Every we time we post something about King Tides, some wiseacre pops in to say: “Uh, you mean high tides? Duh, they happen twice a day! Fake news! LoCO is dumb! I am smarter!”

This is why you are the dummy. While it is true that there is no strict scientific definition of a “king tide,” we’re generally talking about the highest of high tides, here. They happen a few times a year, when the sun and moon and Earth line up just right. Educate yourself.

King tides show us what sea level rise is going to mean for our coastline. If you are interested in taking photos of super-high tides around the county in November and December, the California Coastal Commission would be delighted if you would share your work with them in the name of citizen science.

Press release from the California Coastal Commission:

King Tides will inundate California beaches, roads and other coastal areas during the next two months, providing a glimpse into future erosion and flooding as the planet continues to warm and sea level rise accelerates.

The California Coastal Commission is asking the public to safely photograph the impact of waves and rising groundwater on shorelines and nearby communities during this winter’s King Tides — November 15 to 17 and December 13 to 15. Those interested can submit their photos to the California King Tides Project at www.coastal.ca.gov/kingtides, where people can also view photos from previous years.

Photographing these extreme high tides brings attention to the impact of climate change and helps prepare for the future. The images are used by climate researchers, as well as local and state officials, to validate sea level rise models and assess local vulnerabilities to erosion and flooding. The project is one of many similar community science efforts across the world to create a visual record of our changing coastlines.

King Tides are caused when the sun, moon and Earth are aligned, creating a stronger than normal gravitational pull. When these astronomical conditions are coupled with storm surges, the potential for property and other types of damage dramatically increases.

King tides are typically at least one to two feet above the average high tide. For comparison, ocean levels in California are projected to rise as much as 1.2 feet by 2050 and up to 6.6 feet by the end of the century.

Sea level rise is caused by climate change from burning fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal, which releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This pollution acts like a blanket, trapping heat that would otherwise escape, raising the global temperature of the land, air and ocean. Sea levels are rising because land-based glaciers and ice sheets are melting into the ocean and water expands when it warms.

The state of California’s sea level rise planning efforts include updating the California Coastal Commission’s Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance, which will be presented for adoption at the public agency’s November hearing in San Francisco. The guidance includes updates for new sea level rise science, environmental justice principles related to sea level rise and recent state law that requires local governments to incorporate sea level rise in coastal planning documents.

Details available on the website include local times for king tides, community events and resources for educators interested in teaching about climate change. The king tides photo upload form includes instructions in both English and Spanish.

The Sequoia Park Zoo has no time for LoCO’s silliness. Last week we irresponsibly whipped our readers into a frenzy by suggesting that all the world’s woes might be solved if only we’d band together and force Eureka’s zoo into acquiring a Moo Deng-like baby pygmy hippo.

Well, today the Sequoia Park Zoo has responded: Uh, no. Instead, they are going with what they know: Adorable red panda goodness. 

Get ready for Saffron madness, Humboldt. The Sequoia Park Zoo explains in the release below:

Sequoia Park Zoo wants to reassure the community that we have no plans to bring a baby pygmy hippo (or ten) to the best little zoo in the redwoods. 

While we acknowledge that Moo Deng is undeniably charming and her antics on social media have created a frenzy, a pygmy hippo would be unsuitable at Sequoia Park Zoo for many reasons.

“A hippo, even a pygmy one, would require the construction of a brand new habitat that is simply not practical,” explains Zoo Director, Jim Campbell-Spickler. “We don’t have the space or resources to care for major African mammals. Our temperate coastal climate and intimate size allow us to specialize in smaller North American, South American, and Asian species that will thrive at our facility.”

Saffron! Saffron! Saffron!

Instead of focusing energy on hypothetical pygmy hippos and hybrids, Sequoia Park Zoo would like to take the opportunity to announce the very real arrival of Saffron - a NEW red panda at the Zoo!

