Ida Mae Struve passed away peacefully on March 19, 2019, at age 100.

She had been a resident of Auburn, Washington, since 1950 and was widely beloved by others in that community. Ida Mae’s parents were Erin Leroy Waterman and Ida Mae [Noble] Waterman of Elgin, Illinois. With her husband, Earl Struve, she owned and operated Struve’s Jewelry and Records into the 1960s. Thereafter, she worked for twenty-two years as Attendance Officer and School Secretary at Auburn High School, where she was a three-time recipient of the “Lady Oscar” award from students. Also, the 1966 yearbook of Auburn High, the Invader, was dedicated to her.

After retirement, she volunteered for over thirty years at both the Auburn Senior Activity Center and the Auburn Regional Hospital. In recognition of her community service, she was elected to the Pioneer Queen’s Court of Auburn’s Good Ol’ Days in 1998 and was Pioneer Queen herself in 2001. She was declared “Citizen of the Month” by the Auburn Chamber of Commerce in 1999, and in 2000 she was honored as an Auburn “Hometown Hero” by the Office of the Mayor. In 2017, her birthday, April 27, was declared “Ida Mae Struve Day” by Mayor Nancy Backus.

Ida Mae is survived by her son Gordon [Karen] Struve, daughter Lynn Struve, three grandchildren (Lora [Ron] Struve-Cork, Bonnie [Abe] Kurien, and Jason [Heather] Struve), eight great-grandchildren (Jimmy Grigsby, Taylor Rose Garcia, Maxiene Grigsby, Amanda Christensen, Megan Christensen, Nick Christensen, Keegan Struve, and Kairi Struve), and four great-great-grandchildren (Juliet Grigsby, Rosalie Garcia, Samantha Christensen, and Aurora Garcia).

A celebration of her life will be held at the Auburn Senior Activity Center at a future date. The family requests that donations in her memory be made to that Center, 808 9th Street SE, Auburn, WA 98002.