Taylor Axworthy ’06 1988-2020
Larry Muir 1943 - 2021 Larry Muir was a beloved chemistry teacher at Bush who was an artist at heart. He was at heart a native Washingtonian who, having fled North Dakota in the Second Grade, graduated from Foster High School in Tukwila. He attended Harvard and Johns Hopkins before moving back to his beloved Pacific Northwest. Larry and his wife, Penny Grist, met in 1972 and built a creative and fulfilling life together enriched by art, nature, and a shared love of their community on Vashon Island. Penny and Larry were both jewelers, and Larry worked at Cornish in metalsmithing from 1974 to 1975 after moving back from the East Coast. In 1976 Penny and Larry discovered Vashon Island and were hooked after just one visit. They simply fell in love with the island. It was during this time that Larry began his very rewarding thirty-year career teaching at The Bush School. While teaching chemistry, he managed to fit some jewelry classes into the Bush curriculum. When Larry retired in 2008, he set up his studio again, and together he and Penny would spend their days making art. Larry spent his later days living and working on Vashon Island. Over time the oncedilapidated studio purchased in 1976 became a beloved cottage on a spectacular property filled with indoor and outdoor art, stunning gardens, and studios. Penny said, “first thing in the morning we would bike or kayak or walk, and then he would go to his studio and I would go to mine. We would meet for lunch.” Larry and Penny’s art is everywhere on that land. Larry and Penny donated work and time to Vashon’s Art Auction, a program that Penny helped to start. For years, the two participated in the studio tour together and had a booth at the annual Strawberry Festival. Many friends bought Larry’s beautiful jewelry over the years, and those treasures are now his legacy. Penny reflected that she “will, of course, continue making art. It’s what I do. But it sure was fun having Larry by my side and working together with him.” We are grateful for Larry’s contributions to The Bush School over his career and his impact on generations of Bush alumni. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him.
Of course she needed eyelashes on the headlights of her Volkswagon Bug. She and her dad had hunted used car lots together for months, finding just the right balance of “needs work” and “still works.” When they found the baby blue car nestled in the back of a crowded lot, it felt like kismet. Her dad insisted on all the accessories they could find, no matter how gaudy. Honestly, there really could not have been a more perfect car for her. The blue Bug became a symbol to her friends. She would jump at the chance to take an hour-long, traffic-ridden trip just to take you out to pancakes. She would show up to every event you invited her to attend. She would pick you up and drive you back to her house to watch uffy the ampire layer and order in Pad Thai. And she did it in the most ridiculous car imaginable. Everything she did was so uniquely Taylor. Whether it was a band she loved in high school (Daft Punk) or a tattoo on her forearm she got when she was eighteen (also Daft Punk), she truly did not care what people thought of it. She would bring up her embarrassing stories effortlessly, with the simple goal of cheering up a friend. This ref lection on Taylor’s life was provided by Allison Carney ’06.
2021
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