Consuelo Larrabee, a beloved member of the Ice Age Floods Institute Board of Directors and the Cheney-Spokane Chapter Board passed away suddenly on June 21, 2023; she was 84 years of age.
Consuelo’s life could be described as one who advocated passionately for animal rights, human rights and the arts. She worked closely with children for most of her life, inspiring the love of learning, the outdoors, music, and animals, to mention only a few. She very much enjoyed traveling the world, often with friends or to see friends, and her trips always included hiking, the arts, meeting people, and enjoying great food with friends. She very often credited her mother and grandmother who provided her with a safe, playful, creative, inspirational and literate childhood.
Consuelo’s grandfather, Charles X Larrabee, was instrumental in 1915 with creating Larrabee State Park, established as the first state park in Washington. He and his wife Francis donated an extensive piece of land along Chuckanut Bay to create the park and continued to donate large parcels of land over the years to expand the park. Larrabee State Park was one of Consuelo’s favorite places to spend time throughout her life, hiking through the beautiful forests, and enjoying the rocky beach.
Consuelo contributed to and changed the lives of so many humans and animals, making their worlds a more special place. She loved those around her deeply, always celebrating a birthday, wedding anniversary or important event and made sure all knew they held a special place in her heart.
Consuelo was a member of the Ice Age Floods Institute Board of Directors for almost 20 years and also served on the Board of Directors for the Cheney-Spokane Chapter for the last seven years. Her involvement with the Ice Age Floods story was one of the great loves in her life. She carried brochures in her handbag and in her car, distributing them to individuals she met every place she travelled. She made sure they knew of how the Great Missoula Floods created the landscape we enjoy in the Northwest today.
Along with several others involved with the Institute and the Cheney-Spokane Chapter, she worked diligently with this team over a couple of years writing Floods interpretive signs. These signs are located in the Ice Age Floods Playground at Riverfront Park located on the east bank of the Spokane River in downtown Spokane. These signs provide visitors of all ages the opportunity to learn about all that shaped our regions topography.
Consuelo was born on April 14th, 1939,; to Edward Payne and Consuelo McMillan Larrabee in Spokane, Washington. She attended school at St. Paul’s School for girls in Walla Walla, Washington. She then received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from San Francisco Art Institute, as well as a Masters in Special Education from Teacher’s College at Columbia University. Following her father who had spent seven years studying at Oxford University, she too attended Oxford University, taking teaching courses…and playing softball!
Consuelo served as a head teacher in a program for Chinese immigrant children in San Francisco. This was followed by being a classroom teacher for deaf children, some with multiple disabilities, in New York City, San Francisco and Spokane.
In 1989, Consuelo moved to San Juan Island for sixteen years. She served as Head of the Program Committee for the local theatre, as well as being active in building an animal shelter and promoting awareness about Orca whale population. Consuelo lived in Seattle for nine years, where she dedicated her life to the Seattle Opera, (being chauffer to many soloists who became life friends), the Seattle Animal Shelter and Discovery Park.
Upon moving to Spokane in 2016, Consuelo dedicated her time to being a volunteer with KPBS and serving on their Board of Directors. She loved the Spokane Symphony and always played classical music in her home.
Consuelo truly contributed to change in our world, and she will be sorely missed by many!
Remembrances of Consuelo Larrabee may be made to KPBS in Spokane, SpokAnimal or the Ice Age Floods Institute.