Cynthia Dee Warne

Cynthia Dee Warne, born in Glendale, CA, died November 20, 2024, at the age of 66. “Death is the fairest thing ever. We all get it once.”
Cynthia was raised with love, the youngest child born to Dorothy and William Warne. She is survived by her sister, Sandra Warne, and spouse, Tamara Zielinski; her partner Jacques Martineau; and her two rescue dogs, Bella and Odie.
Cynthia was a generous, loving, and loyal friend known for her love of all animals, her beautiful head of hair, and her sass.
Cynthia was brave and, whenever she made a decision, she moved forward unafraid and ready for a challenge. She was among the first group of women to go to sea with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1979. A second-class petty officer and boatswain’s mate, she was trained to pilot 44-foot motor lifeboats on the Siuslaw River in Florence, OR. Cynthia served four years and was honorably discharged in 1983. After leaving the Coast Guard, she used the G.I. Bill to become a hairdresser. She opened Cut Me Some Slack hair salon in Santa Barbara, CA, and ran it for several years before selling it and moving back to Oregon in 1995.
Cynthia was interested in and knowledgeable about many things and was always learning and sharing. She spent several years in heavy construction, working on bridges throughout the Pacific Northwest. The physical demands and her dislike for repairing bridges on interstate highways compelled her to take her retirement money, and, using those funds, moved to Port Angeles, WA, where she bought dilapidated houses and lived in them, fixing and flipping them, while also working as a cook, a baker, a bartender and a landscaper. For a couple of years, Cynthia taught a home repair class at Peninsula College for women, sharing what she had learned from flipping houses about using power tools, basic carpentry, and other home repair related skills. She was a Master Gardener and taught and ran the Clallam County Master Gardeners program till 2009 before spending seven years running the award winning Port Angeles Farmer’s Market. In 2018, Cynthia volunteered to become the first, and that year the only, ice rink manager for what has since become the seasonal Port Angeles Winter Ice Village.
Cynthia believed in living life to the fullest and following your heart. She had a charming and warm laugh, a calming voice, and a wry smile. She loved to travel, camp, cook, garden, tend to her bonsai, and most especially she loved music, her beautiful voice often raised in song.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the last six months of her life more comfortable. Your meals, flowers, calls, texts, cards, visits, and gifts let her know that she was loved, just as she loved you and those lucky enough to be in her garden of friends. Much appreciation to all at the Olympic Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer and Washington State University Hospital.
There will be a remembrance and a toast to Cynthia on Friday, April 18, 1:00-3:00pm, at Studio Bob’s, 118 ½ E Front Street, Port Angeles.