Beulah “Johnnie” Sinex

October 24, 1919–January 6, 2010

Beulah “Johnnie” Sinex, age 90, died peacefully after fifteen years with Alzheimer’s disease. Her unfailing companion was her husband, Melvin, who cared for her at their home of sixty years in Auburn, Washington.She was born on October 24, 1919 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the seventh of eight children. She was very close to her family whom she admired and loved. Her sisters helped pay for tap dance lessons when she was nine years old and she frequently entertained family and friends with her dancing. In high school, she earned money teaching tap dance to children, and was still dancing well into her eighties. Johnnie attended the University of Oregon and Eastern Oregon State College where she received her elementary teaching certificate. She taught school in Pendleton and Portland for five years, when she met Melvin Sinex, a dental student. They married when he finished school and moved to Auburn, where he had grown up, to live and raise their family. She loved her church and taught Sunday school at Messiah Lutheran for many years. She appreciated beautiful art, beautiful music, good food, and stylish clothes. She loved to have people over for any occasion and knew how to make ordinary things into a celebration. The house was often filled with treasured friends and family. She was an attentive mother, a patient grandmother, and a devoted wife. She and Mel leave a legacy of daughters and sons-in-law: Janice and Casey Olinger; Linda and Warren Bieker; and Leslie and Bob Larson; as well as grandchildren and spouses: Michael and Stephanie Leeper; Mary Beth Leeper; Anne and Mike Miller; John, Joel, and Mary Jo Bieker; Sarah and Rebecca Larson; and three great-grandchildren: Tommy and Morgan Leeper; and Emrie Miller.Memorial donations may be made to Messiah Lutheran Church.