Last week, Zoo staff quietly welcomed a young male red panda from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kansas. Born in July 2023 to parents Charlie Junior (CJ) and Paprika, Saffron has come to Sequoia Park Zoo through the red panda Species Survival Plan (SSP) coordinated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). As part of standard procedures for all new animals at the Zoo, Saffron will be cared for behind-the-scenes during a typical 30-day quarantine period.
“Red pandas are part of our identity as a Zoo, and we all have been patiently - but eagerly - waiting for this little guy!” says Animal Curator, Amanda Auston. “He’s still a young panda, and this is a big adjustment for him. We are going to work at his pace to gradually introduce him to life at our Zoo.”

Sequoia Park Zoo reminds the community that it might take months before Saffron is comfortable and ready for public appearances. We look forward to posting regular updates about Saffron’s progress as we care for him and learn the personality of this aptly nicknamed “baby spice.”

Guests wanting to support red pandas at Sequoia Park Zoo can contribute to the Red Panda Improvement Project Fund by making a donation at redwoodzoo.org/donate. 

The Red Panda Improvement Project supports construction and renovations to Sequoia Park Zoo’s red panda and muntjac habitat that will increase habitat size, enhance guest experience, and improve animal visibility.

PREVIOUSLY: 

• POLL! With the Election Over, Should We Invest Every Ounce of Energy in Encouraging the Sequoia Park Zoo to Get a Baby Pygmy Hippo For Humboldt?

Press release from the California Highway Patrol:

On November 10, 2024 at approximately 12:03 PM, a 2007 Harley Davidson with two occupants was traveling northbound on US-101, south of Main St., with a group of other motorcyclists. For unknown reasons, the driver lost control of the motorcycle and both riders were ejected. Emergency personnel were notified and responded to the scene. Unfortunately, due to the severity of his injuries, the male driver was pronounced deceased at the scene. The female passenger was transported with major injuries to St. Joseph Hospital in Eureka, however, she later succumbed to her injuries. Northbound US-101 was periodically closed for approximately two hours to facilitate this investigation. It is currently unknown what factors may have contributed to the cause of this crash.

The California Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation and asks for anyone that may have information related to this crash to contact the Humboldt Area CHP at 707-822-5981 or email Humboldt_Area@chp.ca.gov.

In less than 15 minutes, Michael Mariscal validated why a team of officials at Cal Poly Humboldt have spent more than three years trying to set up the first bachelor’s degree program at a maximum-security prison in California.

At the end of a class in persuasive speaking, Mariscal was tasked with giving a presentation to highlight his personal growth. His 22 classmates inside B Facility at Pelican Bay State Prison were skeptical: Just two weeks earlier, Mariscal had used his presentation time to give step-by-step directions on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

But today was different.

“I’ve never told this to anyone before,” the 32-year-old Mariscal said, holding back tears as he explained his feelings when he learned at his trial that the state was requesting he be put to death. “I said, ‘That’s OK, that’s cool,’” showing no outward emotion at the time, he told the class. But inside his mind was reeling.

“I’m not innocent; I did everything I was convicted for,” he quickly added, referring to a gang shooting that left two people dead.

Mariscal went on to say that his brother had received a life sentence and been murdered while in prison. Mariscal himself was given five life sentences. He declared that he did not expect ever to be released, but finished by saying, “I can still live a meaningful life in here. Freedom is different for everybody.”

A shocked silence filled the room before classmate Darryl Baca spoke up. “That’s some raw stuff right here. I recognize the potential in you.”

“It’s not the first time I’ve cried after class,” the professor, Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth, said later, although she was teaching only her fourth session at the prison.

Mariscal’s speech exemplified everything officials at Cal Poly Humboldt hoped to accomplish when they set out to create a satellite campus at one of the most notorious prisons in the country. They knew that earning a degree could help some men shorten their sentences and possibly land well-paying jobs once released. But they also hoped that the classes, and the camaraderie fostered there, would pay immediate dividends, lessening violence at the prison and improving students’ daily behaviors. Seeing Mariscal address his past while both sharing his feelings and mapping out a hopeful path forward just four weeks into the semester was validating, officials said.

