Elin Gratton

Elin is a lifelong resident of Tacoma.  Her two brothers were over fifteen years older than she was, so it was almost like she was an only child growing up.  Her mother was a teacher in the Tacoma school system while her father took care of things at home and cooked meals.  Elin remembers what the downtown of Tacoma was like in the 1950’s.  She has fond memories of her Dad taking her once a month on a Friday after school to browse the downtown stores: the Bon Marche, Rhodes, Sears, Penny’s, Woolworths, Payless Drug, and Kress Five and Dime. Then they would eat a buffet meal at Mannings Market and Restaurant.  Of course, all that changed when the Tacoma Mall came to town.

She found Tacoma a good city to grow up in, graduating from Stadium High School and attending the University of Puget Sound.  Her first impression of Franke Tobey Jones as a child came from her mother, who knew several people who lived here and a few who worked here.  Like many people in Tacoma, her family always thought only the wealthy could live here.  She never dreamed that one day she would live at FTJ herself.

Elin has lived at FTJ for eleven years.  She first came to Lillian Pratt and chose FTJ because she could bring her cat with her.  She liked the social life at Lillian Pratt.  There was a group called “the Pratters” who had activities on Monday afternoons.   She had regular shifts at the Res store and was one of the FTJ resident volunteers to tutor the third through fifth grade students of Point Defiance Elementary School. She enjoyed the resident artwork in the hallway and the entertainers who often came, especially a pianist who came on a regular basis.  As Elin’s needs changed, she moved to the Health Care section of the Lillian Pratt building and then was one of the first residents in the new Skilled Nursing Center where she resides now.  She is happy to have a lot more space in her room than in the old Health Care Wing.  Now that the Covid pandemic restrictions are mostly behind us, she is looking forward to the summer concerts on the lawn and in person visits again.  (Interviewed by Karen Fischer)

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