Rose Marie Wilcox, 79; Owner Of Kirkland's Yarrow Bay Marina

Thousands of boaters knew Rose Marie Wilcox, who with her husband, Donald Wilcox, owned and operated Kirkland's Yarrow Bay Marina for three decades.

So did scores of visitors to Canada's Harrison Hot Springs Resort, where she went dancing with her husband every other weekend.

"She loved to dance and loved to travel," said her son, Dennis Bortko of Bellevue. "They went out a lot on their 48-foot boat. And she ran the place here, took care of the moorage, with Don for 30 years."

Mrs. Wilcox died of heart failure last Monday (April 28). She was 79.

Born in West Seattle, she attended Holy Family Elementary School and graduated from Highline High School. She once worked as a cocktail waitress and later helped start several restaurants. Her niche, running the moorage in Kirkland, began on what was almost a whim.

Mrs. Wilcox and her husband were looking to buy a waterfront apartment complex in 1967 when they came upon the marina. They had a look, and it turned out to be owned by an old acquaintance of Don Wilcox. The purchase was made, and Mrs. Wilcox took over for the next 30 years.

She survived a serious car accident and nine broken ribs in 1991, and a serious scalding earlier this year, without retiring. Mrs. Wilcox also resisted efforts to buy up the property, according to her son.

Bortko said his parents had been out to dinner - almost a daily practice for them - twice in the week before her death, and they had made a trip to Harrison Hot Springs only the week before.

Travelers when they weren't working at the moorage or in Don Wilcox's real-estate ventures, they'd been to Mexico, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and Fiji.

Other survivors, in addition to Bortko and her husband of 38 years, include: sons Rodney Wilcox and Paul Wilcox of Kirkland; five grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

Services have been held. Memorials may go to Overlake Hospital Medical Center Foundation, 1035 116th Ave. N.E., Bellevue, WA 98004.

Seattle Times staff reporter David Schaefer contributed to this report.