Brenda Joy (Loop) Finsen, 78, a life-long resident of Stanwood, passed away Thursday, August 31, 2022.

Brenda was born on February 18, 1944 to Tommy and Dorothy Loop. She attended Stanwood schools and graduated from Twin City High School in 1962. She loved school as well as all her classmates and kept in touch with so many over the years.

Anyone stopping by her house to visit would surely have found her out in her many flower gardens. Gardening and being outside were her favorites things. In her early adult years she was a member of the Greenwood Grange Garden Club at Warm Beach. She loved sharing and gathering floral knowledge with the other members. Besides her flowers, her vegetable garden was always a stunning display due to her care, knowledge and patience. It wasn't a good day if she didn't have dirt under her fingernails.

She also loved her sports, especially college basketball. She was the true fan. March Madness was the highlight of the year. She also loved watching all her kids and grandchildren compete in school sports or SCJAA. Whether it was T-ball or a Varsity high school team, she would always be there cheering and supporting.

Brenda worked for several years at Terra Manufacturing in Stanwood as a secretary and occasionally you could find her deburring parts on the shop floor. She left her job there and was hired as the office manager at Teamster Local #788 in Mount Vernon, where she worked until she retired to help care for her grandbabies.

After years of being a single mother, she married her soul mate, L. Duane Finsen on September 17, 1988. They spent many years camping at their lot at Skagit River Woods and "touring the countryside" on their many afternoon drives.

She is survived by daughters, Jill (Paul) Kline, Patty Hall, Linda (Ryan) Croffut, and Sharon (Curt) Thompson, son, Daniel (Laura) Finsen and 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, as well as her brother, Monty Loop, and several nephews.

She is proceeded in death by her parents and her husband, Duane.

A Celebration for Brenda will be held Saturday, September 24 from 1-4pm at family property located in Bryant, at 28004 Kunde Road, Arlington. Property is east of the Stanwood exit, across Highway 9. Signs will be posted at Kunde Road. Please dress casual and appropriately for the weather as it is mostly an outdoor space.

Donations can be made in Brenda's name to the Stanwood Camano Food Bank.