Etienne Debaste was born in Tunis, Tunisia on Dec. 20, 1920 to Raoul and Genevieve Stapfer Debaste, the third son of four brothers. He passed away March 13 at Swedish Hospital surrounded by his loving family. He was preceded in death by his parents and three brothers, Lionel, Christian, and Hubert.
Mr. Debaste's home for the first 15 years of his life was Chateau Talcy in the Loire Valley of France. The chateau is now an historic monument, and along with the spectacular gardens has been restored to its original beauty.
Mr. Debaste received his engineering degree from Ecole Breguet in Paris in 1942, which was under the German occupation at that time. Immediately following graduation he fled northern France for Vichy France in the South where he joined the French Underground.
His job was to cut trees to block roads and interrupt German travel. In 1947, Mr. Debaste and his first wife, Evelyn Gionfriddo, an American nurse, immigrated to the United States and settled in Boston. In 1962, his career took him to Seattle and in 1967 he became a Boeing employee, working as the first engineer on the Everett site for the Boeing 747.
In 1971, Mr. Debaste married Nancy Tagliani Debaste and another career change took them to Sitka, Alaska, for five years, working for Howard S. Wright. He was the construction manager for the pollution control project at the Alaska pulp mill.
Other work related travels took them to South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Two years ago, Mr. Debaste and Nancy moved to Merrill Gardens where they made many new friends and enjoyed a wonderful retirement life. Mr. Debaste was a 50-year Mason, a fly fisherman and sportsman, an enthusiastic gardener and bridge player. He is locally famous for his Russian banana potatoes and was known for his unique sense of humor.
Mr. Debaste is survived by his loving wife Nancy; children: Stephen Debaste (Renee), Bill Tagliani (Sharon), Carol Tagliani Wilson (Rick), David Tagliani, Jean Tagliani Hill (Harold); and grandchildren: Billy and Danielle Debaste, Julie Hill, David and Jonathan Wilson, and Jessie and John Tagliani; and many nieces and nephews in France.
The family wishes to acknowledge the exceptional care and support from the doctors and staff at Swedish Hospital. Cremation arrangements entrusted to the care of People's Memorial Funeral Coop. A memorial service will be held in the near future. Visit www.funerals.coop for more information.[[In-content Ad]]
