Rozel Tranter Obituary (1940 - 2011)

Rozel Tranter, loving wife, mother, grandmother, aunt and good friend, but to us she was so much more. We loved her very much and will always hold a place for her in our hearts. She was a kind, extremely positive, yet levelheaded woman, who had a smile that lit up the room. She taught us to take risks, enjoy our lives, and not to fear the unknown. We feel blessed to have had her in our lives, she will forever be missed. Roz was born on May 26th 1940 in Eastleigh, in the county of Hampshire, England to Philip and Pauline Stoodley. She was the third child of three and their only daughter. Her two older brothers, Michael and James, adored their younger sister and were extremely protective of her. As a child growing up during World War II, she spent the first five years of her life living with her mother and grandmother Matthews in Eastleigh. The roof of their home overlooked the movie theatre and Roz loved to sit on the roof with her mother and grandmother and look in on a show. Roz was an adventurous child with a mischievous streak. She was a member of Girl Guides and was also a Ranger. When Roz was about 8 years old she visited the home of her aunt in Devonshire. The house was located next to a private beach. Roz and her cousins entertained themselves by throwing water over the wall in her aunt's yard and on to the people at the beach below, then running and hiding. When Roz was 10 she visited a tall memorial in London. Adventurous girl that she was, she raced to reach the top. Once at the top though she remembered she was afraid of heights and refused to come down. The teacher had to climb all the way to the top to get her down. Roz completed her basic education at 16, and went on to complete a 2 year secretarial training program with a commercial college. Following her graduation from commercial college Roz enrolled in a nurse training program at Salisbury hospital in Wiltshire. Her plan was to get hired on as a flight attendant after graduating from nursing school so she could travel the world. At that time a nursing degree was required to become a flight attendant. Shortly after enrolling in nursing school Roz was asked by a friend if she would be her escort on a blind date to a veteran and vintage car show and dinner. Roz a car enthusiast and never one to turn down a free meal decided to tag along. It was on this date that Roz met the young aerospace engineer who would be the love of her life, Len. Len knew Roz was the girl for him right away and it wasn't long before he asked her if she wanted to get engaged. The nursing school Roz was attending did not allow women in their school to be married or engaged so acceptance meant she would have to give up her idea of becoming a flight attendant. Roz accepted despite this. Several months later Len made a more official proposal over dinner. When Roz was asked if she would marry Len she replied "I was going to marry you anyway". Unfortunately, when the bill for dinner came Len realized he didn't have enough money with him and had to borrow a few pounds from Roz. This didn't deter Roz in the least. The couple was wed in Eastleigh on September 12th 1959. Roz's interest in travel didn't fade, one of her jobs early in their marriage involved translating airplane manuals from British English to American English. She translated words like port and starboard to left and right, and undercarriage to landing gear. Her translation job required her to interact a lot with pilots to learn the correct translations. One of the pilots she spoke with had a house in Bellevue Washington and it wasn't long before Roz knew just about everything about Bellevue. Not long after this Roz and Len, having a free weekend, decided to take a drive to London to check out an ad for aerospace engineers they had seen placed by the Boeing Company. The company already knew who Len was from the Royal Aeronautical Society list they had obtained. He was offered a job in Washington on the spot for a much larger salary. When Len asked Roz if she thought they ought to take it she responded "I don't care as long as I'm with you" and by December 8th 1965 the couple was setting up house in the state of Washington. Roz, having interacted so much with pilots, knew a good deal about Washington State. This was good because Len originally thought they were heading for Washington DC. A little over a year after arriving in the states Roz and Len celebrated the birth of their son Mark. Roz loved being a mother and stayed home 7 years to care for her little boy. She used to bundle him up and take him for walks in his pram when he was an infant. Later they enjoyed spending their afternoons picking fresh strawberries and peas, or they'd rent a canoe and paddle to Marymoor Park near Redmond. Roz loved her family very dearly and enjoyed nothing more than spending time with them. Her little family enjoyed many adventures traveling, sailing, and fishing. She loved travel and vacationed in Hong Kong China, New Zealand, and the Oregon coast. She also visited England, most of Europe, and Hawaii multiple trips. Her favorite places to visit were Hong Kong, Hawaii, and Portugal. Even after Mark moved away from home the family remained very close. Never more than a couple days passed without a phone call just to catch up and say "I love you". Family meant every thing to Roz. She was extremely proud in 2010 to welcome her granddaughter Cynthia to her family. Roz had a lot of living to do. She put up a good fight for many years against diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease. In the end she lost her life during a heart stint operation recommended to improve her quality of life. Roz is survived by her husband of 51 years; her brother James Stoodley; her son Mark and his wife Katherine Tranter; and her granddaughter Cynthia Rozel Tranter. She is predeceased by her Father, Mother, and brother Michael. Please post your stories, thoughts, to share with all who love her. She was a kind and loving woman and will be greatly missed.