Susan Glass, 67, Eastside artist known for glasswork

When 11-year-old A.J. Pitkethly burned down a tree last summer with an errant bottle rocket, his grandmother, Susan Glass, looked at the fiery stump standing alone in her backyard and shrugged.

Her neighbors on the hill just west of Kirkland always wanted a better view of Lake Washington anyway, she said. And, she told a friend later, she could use the blackened branches for one of her favorite kinds of art, Japanese flower arranging.

"It was hard to get her upset about the little things, even if they seemed like big things to other people," said her oldest child, David Pitkethly of Seattle.

Ms. Glass, who died March 2, was a nationally known glass artist whose wavy bowls and vases were on display in the White House, the Corning Museum of Glass in New York and the International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa in Japan.

She was also a mother of five with a quirky sense of humor, an eye-catching sense of fashion and a kind and modest spirit, friends and family members said.

"I'm not sure she even thought about how terrific or special she was," said Quinn Elliott, executive director of the Kirkland Arts Center.

Ms. Glass was found not breathing in her van in downtown Kirkland March 2. She was taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, where she died. The King County Medical Examiner's Office is investigating the cause of her death. She was 67.

Susan Anne Glass was born July 13, 1937, in Baltimore, and was the daughter of Albert Glass, a prominent Army psychiatrist. She married David Pitkethly, also an Army officer, in 1957. The couple divorced in 1988.

She lived in her home near Kirkland for 35 years and was remarried, to Dave Donalson, in 2001.

As her children were reaching adulthood in 1983, she decided to embark on a second, creative phase of her life. She took classes at the Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle and the Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood and discovered the art of glass blowing.

She opened The Glass Kingdom studio in her garage about 10 years ago and became an integral part of the Eastside arts scene, organizing shows and the annual Summerfest in Kirkland.

"I don't think anyone could refuse Susan," Elliott said. "... She made things very easy for the artists and worked hard to support everyone."

In addition to her oldest son and her husband, survivors include daughter Narda Pitkethly of Ketchum, Idaho; sons Albert Jay Pitkethly; Tom Pitkethly of Hailey, Idaho; and Rich Pitkethly of Mountlake Terrace; brothers David Glass of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Richard Glass of Wheeling, W.Va.; a sister, Judith Glass of Orinda, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

A memorial is set for 1 p.m. tomorrow at the Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St., in Kirkland. Donations can be made to the arts center or the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Ave. N., Seattle, 98109.

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com