First: Incarcerated college student Michael Anthony Mariscal, 32, center, leaves the education hallway with fellow classmates after school at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, Calif, on Sept. 17, 2024. Last: Incarcerated college students applaud Michael Anthony Mariscal, 32, after he gave a presentation about his own journey to turn his life around during a CalPoly Humboldt class on persuasive speaking at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, on Sept. 17, 2024. Photos by Manuel Orbegozo for Hechinger Report

California has been a leader in prison education programs, starting with a 2014 rule authorizing state funding for community colleges to set up programs for students who are incarcerated. Since then, some 25 community colleges and eight universities have established degree-granting programs that now cover every facility in the state. Humboldt’s Pelican Bay program is not only the state’s first bachelor’s initiative at a max-security prison; earlier this year, it became the first program in the country approved under new federal Department of Education rules to let incarcerated individuals access Pell Grant funds to pay for college.

For about 29 years Pell money had been largely prohibited for individuals who are incarcerated, with the exception of a small federal pilot program that debuted in 2015. The new Pell rules made 767,000 people at state prisons nationwide eligible to pay for college with federal funds — starting with a handful of those at Pelican Bay.

“We’re setting an example,” said Tony Wallin-Sato, a former Humboldt official who helped create the program. “If we can be successful at Pelican Bay, it can work anywhere.”

Pelican Bay is one of the most infamous prisons in the country. Built in 1989 in the extreme northwest corner of California, the facility was created to isolate its occupants in two ways. Many of the men who are incarcerated there hail from the Los Angeles area, nearly 700 miles south. And nearly half of the facility’s units were built for solitary confinement, with some occupants stuck inside these 7-by-11-foot cells for decades.

A “60 Minutes” report in 1993 highlighted excessive force by guards, and a 1995 lawsuit exposed inadequate medical care. In 2013, people incarcerated there staged a two-month hunger strike that spread throughout the state’s prisons to protest the excessive use of solitary confinement.

But program staffers and people incarcerated at the facility say day-to-day life there now bears little resemblance to those days. About 400 of the prison’s 2,200 incarcerated men currently take classes that include GED preparation, courses from four community colleges and, now, Humboldt’s new bachelor’s program.

Pelican Bay “used to be one of the most violent prisons in the country. Now it’s not,” said Mark Taylor, a Humboldt official who spent more than 21 years incarcerated before helping to create this program.

In fact, incarcerated students openly drop hints around Kari Telaro Rexford, the prison’s supervisor of academic instruction, telling her they hope she’ll soon bring in a master’s degree program. “I’m trying,” she tells them.

Humboldt prison program ‘makes people safer’

Rebecca Silbert, the deputy superintendent of higher education for the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, has watched every program that has started in the eight years since bachelor’s degree programs began in state prisons. “Because of the involvement of senior leadership,” she said, “Cal Poly Humboldt’s was the easiest by far.”

Yet Silbert admitted she first tried to talk officials out of creating this program. “Are you sure?” she said she asked them. “It’s easy to be starry-eyed in the beginning, but it’s an endeavor.”

Humboldt’s provost, Jenn Capps, said she agreed with that assessment but pushed on because the program “makes people safer.” Offering bachelor’s degree classes helps “disrupt the narrative” of violence in these men’s lives, making life safer for them, their families, guards at Pelican Bay, and ultimately the public, she argued.

“There are lots of myths out there about people who are incarcerated,” Capps said. “But everybody wants community safety. Offering prison education programs is key to community safety.”

A team of Cal Poly Humboldt officials worked for more than two years before beginning the program in January. The university’s communications department chair, Maxwell Schnurer, taught a class at the prison through the College of the Redwoods to understand why that community college’s program had been so successful. Redwoods began with one course at the prison in 2015, and its program has since mushroomed to 43 courses serving 390 students, said Tory Eagles, the college’s Pelican Bay Scholars program manager.

