Pauline Rigney Muenz

passed away on June 14th, 2007, in her home on Bainbridge Island. She was born on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1923 in Longmont, Colorado. Pauline had a very difficult life starting before the age of five. She was placed in an orphanage with her four siblings after a family tragedy. She began working at the age of 10 on Colorado farms doing domestic work and farm labor. There was no time for a formal education during the 1930's Depression Years when scratching a living for survival was a paramount importance for her and her siblings.Pauline came to the Seattle area shortly after World War II to be near her sister Lucille Peachey and her family. She worked at the Brown and Haley candy company in Seattle shortly before coming to Bainbridge Island. She met and married Glenn Muenz (Winters) after arriving on Bainbridge. They lived in a small house on the property of Gordon Muenz in the Seabold area for a few years before buying a home on Weaver Road in Winslow. Pauline continued to live in that house after the divorce in the early 1960's.With a limited formal education and no technical training, it was a very hard life for single mother with two children. Pauline did mostly domestic work for various island families, but she was able to provide a better life for her two daughters than what she faced as a child. After a horrific car accident in the 1990's left Pauline partially blind and totally disabled, she was still capable of maintaining her home and her garden. She was extremely proud of her garden. With the help of her children and others; she was able to stay in the home that she loved.Pauline leaves her two daughters, Louise McNulty (Pinky) and Frances Phillips, three grandchildren, Kimberly Lind (Jeff), Kellie McNulty and Matthew Phillips, as well as four great grandchildren, Brandon, Colter, Ryan and Jackson.Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Helpline House, 282 Knechtel Way NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110.Arrangements by Cook Family Funeral Home.