Obituary of Neavide Cairns

Neavida, or “ Vida ” as she was known, was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. In her early years, she spent a lot of time traveling from town to town with her Mom and siblings as farm migrant workers. At an early age, she kept care of her siblings as her Mom worked. As she grew older, her family moved to the Northwest in search of steady work instead of following the farm migration work. After moving to the Northwest, she was introduced to the Cairns family. One day, she was invited to a Cairns family dinner. She was overwhelmed by the amount and variety of food that was on the dinner table. There was homemade bread, vegetables, baked beans, tossed green salad, meat of several kinds, including beef, pork and venison, something she rarely saw on a dinner table, let alone be able to taste it. Homemade pies topped off the smorgasbord. Never had she been offered so much food. It sure beat the sparse food supply that she had as a migrant worker. In the Cairns family, there were lots of young, available men. One man got Vida’s attention, a man named Robert. Vida noticed that he was a very hard worker and took a liking to her. After courting Vida, Robert asked for her hand in marriage, a marriage that has lasted 62 years. Robert and Neavida decided to raise a family. Because Robert enlisted in the military, Mom’s travelin’ days were not over. The kids to come were all boys, Calvin, Terry, Mike and Keith. Life after the military found Robert, Neavida and boys in Cresent City, California for a number of years until the opportunity came to move back to Washington State in 1966. Robert found a job as a timber faller and Neavida raised her boys with the help of two teachers in a two-room school house on Green Mountain near Amboy, Washington. Once again Neavida was on the move as Robert’s work site changed from Green Mountain to Olympia. Robert got more timber falling jobs on the Olympic peninsula. While he was traveling to work two to three hours each day, Neavida was on a search for a home, one that she could call her own. God answered her prayers when a realtor found an unfinished block basement and 1 ½ acres of land on which to finally ground the family. After getting the needed loan to finalize the purchase, Neavida at long last had the dream home site she longed for. With the help of neighbors and sweat from her family, the lumber, windows and nails salvaged from the Eatonville general store was used to make her home. After a four-year quest to have a completed home, the house was christened in 1972. The freshly painted pink kitchen with shiny new cupboards was the icing for Neavida. Years later, with the house being completed, the task of building a greenhouse was at hand. What would be in the greenhouse surprised everyone in the Northwest but Neavida. Cactus was her endeavor and, with a green thumb, she proved that cactus could grow in the Northwest. She continued her business until her health kept her from continuing. Our Mother loved not only the people in and around her life but all wildlife within Mother Nature’s kingdom. Horticulture was also a big part of her life, as for many years she operated Miniature Gardens Cactus nursery. In her greenhouse, she could let all the stress of being a homemaker melt away and sing along with the radio as she nursed her seedling cactus to be flowering adults. Neavida, or “ Vida ” as she was known, was born in Grand Junction, Colorado. In her early years, she spent a lot of time traveling from town to town with her Mom and siblings as farm migrant workers. At an early age, she kept care of her siblings as her Mom worked. As she grew older, her family moved to the Northwest in search of steady work instead of following the farm migration work. After moving to the Northwest, she was introduced to the Cairns family. One day, she was invited to a Cairns family dinner. She was overwhelmed by the amount and variety of food that was on the dinner table. There was homemade bread, vegetables, baked beans, tossed green salad, meat of several kinds, including beef, pork and venison, something she rarely saw on a dinner table, let alone be able to taste it. Homemade pies topped off the smorgasbord. Never had she been offered so much food. It sure beat the sparse food supply that she had as a migrant worker. In the Cairns family, there were lots of young, available men. One man got Vida’s attention, a man named Robert. Vida noticed that he was a very hard worker and took a liking to her. After courting Vida, Robert asked for her hand in marriage, a marriage that has lasted 62 years. Robert and Neavida decided to raise a family. Because Robert enlisted in the military, Mom’s travelin’ days were not over. The kids to come were all boys, Calvin, Terry, Mike and Keith. Life after the military found Robert, Neavida and boys in Cresent City, California for a number of years until the opportunity came to move back to Washington State in 1966. Robert found a job as a timber faller and Neavida raised her boys with the help of two teachers in a two-room school house on Green Mountain near Amboy, Washington. Once again Neavida was on the move as Robert’s work site changed from Green Mountain to Olympia. Robert got more timber falling jobs on the Olympic peninsula. While he was traveling to work two to three hours each day, Neavida was on a search for a home, one that she could call her own. God answered her prayers when a realtor found an unfinished block basement and 1 ½ acres of land on which to finally ground the family. After getting the needed loan to finalize the purchase, Neavida at long last had the dream home site she longed for. With the help of neighbors and sweat from her family, the lumber, windows and nails salvaged from the Eatonville general store was used to make her home. After a four-year quest to have a completed home, the house was christened in 1972. The freshly painted pink kitchen with shiny new cupboards was the icing for Neavida. Years later, with the house being completed, the task of building a greenhouse was at hand. What would be in the greenhouse surprised everyone in the Northwest but Neavida. Cactus was her endeavor and, with a green thumb, she proved that cactus could grow in the Northwest. She continued her business until her health kept her from continuing. Our Mother loved not only the people in and around her life but all wildlife within Mother Nature’s kingdom. Horticulture was also a big part of her life, as for many years she operated Miniature Gardens Cactus nursery. In her greenhouse, she could let all the stress of being a homemaker melt away and sing along with the radio as she nursed her seedling cactus to be flowering adults. Neavida was a very special woman that our family had the privilege to live her life with. May God Bless Her! Come remember and celebrate the life of Neavida Cairns, known as the “Cactus Lady of Olympia.” Graveside services will be Friday, September 13, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. at Masonic Memorial Park, 455 North St. SE, Tumwater, WA 98501. Please leave memories of Neavida or condolences for her family in the Guestbook below.