Darlene Hallie Landis Denby See passed peacefully at home July 5th, 2012, in Bothell, Washington. She was surrounded by members of her family and is survived by her loving daughters, Deanna Lynn Beye, Debra Ann Denby, Denise Jo Ruber, D'Alta Sue Denby, Liberty Dorene Landis and son, Charles William Henry Denby. She will be greatly missed by all of her family, and her Grandchildren Alicia, Crystal, Jessica, Maxwell, (deceased in 2011), Great-Grandchildren Lilyana, Victoria, Crystal and Juliet. She is also survived by her brother, Marvin Landis in New Providence, Iowa.

Darlene was born on December 17, 1931, in Rhodes, Iowa to Hallie Ethyl (Johnson) and Leonard LaRue Landis. During her first year of college in Ames, Iowa, she met and married Richard Lee Denby. Deanna and Debra were born in Iowa. Since Dick loved to travel, the new family moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Denice, Sue and Charles were born. In Tucson, Darlene was known for dressing her four little girls in matching outfits with cowgirl boots. The family embraced the western life style of horseback riding, picnics, trips to the Grand Canyon, and camping in the mountains. In 1960 the family moved to California and Darlene added one more to child to their family. After Dorene was born, they lived in a variety of towns in California, living in farm houses and even country clubs. All enjoyed fishing and quiet summer days on lakes and rivers with friends and family camping.

In 1983, Darlene met George See and soon remarried. They moved to the wilds of Kalispell, Montana. She lived there for the next ten years. She enjoyed looking out from her window on the apple orchard, where she saw a backdrop of the mountains, grazing horses and deer. An occasional bear would arrive for a drink at the creek running next to their mountain home. In the winter months, she and George drove down the Baja to their beach house near Cabo San Lucas. Darlene was an explorer, an avid camper, fisherwoman, bird watcher, hiker and cross-country skier. Due to the Winters, they moved to Houston. George, a Military Veteran, grew up in Texas. They still missed the mountains, and spent every summer after that in Montana at their favorite campground and fishing area at Spotted Bear, near Glacier National Park.

Darlene visited Camano Island while staying with her daughter, Liberty Dorene. She enjoyed her visits with her family in Seattle, and in 2003 she decided to retire on Camano Island, Washington. She lived at her home on five acres of her own wilderness for the next eight years, enjoying her birds, deer, her favorite dog, Luke, and all of the forest creatures that visited her pond. She welcomed family and friends to visit, pick wild berries, help with her garden and sit around the campfire to roast marshmallows and enjoy her forested back yard. She shared her love of the outdoors with each of her children and was a great teacher of every day survival skills. She gave them many precious gifts of love and devotion they will always cherish.

Darlene Hallie Landis-Denby-See, mother and friend, will be dearly missed by all who knew her.