The Marion Douglas Story

Jenni and Marion have pretty diverse backgrounds. How they ever found each other is quite amazing. Jenni was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and spent most of her life in Capetown. Marion was born in Philadelphia. Jenni found her way to Bellingham, WA. Marion found a job with a medical ultrasound company in Ambler, PA that consolidated with a company in Bothell, resulting in relocation in 1995. By the end of 2005, both Jenni and Marion had given up any hope of getting married after trying out internet dating sites. They both decided “OK, one last date.” So on January 2, 2006, Marion and Jenni met at an Italian restaurant in Fairhaven, Bellingham. On July 1, Jenni and Marion were engaged in Victoria, BC. Those Canadians were so nice they even had fireworks to celebrate the occasion! (Later, they found out it was Canada Day.) They married in November and honeymooned in St. Lucia.

Jenni and Marion enjoy hiking, traveling, exploring, bicycling, horseback riding, singing and playing music - Jenni plays violin, and Marion plays guitar. When Marion arrived in Seattle, he took sailing certification courses through US Sailing at Windworks in Shilshole. In 2007, Jenni and Marion did a sailing vacation, on a 36’ Dufour Yacht around Puget Sound while Jenni was pregnant with their firstborn, Michael. Soon after Michael, Matthew was born in 2009, and Jenni and Marion had their hands full, whether changing diapers or hiking with the boys in their backpacks. In 2012, Jenni and Marion and the boys visited relatives in Germany and England. Their favorite vacation places are warm spots with a beach or pool, such as the Oregon Coast, Lake Chelan, or the Carribean.

As the boys grew up they shared bunkbeds, but after some time, they needed to have separate bedrooms, which was challenging in their tiny home in Bothell. It was time to have some more space, a bigger house and some land around it. After searching for great neighborhoods, they narrowed it down to somewhere between Maltby, Snohomish, Monroe and eastern Woodinville, and started their search with a realtor. After looking at several homes/neighborhoods, they decided to check out a place in Echo Lake. The place looked ideal, but behind it was a construction site – a new water tower was being built, and it was rather noisy. No wonder the price on the house was reduced! But Jenni and Marion could see beyond the construction that was due to be finished in October to see an awesome neighborhood around a house that felt like home the moment they set foot in it. They signed on the dotted line in June of 2018, and the rest is history.

Since then Jenni and Marion have been very intentional on getting to know the neighbors. They found truly awesome neighbors nearby around Echo Lake and got involved with community events. Marion , whose call sign is K7MMD, serves as the president of the Lost Echo Hams radio club and on the board for the Echo Lake Community Group. Jenni helped organize the clothing drive fund-raiser in Fall 2019. This home is a dream come true for them; they truly love this place – the people, the wildlife, the fresh air and the quiet.