Myra A. Portmann, age 79, passed away peacefully at Geneva Lake Manor in Wisconsin on April 14, 2021. She was born on Nov. 22, 1941 in Auburn, Washington to Tony and Marguerite (Camenzind) Portmann. Myra graduated from Willapa Valley High School in 1959. She married Larry Sienko in 1959 in Frances, Washington.
Myra’s greatest joy was her family, her children and grandchildren. Her daughters remember her as full of adventure, liked learning new things and loved the mountains. She went to beauty school and learned to cut hair, taught herself how to play the accordion, sold Avon, raised baby goats, sewed her daughters matching dresses for the holidays, loved cooking traditional swiss food, trying out new recipes, growing and arranging flowers, designing and decorating her home. She loved the family gatherings, swiss picnics, the music and dancing, frequent outings to Washaway Beach or to Mount Rainier, annual camping and hiking in the mountains, trips to Leavenworth with family and traveling to Switzerland with family.
In her younger years, Myra was a member of the Lewis Pacific Swiss Society, Swiss Ladies Society Helvetia, St Lawrence Catholic Church, active in the altar society and taught parish religion classes to the children for many years. She volunteered for the Girl Scouts and 4-H youth programs and the Pacific County Cooperative Extension Office. Myra attended Grays Harbor Community College for business and secretarial classes and went on to work at the Willapa Harbor Care Center as an administrative assistant, and then spent most of her working career as a medical transcriptionist, working at the Willapa Harbor Hospital and a physician’s office in Salem, Oregon. Myra spent some years living in Silverton, Oregon, and loved visiting the Mount Angel Abbey and the annual Oktoberfest in Mount Angel. In her later years, she moved to Burlington, Wisconsin to be near family who surrounded her with support, encouragement and ensured she had the care she needed. She really enjoyed the times when her family from Washington would fly over and visit her.
Myra was preceded in death by her mother and father. She is survived by her sister, Mary and husband John Wildhaber, two brothers, Mike and wife Marla Portmann, Mark Portmann and longtime family friend, Darr Phelps, her four daughters Jean Cobbs, Carla Keeler, Celia Sienko and Janelle Sienko, four grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one on the way, two nephews, eleven nieces and several great-nieces and nephews.
Myra will be dearly missed by her family and friends. A graveside service will be held on Friday, July 23, 2021 at 1:00 pm at the Fern Hill Cemetery, 100 South Fork Road, Menlo, WA 98561.
Online condolences may be left at www.miller-reesman.com
