Everett.
Raised in Edmonds, Becky Fauver was a 1998 graduate of Western Washington University. She’d been with Everett’s Planning and Community Development Department for several years when Lamoureux met her. Working with Everett architect Jim Thomas, Lamoureux hoped to add 5 more feet to her building’s height than city code allowed.
Rather than put up bureaucratic barriers, Fauver helped Lamoureux find ways to make the design fit in a neighborhood of older homes. To gain the height, lap siding and vintage-style windows were included.
What began as a work encounter became a friendship, although not a close one, Lamoureux said. “She was 27 when I met her, younger than my youngest son. I never saw her in any other venue than the city,” she said.
Like everyone who knew Becky Fauver, Lamoureux was stunned when she learned that on July 21, 2005, the young woman lapsed into a coma. With her parents, Gary and Pat Gales, and her young husband constantly at her side, she spent months at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
“Basically, it was a viral encephalitis, a viral infection that caused the swelling of her brain. What is unknown is the causing virus,” said John Fauver, Becky’s 31-year-old widower.
His wife died Feb. 6, 2006. She was 29. John Fauver, who lives in the Edmonds home the couple bought together, is a health and safety specialist at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
“John was with her in the hospital every day,” Pat Gales said.
Looking for a way to honor a young woman who made her mark on Everett, Lamoureux contacted John Fauver and eventually approached the city. At an Everett City Council meeting May 28, with the Gales family present, the council approved Lamoureux’s offer of $20,000 to pay for the “Compass Rose” mosaic, created by artist Glen Andersen, of Vancouver, B.C.
Last week, the city held a dedication ceremony at the park, which has recently undergone extensive renovation.
“Becky was special. She was new to the planning world when we hired her, and just had a tremendous spirit,” said Paul Roberts, an Everett City Council member and the city’s former planning director. Roberts now works as assistant city administrator for Marysville.
“She didn’t hide behind the codes,” Roberts said. “Part of the job of the city is to make sure the intent of a code is respected, not to apply it in a rigid way that makes it hard to attract investment. Dealing with builders, for a young woman helping them understand the rules, that’s not always easy. She did it with grace, dignity and professionalism.”
She also never failed to provide co-workers with Rice Krispies treats or other baked goods, Roberts added.
John Fauver, who met his future wife at WWU, said Becky loved the outdoors. She lured him into hiking, camping and backpacking. An avid gardener, she’d answer ads that said, “Free plants, you dig,” her husband said. “She’d be out there with her shovel, and literally come home with the Subaru wagon filled with plants.”
She also loved the city where she worked. “When she first started at the city, she would run the streets of Everett,” John Fauver said. One of the first places she took him in town was Grand Avenue Park. “She took pride in her work, and always wanted to share Everett with people. She’d say, ‘Go up to Everett and take a look around,’ ” he said.
At the park, walkers will see Andersen’s wonderful art, its images paying homage to the sea life, cultural heritage, navigational history and blustery climate of this place.
“It is a remarkable piece,” John Fauver said. “Becky would truly have been humbled by such a gift in her name.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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