CalPoly Humboldt communications lecturer Romi Hitchcock-Tinseth discusses a presentation assignment with inmates during her persuasive speaking class at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, on Sept. 17, 2024. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for Hechinger Report

As of this semester, the university has ramped up to four classes, each of which are taken by all of the school’s 23 students. Each student had already earned associate degrees and all are now communications majors. Humboldt’s five-year plan is to add other majors and expand to two more of the prison’s four yards, said Steve Ladwig, the director of the university’s Transformative and Restorative Education Center.

Being the first program the federal government authorized to use Pell Grants for incarcerated men put a spotlight on Humboldt’s work. But actually getting those funds has proven to be hard, largely because of the federal Department of Education’s botched rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, last year.

Although all of Humboldt’s students are eligible for Pell, only about half of the 23 have had their applications reviewed by the Department of Education so far, said Ladwig. While the university waits for approval of its students’ Pell Grants, it is covering tuition for each student, he added.

When Humboldt staged a ceremony to hand incarcerated individuals their college acceptance letters, Ladwig had to venture to the prison’s solitary confinement wing to deliver Mariscal’s letter, because he was being punished for getting into a fight.

Decades in solitary confinement

Darryl Baca — the student who praised Mariscal after his classroom speech — epitomizes the entire history of Pelican Bay. He came to the prison in 1990, only months after it opened. He spent his first 25 years in solitary confinement, where many incarcerated individuals with gang backgrounds were placed. He was part of the 2013 hunger strike that led to changes in how the prison uses solitary. Now he’s not only a straight-A student, but someone both staff and fellow students look to for guidance.

As Mariscal unspooled his revelation, Baca noticed the seven-minute timer the instructor had set was about to go off and interrupt his speech. From his seat at the front of the class, Baca reached over and deftly paused the timer while handing Mariscal a tissue.

Baca said it took him three tries to earn his GED. Later, he used correspondence courses to secure an associate degree. He continued his education with College of the Redwood’s courses and said he recently passed up a chance to transfer to a lower-security prison because of his Humboldt classes.

“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” he said. The college classes have erased the barriers that typically exist among prisoners of different backgrounds, he explained. While classmates support each other, many people at the prison “are making better choices now. The culture has evolved. We’re like a campus now.”

Baca isn’t the only person incarcerated at Pelican Bay who has rejected possible transfers to other prisons. Others said they made the difficult decision to pass up the chance to be moved closer to home and earn a lower-security designation because they wanted to continue in Humboldt’s classes. “I told my family, ‘I want to see you and get closer, but I can’t transfer,’” said Davion Holman, 35, who is originally from the Los Angeles area. Holman, sentenced to 31 years in 2013, told his classmates that before being arrested, he liked school. “I knew I was smart, but I was content being stupid,” he said.

“We take it serious because it is serious,” he added.

Humboldt Professor Roberto Mónico, who teaches a course called multiethnic resistance in the U.S., says at times it feels more like a graduate-level seminar than an undergraduate class. Students are well prepared, he said, with “all the readings marked up,” and they drop in references to the theories of Plato and Aristotle. Yet they can be sensitive about not knowing how to create a PowerPoint presentation or other computer skills because of their lack of formal education.

“If I tell them to read two out of five essays, they read all five,” said Hitchcock-Tinseth. Added Ladwig: “They are phenomenally well prepared to take on a bachelor’s degree.”

Being in a college classroom and able to debate ideas freely is “not mirrored in a lot of other prison experiences,” said Ruth Delaney, who directs the Vera Institute of Justice’s Unlocking Potential initiative, which helps colleges develop prison programs.

