Mistie Rae Fain

Mistie Rae Fain, born Mistie Rae Davis on September 28, 1973 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, passed away on October 31, 2023 in her home in Suquamish, Washington. She ended her ardent battle with cancer peacefully with her long term partner Mike and brother Brandon at her side, and her family and friends near.

Mistie’s path from Muskogee to Suquamish was long and winding, just the way she liked it. When she was young, her parents Terry and Jennie Davis took her and her younger brother, Brandon Davis, to grow up in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Dubai, Colorado, and finally Issaquah, Washington, where they settled and Mistie grew into her young adulthood. She gained a love of family, travel, and fun from her youth, as well as a slight English accent from her time at international school in Dubai that would come out when she was excited or tired. Her early years were a formative mix of eclectic and traditional that gave rise to the elegant, unique woman so many knew and loved.

After graduating from high school in Issaquah, Mistie drove down to Oklahoma State University and found a world of new things that would lead her into some of her pursuing passions. First and foremost, she learned from a friend in accounting that the substance of one of her favorite classes was actually comprised of a lot of accounting. She switched her major and never looked back. From the point it began, Mistie’s career was very important to her. She had immense drive and took pride in her work, be it finishing up her time in university at City University of Seattle with a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting, getting her CPA license, or bringing her career to new heights as a controller and consultant.

Mistie always loved music, making friends, and being active, all things that were able to flourish while she was in university. There, she also met Isaac Fain, who would become her husband and move with her back to Washington to begin her adult life in Seattle. Mistie fostered a love for live music in Seattle, delving into the classic Seattle grunge scene as well as fostering her love of folk and jazz. At the same time, she was kickstarting her career and raising her young daughter, as well as forging friendships in her and Isaac’s “rover group” that would last her a lifetime. If you walked through downtown Seattle with Mistie, she would point to countless places– I saw a show here, this used to be a cute restaurant, I lived in those apartments over there. Mistie’s mark stays with Seattle as much as its mark stayed with her. But for someone like Mistie, one city just doesn’t cut it.

Like the protagonists of the jazz classics she loved so much, Mistie was swept off her feet by New York City. She wound up in a little apartment that she filled with two cats, a collie dog, and many memories with her daughter. It was artistic and walkable, and allowed her to grow in herself and her career, joining Hearst Argyle and finding an appetite for something more. When she moved to San Francisco, she rekindled her love for community and stood the test of life’s trials, moving into a controller position at a small pharmaceutical company that she would flourish in. Around the time her daughter graduated middle school, she and Isaac split from being partners to friends, and she moved to Bainbridge Island for her daughter’s high school years. She always referred to that move as a return home. The pacific northwest had a part of her heart for all her years away, and upon her return she found a flow to life that was both smooth and exciting.

Those days saw the beginning of her battle with cancer, but nevertheless, Mistie jumped further into her love for her work, family, and hobbies. Her career reached a peak when she started her consulting business, LDM Insights, after finishing her role in the startup Avalara, where she met Mike Zapuchlak. In him, she found a wonderfully fitting partner and lifelong companion, eventually joining him in Suquamish in 2018. Be it with him or her daughter, Mistie visited the likes of London, Dubai, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Del Este, Lima, and many more places. She continued her love of live music all the more so with Mike, started her own garden, took loving care of her pets, and spent cherished time with her daughter as she grew into a young adult.

Mistie passed in Suquamish about a month after her 50th birthday. She is remembered as adventurous, fun-loving, and deeply dedicated. She leaves behind her partner Mike, her daughter Capri, her parents Terry and Jennie, and her brother Brandon, as well as countless friends and family from across the world. She touched the lives of many, and she will be missed, but hoped in her final days that those around her could find peace despite her early parting just as she did, between her beloved trees, surrounded by her favorite people, on one of her favorite nights of the year.

Mistie will be remembered by her wide-ranging loved ones on her tribute page, as well as at her celebration of life at Sully’s Bistro and Bar, one of her favorite local spots, on Wednesday, November 15 at 2:00 pm. Those not in Washington are invited to share their words and remembrances on her tribute page, as her family will be doing in order to celebrate her and find closure in the community of those who love her. Those attending the celebration event are welcome to share words on the tribute page as well. Photographs of her are encouraged for any who want to share them.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fund and the Kitsap Humane Society, organizations dear to Mistie that she contributed to herself.

Arrangements entrusted to Cook Family Funeral Home of Bainbridge Island, WA.