Obituaries

Bunny Mae Walthuis, born Aug.. 25, 1977, in Thousand Oaks, California, died peacefully on Feb. 6, 2022, at the Hospice House in Eureka in the loving presence of her partner and close friends after a 21-month battle with stage 4 cervical cancer was finally over. Bunny is survived by her lover and partner, Tawny Foskett. Bunny and Tawny quickly fell head over heels in love after their first date on Jan. 7, 2020. Together they strove to fit the 40 years of life, love and adventure they longed for having with each other into the two years and one month they were granted, whilst fighting terminal cancer entirely in a pandemic.  

Bunny is also survived by her father and stepmother, Dean and Jill Walthuis, who live near Yosemite, along with four siblings; Rory Walthuis, Jamie Garcia and family, Ryan Walthuis and Josh Pope and family.  Last, but definitely not least, she is survived by “her Boys,” (her dogs) Henry and Bailey - infamous to most of Blue Lake where Bunny happily spent the last 10 years (of the 20 she had in Humboldt), which she’d come to call home. Besides her years living in Humboldt, Bunny also had adult life chapters living in Boise, Idaho, as well as New York City, Hawaii and a season working on a fishing boat in the Bering Sea off Alaska.

Bunny is also survived by a lot of close friends as well as numerous fans - after all, Bunny was voted Best Bartender of Humboldt County in both 2021 and 2019 for her 7-year tenure at The Logger Bar.  She bartended and worked in many local businesses, including The Alibi, Six Rivers and Fish Brothers, where she was preparing to manage, prior to Covid and cancer. Bunny had a large and diverse friendship circle; she loved fishing with any of her many fishing buddies- whether on the ocean, bay or rivers, she loved cooking and dinner parties, golfing, cribbage, camping, music festivals and Dell’Arte shows. And of course, if you knew Bunny even a little, you knew she was a huge fan of the LA Dodgers and the Seattle Seahawks.

Bunny grew up primarily outside Seattle with her mother, Kathleen, and later younger brother, Josh. Bunny’s mother passed away in 2005 (of breast cancer) when Bunny was 27 years old. Bunny was able to share her love of Humboldt a couple times with her mother before that happened, and had special memories of time in Trinidad, at the beaches and camping with her. Bunny spent her high school years primarily with her dad’s family, attending Yosemite High and often recreating in Yosemite Park and nearby Bass Lake. Bunny was able to share this special area, as well as family, with Tawny both in August of 2021 and again for Christmas 2021.

To say she will be missed is the biggest understatement, as she already desperately is, and she will be remembered with love and fondness for many, many decades.

Bunny would want you to always tip your bartenders well, and to go have preventative checks at the doctor.

There is an Ofrenda altar at The Logger Bar, which can be viewed and contributed to at least through February.  If you’d like to contribute money - which will go towards her spring memorial as well as for dog care, there is a jar for donations at The Logger Bar or you can donate to the Patreon page Tawny and Bunny made for their Bucket List Year. Otherwise, donations to either The Breast and Gyno Project in Arcata or Hospice of Humboldt would be very appropriate and welcomed.