Francisco Vallejo, an incarcerated college student with a passion for multicultural resistance courses, poses in front of a mural painted by inmates at Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, on Sept. 17, 2024. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for Hechinger Report

Francisco Vallejo admitted he struggled when he first began taking community college classes, dropping some before trying again the next semester. But now he hopes his academic progress will bolster his case for parole in 2026. “I had to train to be a student,” he said. “Redwoods gives you the tools, but you use them at Humboldt.”

Student Dom Congiardo said the prison environment teaches people to guard their feelings. But taking college classes shows them “you don’t have to be afraid to open up,” he said. “You won’t be judged for it. It’s all new territory for us.”

Carlson Bryant is another student who declined a transfer to stay in Humboldt’s program. At 41 years old, he’s been at Pelican Bay since 2003, more than half his life.

Bryant said he was scared of the prison’s reputation when he came to Pelican Bay at age 19. “In the beginning, I would have left so fast,” he said. “But there’s too much positive stuff here. It changes you all the way around.”

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Contact editor Lawrie Mifflin at 212-678-4078 or mifflin@hechingerreport.org.

This story was produced with support from the Education Writers Association Reporting Fellowship program.

This story about prison education was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger higher education newsletter.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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“Guardians of a Forgotten Warship,” a Cal Poly Humboldt student documentary highlighting a group of local veterans, has been selected to screen at the 2024 Veterans Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The five-minute documentary, directed and produced by Ray Olson of Humboldt Outdoors, tells the story of six dedicated veterans who have taken on the tremendous task of restoring the USS LCI(L)-1091 – affectionately known as Ten-Ninety-One – a World War II-era warship beached on the Samoa Peninsula.

Before it arrived here in Humboldt County, LCI(L)-1091 took part in the Battle for Okinawa in 1945, witnessed atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll and served as a medical lab during the Korean War to help prevent the spread of wartime disease. In 1988, landing craft infantry veteran Ralph Davis bought the historic ship and renamed it Ten-Ninety-One. Davis used the ship as a fishing vessel for 17 years before he donated it to the Humboldt Bay Naval Sea/Air Museum with the hope that it could one day be restored. The ship sat in Humboldt Bay for another decade before it was dragged ashore to its current location behind the Samoa Cookhouse.

Twice weekly, the Ten-Ninety-One crew climbs aboard the historic ship to battle the ever-present threat of rust, tackle leaky areas of the top deck, touch up the paint, weld new deck plates and work on various other repairs.

McCarthy

“It’s definitely a labor of love,” U.S. Airforce veteran Royal McCarthy said in an interview with the documentary crew. “[W]e don’t want to see this thing go away, and we don’t want to see it rust into nothing. We definitely don’t want to see it cut up for scrap, so we’re doing all we can to promote the longevity of the boat and to make sure it’s saved.”

If the crew can’t find a new location for the ship, it will be scrapped to make way for the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal project, which aims to convert the Redwood Marine Terminal I property into a state-of-the-art industrial site for manufacturing, assembling and exporting the massive components needed for offshore wind development on the West Coast. 

Relocating the ship would cost an estimated $50,000, which is “far beyond” the crew’s financial resources, according to Olson. The crew’s dream is to replace the bottom of the ship, lug it back into Humboldt Bay and turn it into a museum and a meeting place for veterans. However, doing so would cost another $1 million dollars.

“It’s a long shot – I know it’s a long shot – but that isn’t going to stop us because the mission is to save the ship,” said U.S. Army veteran Ron Matson. “If we don’t, they’re going to cut it up into little pieces, which would be a travesty.”

“Guardians of a Forgotten Warship” was produced by Olson as a class assignment for Cal Poly Humboldt’s film class “Documentary Film Production” with help from Toni Brown, Solomon Winter, Tyler McNally and Jake Stoll. 

