Saturday, December 10, 1 p.m., Helsell’s Barn
— from Caitlan Rivera —
With the love of her husband, children, and stepchildren around her, Julie Fraser’s spirit peacefully passed from her body into the soft pitter patter of evening rain on Sunday, October 30, 2016.
Julie was born and raised in Barrington, Rhode Island. After graduating from high school, her adventurous spirit took her throughout the U.S., eventually landing on Orcas Island. It was on Orcas that she met her husband of 25 years, Cy. They united their families in a special Madrona Point wedding ceremony in 1991. Together they fed and nurtured the souls of thousands of islanders and visitors alike through their restaurant, Bilbo’s Festivo, and its reincarnation, Chiladas. If you ate even once at Bilbo’s or Chiladas, you undoubtedly encountered her bright, sincere smile and cheerful yet determined energy.
Celebration was an integral part of Julie. Not only did she celebrate each day of her life with gusto, she brought love and joy to many others. She was an adoring mother and grandmother, the Birthday Mama, cake-baker extraordinaire, lover of making things twinkle, and creator of fun. She crafted unique and original wedding ceremonies and joined many couples in marriage, allowing her to celebrate her favorite part of life: LOVE.
And so, it is with love that Julie’s family invites you to join in a celebration of her vibrant life on December 10, 2016 at the Helsell’s barn (look for signs at Lime Quarry Road on the way to Deer Harbor). Please come at 1 p.m. to share stories, break bread, and dance in her memory.
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Sail on, sweet Julie. Loved line dancing with you to celebrate many a birthday. Joy sung to your core. And no one baked a better cheesecake. So grateful to have been showered by your friendship.
Julie is the essence of life, a beautiful roll model that I cannot help but celebrate with passion, while I have disagreed with her at times, oh how I miss those times. Rearly do you find someone with that conviction that stands tall. I miss this little gigantic gal so much. May we all celebrate your exuberance and be as individual as she was.
Julie is part of our first memories of Orcas, in 1993. Steve and I entered Bilbos for a late dinner, and received a very warm and homey welcome from the proprietor. We remember liking the background music and asking her what it was. So she brought a stack of about ten CDs to our table and invited us to browse through them, and we thought: ahh, we enjoy the same kind of music. When we moved here, in 1999, I discovered that Julie also loved to dance, and we got to perform together as beggars in the Orcas Center production of “Three Penny Opera”. By an ironic coincidence, we happened to be watching our old videotape of that show within days of Julie’s farewell. There she was! Now we treasure that videotape to add to our images of the delightful Julie.
Julie is a nurturing and wonderfully wise person. I will always cherish her giving me the opportunity to work at Bilbo’s at a very young age and having such patience and generosity towards me and my siblings. I was shocked to learn of her passing as I do not come to the island that often. Warm wishes to Cy and thank you for cooking the best Mexican food on Orcas for all those years. A Sol beer toast to you and Julie! Thank you.