Love Thy Neighbor

Grant County Journal
Love thy neighbor
February 21, 2011
Written by Janet Warren

I’m tempted to call her The Bread Lady. She orders 30 loaves of frozen bread dough every two weeks so she can bake it and give it away. However, after meeting Marie Tasker and talking to her neighbors, I’ve discerned that it’s really not about bread.
Marie was born in Maryland and married Cortney Tasker, a coal miner, when she was 17. A few years later, in 1943, Cort was drafted into the army. He was discharged on Christmas Day, 1946, and mined for another year in Maryland. Cort met some men in the army who convinced him that if he moved to Washington, he could make a living on top of the ground, instead of miles underneath it mining coal. Cort and Marie took a train from Maryland to Chicago, changed to another train line, and ended up in Tacoma where Cort eventually learned the skill of apiculture. He became a beekeeper, which he loved. Cort brought his bees to eastern Washington to pollinate the fruit trees. He met the Bairs during the early years, and when he returned to Fife, where he and Marie lived, he told her stories of the Bair boys who were driving tractors when most boys their age in the East were riding bicycles.
Cort and Marie fell in love with eastern Washington and moved to Ephrata in 1990. They bought a house right across from Bill and Barbara Hewitt, which has turned out to be a blessing in Marie’s life. Cort continued to make his living at beekeeping until he retired a few years before he died in 1998. Even though Marie’s five sisters, who live on the east coast, want her to move closer to them, Marie can’t bear the thought of leaving Ephrata and not being buried next to her beloved Cortney.
It was through Dorothy Bair that I met Marie. Dorothy wanted to treat Marie and asked Glen to come with her to Marie’s house to perform some of his cowboy poetry and songs. Marie decided to turn it into a luncheon and invited her neighbors, Bill and Barbara Hewitt. Marie told Dorothy she could bring a friend, and I got to be that friend. After spending the afternoon laughing and getting to know Marie Tasker and her neighbors, I knew I would be back to spend more time with them.
A few weeks later, I met with Marie, Bill, Barbara, and Angel (their Shih-Poo). Many of you probably know the Hewitts. Bill Hewitt worked for the Bureau of Reclamation and after he retired, he served as a PUD commissioner for 10 years. He has also served on the Ephrata School Board and is now serving on the Senior Center’s Board of Directors. Bill practices what he preached to his children while they were growing up: “If you do things for people, there are great rewards.”
Barbara and Bill turned down many job opportunities in order to raise their children, Michelle and Greg in Ephrata. Barbara loved the close-knit community, and everyone was on the same page when it came to parenting. Once in awhile, however, life in a small town was a bit annoying. One day, Bill had a little fun sliding their car on the icy street with young Greg. Before he and Greg got home, someone had tattled to Barbara that “Bill isn’t doing right by your son.”
Greg and Michelle are both teachers. Michelle lives in Monroe, Washington, and has taken a break from teaching to raise her three children. Greg teaches at Parkway and has two children. The grandchildren are a big source of delight for the Hewitts, and they have shared them with Marie. Although Marie and Cort never had children, Marie collects grandchildren. Angel looks out for Marie and starts to dance when it’s time to go to Grandma Marie’s house. Lately, Angel has been guarding both sides of the street and has a different bark when someone drives into Marie’s driveway.
Barbara always checks Marie’s blinds in the morning from across the street. If they are open, it is a signal that everything is fine over at Marie’s home. Once when Marie went outside without a coat, Bill called from across the street: “Where’s your coat, Marie? It’s cold outside.” Marie retorted with, “You guys watch me too close.” Marie realizes she is lucky to have neighbors like Bill and Barbara, but the Hewitts feel blessed to have Marie as a neighbor too. Marie sent Bill home with a box of Barbara’s favorite ice cream bars, which Bill tried to hide. “It’s okay, Marie,” said Barbara, “I found them. There are only so many places you can hide ice cream.”
I believe Marie is in such good shape physically at almost 90 because she walks everywhere. She leaves a note for the Hewitts on her kitchen table so they won’t worry if they pop in and she has gone for a walk. Marie also gives so much of herself to other people. She hosts a Christian Bible Study every week, complete with food. She watches out for the Hewitts and other people in her neighborhood, and there is always a fresh loaf of baked bread as her token of love to her neighbors and friends.
A religious leader, Spencer W. Kimball once said that by serving other people, we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. “When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves!”
Marie has found herself. One of her favorite quotes is, “I am too blessed to be stressed.” Bill tells people he wants to grow up to be just like Marie. As I left Marie’s home, with my loaf of bread tucked under my arm, I thought to myself, “So do I, Marie, so do I.”