September 22, 1937- October 10, 2024
Cyril (Cy) Francis Baumgartner died on October 10, 2024, at his home in Issaquah, WA, from natural causes at the age of 87. Friends and family alike have used a variety of adjectives to describe him: Kind, intelligent, respectful, confident, knowledgeable, elegant, gracious, sarcastic, thoughtful, informed, boisterous, loud, and so many more. They remember him for his Sherlock Holmes-like hat and spectacles, along with his many overcoats, all of which sometimes made strangers think he might be a college professor, maybe a politician, or perhaps a diplomat. During the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, he was known for his assortment of holiday-themed slacks of varying colors with embroidered décor on them, including wreaths, candy canes, sleighs, and – perhaps most famously – bright green Christmas trees on bright red corduroy.
Born in Renville, MN, on September 22, 1937, to Cyril Anthony Baumgartner and Catherine Daly Baumgartner, Cy was the 6th born of eventually 14 children that included 12 brothers and 2 sisters. After starting high school at Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, MN, he transferred to and graduated from St. Cloud Tech High School in 1956. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1956 to 1958, during which time he was stationed in the Philippines and OkiNawa, among other Pacific Ocean and domestic locations. In the years after his Marine Corps service, he attended and graduated from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where he majored in English and minored in Sociology. In the late 1960s, he met Elizabeth Ariel Holes, who was also from St. Cloud and was affectionately nicknamed “Peachy” her whole life. They were married on December 31, 1970, in Mercer Island, WA.
Cy and Peachy lived in the greater Los Angeles area of southern California at the beginning of their marriage, and they eventually started a family with the births of Thomas (Tom) Gregory, followed by Heidi Elizabeth. The family moved to Mercer Island, WA, in 1978. Cy started his own insurance agency, Baumgartner Insurance, in 1981. Cy and Peachy lived in their Mercer Island home for over 41 years, a home where everyone was welcome. At social gatherings, Cy was known to pour Martinis for himself and whomever would join him in knocking a few back. Beefeater on the rocks with a spear full of olives – sometimes with a few more on the side for when the spear went empty – was his signature pour. He cherished his book collection that was comprised of dozens of classics – by Hemingway, Tolstoy, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Bronte, and many other authors – numerous presidential biographies, and several random fiction and non-fiction works. Until grandkids came along, he was known to regularly smoke his pipe, often while sitting on the sofa or in his swivel chair with any given book from that collection in his lap. Cy also loved to write, and during his years as a Mercer Island resident and local insurance agent, the Mercer Island Reporter published dozens of his guest editorials. Cy and Peachy moved to an assisted living community in Issaquah, WA, in 2020. The family sold Baumgartner Insurance in 2023.
Cy is survived by his widow Peachy, son Tom (wife Karen, son Ben, daughter Maddie), and daughter Heidi (husband Bryn).
No memorial service is planned at this time. In honor of his love for books, please consider donating one to a local library or school in memory of Cy.
