Megan C Belia, 68, of Vashon Island, WA, passed away peacefully at Bailey-Boushay House in Seattle, WA on April 5, 2011. She was born in Schenectady, NY on September 26, 1942, to Paul Wythe Crapuchettes and Alice Virginia Evans Crapuchettes. Raised in California, the eldest of seven, she was intelligent and outspoken. She earned a B.S. in chemistry, when that was still uncommon for a woman, at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA. While there she met her first husband, Richard “Dick” Melville Walton, who she married September 19, 1963. They moved to Ithaca, NY, as he continued his education, then to Billings, MT. In Montana, while raising their two children, Megan was active in the outdoors participating in wilderness backpacking, canoeing, spelunking, and cross-country skiing. She was an artist at heart who worked in many media from silkscreen print-making, to water colors, stained glass, etched glass, and clay sculptures. Towards the end of her first marriage, Megan became involved in a program teaching EMT’s. This opened a new door for her and her future in medicine. As a single mom, she returned to school to earn her B.S. in nursing at Carroll College in Helena, MT. She married her second husband, Robert “Bob” Edwin Fears, on July 9, 1978, and graduated from Carroll College in May 1981. After getting some nursing experience under her belt, she chose to continue her education and graduated from Loma Linda University in 1989 with a Masters in Nursing Administration. Shortly after that she divorced Bob and met her partner Rose Nahkohe. The pair lived in various parts of the west and southwest during which time Megan earned her degree as an Ob/Gyn nurse practitioner. Until her failing health required her to stop working, Megan enjoyed working with her patients and remained active in programs to provide health care to others as long as she could. After moving to Vashon to be near her daughter’s family, Megan became involved in her new community by helping provide prayer service to the Vashon Island Community Care Center. She continued to enjoy her art and found an outlet for her music in building up and supporting the Church of the Holy Spirit bell choir.

Megan is survived by her first husband Richard Walton of Billings, MT, her partner Rose Nahkohe of Klamath Falls, OR, her children Karen West of Vashon, WA and David Walton of Vacaville, CA, and Karen’s husband Mark West and their daughter Amelia West both also of Vashon, WA. She is also survived by her father Paul Crapuchettes of Paradise, CA and her siblings and their spouses: James “Jim” and Mary Crapuchettes of Moscow, ID, Richard Crapuchettes of Pittsburg, CA, Kathryn and Charles “Chuck” Prehoda of Chico, CA, Elizabeth and Michael “Mike” Miles of Portland, OR, Charles “Chuck” Crapuchettes of Santa Clara, CA, and John and Natalie Crapuchettes of Cameron Park, CA, and their many descendents. Megan is predeceased by her second husband Robert Fears (10/17/2001), her mother Virginia Crapuchettes (2/24/2010), and her beloved service dogs Oliver and Charlie.

A service for Megan is to be held at Vashon’s Church of the Holy Spirit on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at 11:00 am. Memorial donations may be made to the Church of the Holy Spirit music fund or to your favorite charity.

Thank you to all who supported her and loved her over the years and to the end. As she declined, and she saw her options become more limited, she often stated that, if nothing else, she wanted to be a spot of sunshine and love to those around her. Shine on Megan.

Paid Obituary.