Camano Friends Mourn Victim -- Flight Attendant, 42, Loved Gardening On Island

CAMANO ISLAND - The gray skies matched the mood on East Cougar Lane yesterday as the news spread that neighbor Sandra Meade was a flight attendant on the TWA flight that went down off Long Island, N.Y.

"When we heard the news (of the plane crash), we had a really funny feeling about it," said neighbor Mackie Gidlof, who lives down a short road from Meade's modest A-frame. "It's just a kind of numbing feeling."

Meade's travel schedule kept her away from her house for extended periods. The 42-year-old native of Western Washington had just spent five days there - the longest stint of the summer - before boarding another plane that would take her away for six days.

Still, neighbors remembered a friendly, independent woman who worked hard to fix up her home and who loved gardening.

"That seemed to be her passion," said Gidlof.

Meade apparently had recently completed training that earned her the designation of master gardener. Her home was adorned with flowers.

Meade was based in New York for TWA, so she was essentially a cross-country commuter, Gidlof said. Ron Nugent of Edmonds, also a TWA flight attendant and a friend of Meade, said buying the home on Camano Island had fulfilled a longtime dream.

Julie Ewijk, the real-estate agent who sold the house to Meade, said the flight attendant was a strong, independent woman who had a taste for the finer things in life. She also didn't let life's setbacks get her down.

The dream of buying a house, for example, almost went sour in a messy legal battle with its former occupants, Ewijk said. In looking for a suitable property, Meade gave Ewijk specific instructions: She wanted a house on an island with enough room to garden, a luxury not afforded by her New York apartment. Ewijk found the Cougar Lane property and sent her a videotape.

Meade loved it, but the home's renters at first refused to leave, spurring her to hire an attorney.

But she stuck with it, Ewijk said, and won out in the end, sinking much of her savings into the house.

Many neighbors declined to speak with reporters, saying the family should speak about Meade. Her family yesterday declined to comment.