A note from Linda Hanes- My Coastwalk friend Tammie Fraser died on December 26 in Los Osos. I read the notice in the Press Democrat and immediately pictured the lovely and elegant woman I met through my volunteer work with Sonoma County summer Coastwalk trips. She was always “Tammie”, though according to the paper her official name was Tamsen Lee Kopp Fraser.
I first met her in 1994, when she brought a meal out to the Sonoma Coastwalkers at Stillwater Cove County Park. Up to the Chuckwagon drove a vehicle, just before dinnertime, and an elegant woman with a blonde French Twist disembarked with a big pan of food. More and more food kept appearing. She was a wonderful cook, and she cooked for the Sonoma Coastwalk for several years when she was in the area and not travelling up and down the state.
She cooked for some other county walks also. In 2006 I organized a Family walk in San Luis Obispo County. Not being from there I was casting about for volunteers . She mentioned that her son lived near Morro Bay (still does) and she volunteered to bring in a meal. It was a grand meal. She went to the local Farmers’ Market and made up a menu with what she found there, cooking some of it on the chuckwagon.
She was a multifaceted and wonderful person with many friends. She generously gave of her time and talents, in Sonoma County especially for events which concerned her beloved Russian River. Coastwalk was a minor recipient of her largesse, and I know many Coastwalkers remember her fondly.
The Press Democrat mentions that a celebration kayak and picnic will be held in her honor in the spring. For information please contact her son, Alan Fraser. In the meantime, consider contributions in her name to Russian River Keepers, Guerneville School Garden or Worth Our Weight. I will be giving a contribution to Coastwalk California in her name.
-Linda Hanes, Sonoma County