“‘Guardians of a Forgotten Warship’ embodies everything we hope for in the documentaries our students create,” Dave Janetta, an assistant film professor at Cal Poly Humboldt, wrote in a statement to the Outpost. “We encourage them to tell local stories that resonate widely and bring awareness to issues that need attention. … It’s incredibly rewarding to see our students apply the lessons of the classroom to real-world projects in the community and have the opportunity to share their work with a broader audience.”

The documentary will screen at the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles on Friday, Nov. 15.

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Jason “J-Bird” Hunsucker
February 28, 1975 – November 4, 2024

Jason “J-Bird” Hunsucker, 49, a devoted family man and cherished member of the Yurok community, passed away on November 4, 2024, in Notchko on the Yurok Reservation.

Born in Crescent City to Gael Stallings and Bruce Hunsucker, Jason lived his entire life on his ancestral homelands in Wautec. Known for his kindness and generosity, Jason was a beloved presence among family and friends. He was the heart of family gatherings, bringing everyone together with his laughter, his big spirit, and his love for a good time.

Jason found joy and peace in the great outdoors. An avid hunter and dirt bike racer, he loved camping and riding motorcycles. He was always ready to give to others, from deer and elk to fish, ensuring his family and community were well cared for. Jason loved being Peech-o-wos. He went above and beyond for his grandchildren and made sure to create as many memories with them as he could. He cherished every moment spent with his children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews, creating lasting memories playing with them as babies and celebrating their lives as they grew.

Working with the Yurok Tribe, Jason took great pride in his role, thriving in his work and strengthening his deep connection to the community he loved. He was happiest by the river, swimming in its cool waters and reveling in the beauty of the land.

Jason is preceded in death by his paternal great-grandparents, Frances and Stokes Jaynes; paternal grandparents, Patricia (Frye) and Bruce Hunsucker; uncles, Jack George and Bob Hunsucker; and cousin, Fred Scott. On his maternal side, Jason is preceded in death by his great-grandparents, Marian and Urban Stallings, Rachel and Carl Oliver, and his maternal grandparents, Lawrence and Greta Stallings.

Jason is survived by his loving mother, Gael Stallings, and his father, Bruce Hunsucker. He leaves behind his cherished children, Julie Howerton (Darren), Louisa Hunsucker (Nicholas), and Tuekwe Hunsucker. He was a proud grandfather to Dani, Harlee, and Darren Howerton, and Mason Ferris.

He is also survived by his siblings: Benjamin Hunsucker, Antionette Hunsucker, Brandon Scott, Lewis Scott, Sonia Hunsucker, Klinton Hunsucker, Andrew Hunsucker, Andrea Hunsucker, Alyssa Hunsucker, and Peter Hunsucker, along with numerous extended family members and friends who will carry his spirit forward.

Jason’s warmth, humor, and unwavering devotion to his family and community touched the lives of many. His love and commitment to those he held dear will be remembered and cherished forever. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

Jason’s Wake will be held on Monday evening, November 11, 2024, at the Tulley Creek Community Center, and funeral services will be on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 11 a.m at the Wautec Shaker Church. Eats will follow directly after. Family and friends are welcome to celebrate his life and share in the memories that made him so deeply loved.

“Jason’s love for life and family lives on in our hearts forever.”

Pall bears are Tuekwe Hunsucker, Ben Hunsucker, Brandon Scott, Lewis Scott, Andrew Hunsucker, Sonia Hunsucker, Pergish Carlson, Cawtep Sylvia, and Charlie “Cheese” McCovey.

Honorary pall bears are Tuekwe George, Nickwich Carlson, Bobby Hunsucker, Peter Hunsucker, Klinton Hunsucker Darren Howerton, Lorenzo Manuel, Nicholas Rabah, Mark Scott, Cooper Scott, Andrew Hunsucker Jr., Poy’-we-son Hunsucker, Bodhi Scott, Jade Scott, Woodsie Hunsucker, Kilagyah Hunsucker, Benjamin “Big Guy” Hunsucker, Bronson Lewis Jr., Louie Meyers, Anthony Carlson, Ralphie Logan, Buck Logan, Virgil “Boogsie” Green, Daryl Mabry, Daniel Whitehurst, Micheal Gabriel, Rick Sanderson Sr., Lloyd Owens Jr., Vito Cosce, Louie Cosce, Axel Erickson, and Willie Lamebear.

