SEQUIM — Nina Fatherson wasn’t clear about why Sequim Food Bank volunteer Stephen Rosales was making such a fuss.
Rosales insisted that Fatherson, the food bank’s executive director, come out Tuesday for a ceremony rededicating the pantry at 144 W. Alder St.
Before a gathering of other volunteers and Fatherson family members, Rosales revealed the reason.
He’d had a new sign placed high on the bank’s south wall, proclaiming it the Nina & Bill Fatherson Complex, in honor of the couple who has spent nearly three decades feeding people in need.
Nina, 77, volunteered for about a decade before becoming director; Bill, 81, has volunteered at her side since the early 1980s. The Fathersons will celebrate their 61st wedding anniversary in June.
As Sequim Mayor Laura Dubois read a proclamation thanking the Fathersons for their devotion, Nina wept and Bill smiled. Then supporters lined up for Nina’s specialty: bear hugs.
“I don’t want anyone to forget what Nina and Bill have done for this community,” Rosales said, adding that they’ve fed hundreds of thousands since they began working at the food pantry in 1982.
Nina paid tribute to the rest of the workers who, over the years, have assembled Thanksgiving and Christmas baskets, gathered donations and distributed food every Monday and Friday for years.
“This is their food bank,” she said. “They’re loving and caring volunteers . . . they have been right there with me all along.”
The Sequim Food Bank, now known as the Nina & Bill Fatherson Complex, accepts donations and distributes food from 9 a.m. to noon every Friday and Monday at 144 W. Alder St.
For information, phone 360-683-1205.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@ peninsuladailynews.com.
