Berit Skarbo, 77, Furniture Retailer

Berit Karla Andrea Skarbo traveled far on her warm smile and business smarts - all the way from Norway to Seattle, where she helped found Skarbos Scandinavian Furniture, a local institution.

Retail success enabled her to travel even farther, to spend recent winters in Desert Hot Springs, Calif.

"What I miss most is her warmth and optimism," said her son Ron Skarbo of Burien. "She was very up front in expressing her feelings for her family and others.

"She also stayed on top of things. In the store she worked mainly out front with customers. She was very color-oriented, very design-oriented; a stylish dresser and a fashionable woman even in her late 70s."

Mrs. Skarbo died Monday, Dec. 9, of a stroke. She was 77.

Born in Norway, she moved with her husband to Seattle in 1949. She helped him in the upholstery trade; he worked privately as well as for furniture stores.

She came to know fabric and color as well as people, said her son. She also helped import the occasional piece of furniture from Denmark and Norway for special customers.

In 1961 she and her husband opened the store that still bears their name. They began on Capitol Hill, moved to Second Avenue in 1966 and settled in Tukwila in 1978.

She and her husband built an apartment over the new store so they wouldn't have to commute from North Seattle. They turned the business over to their sons in 1981.

"When they retired, they really retired," said Skarbo. "They went on a trip to Norway and didn't come back for a long, long time.

"When they got back, my brother and I would always come in the morning and have coffee upstairs with my mom, and talk politics with my dad. We were a close family."

Mrs. Skarbo's other survivors include her husband of 53 years, Peter Skarbo of Tukwila; her son Inge Skarbo, Burien; a sister, Anna Sjong, Seattle; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Bethel Lutheran Church of Shoreline, 17418 Eighth Ave. N.E., Shoreline, WA, 98155. Remembrances may go to the Bethel Emergency Feeding Program or any other charity.