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Janet T. Bessette, on November 1, 2024 — appropriately on All Saints Day, a day of fitting remembrance. Janet Theresa {Lemieux) Bessette was born on March 26, 1931, in Whitefield, New Hampshire, to Antonio Lemieux and Marion (Drouin) Lemieux. She grew up in Littleton, New Hampshire, where she completed her education, before moving to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to work for General Electric.

Janet was a woman ahead of her time. As a young woman, she lived independently - renting her own apartment, buying her own clothes, and walking each morning to the corner cafe’ for a bowl of oatmeal before heading to work. She often shared fond stories of this chapter in her life with her daughter.

Janet met her future husband, Leo, babysitting for his sister and brother in law . The four of them became very close friends and soon after, she became very much a part of his family. Janet dearly loved her sister laws children. Janet and Leo married in July 1952 in Littleton, New Hampshire. Soon after they flew to California when Leo was called to serve in the Korean War. Janet stayed on in California and worked on the Naval Ordinance Test Station base in China Lake, until his return.

Upon their attempted return to the East Coast, they decided to drive up the West Coast to visit our Uncle and Aunt who lived in Eureka, our dad’s brother and his wife. Mom had severe “car sickness” that didn’t seem to go away. Our dad mentioned this to his brother with great concern and our Uncle John, advised our dad that mom might be pregnant! This story got a lot of big laughs throughout our lives, because it had never even crossed their minds. They ended up spending the rest of their lives here in Humboldt County. They went on to have 6 children in all.

Janet was a dedicated wife, mother, Memei (grandmother) and volunteer. While raising her five children with her husband she worked multiple jobs, including a long tenure as a bookkeeper for a local title company. She was a dedicated volunteer to St. Joseph Hospital as well. She devoted 50 years of service, where she became the longest-serving volunteer in its history thus far. But, one of her most enjoyable job experiences, was when her dear friend, Vivian Gill, asked her to help at their little grocery store for just a couple months. Happily this endeavor lasted for 3 years and the two of them had a ball. They had remained life long best friends.

Janet is survived by her remaining four children, Tom (Nancy) Bessette, Dan (Moira) Bessette, daughter in law, Roxanne Bessette, Paul (Vicky) Bessette and daughter, Joy Bessette. She leaves behind her grandchildren that she deeply loved. Leo Bessette, Matthew Bessette, Tyler Bessette, Casey Lund, Jared Lund, Natalie Bessette and Nick Bessette. She also leaves behind many great grandchildren that she was so fortunate to enjoy.

Janet is preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, Leopold Bessette; her son, Rick Bessette; and her infant son Michael; her parents; two brothers and a sister. Also she is preceded in death by her grandsons Lucas, Michael and Anthony.

In accordance with Mom’s wishes there will be no formal funeral service. However, a Mass will be held in her memory at a later date, to be announced.

I would like to thank her many friends our mom made at The Meadows Apartments, here in Eureka, where she lived the last 10 years. They offered greatly appreciated friendships, dropped off meals, stopped by with a little wine and a cheese plate or to play some high stakes card games.

My deepest gratitude also goes to Larona Farnum and the incredible staff at Timber Ridge, where mom spent her final two months. She and her staff were exceptional and always so cheerful, reliable and accommodating. We can’t begin to thank them enough.

We are deeply grateful to Hospice of Humboldt for their compassionate care, unwavering support and kindness during moms final days, which brought comfort to both her and her daughter.

Donations may be made in her honor to Hospice of Humboldt 3327 Timber Falls Ct. Eureka, CA 95503 or www.hospiceofhumboldt.org.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Janet Bessette’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.