June 03, 1938 - April 29, 2016

After battling a protracted illness, Lawrence "Spike" Bauer passed away peacefully on Friday April 29th in Seattle, WA.

A Seattle native, born in Seattle to Margaret and Carl Bauer on June 3, 1938, Spike graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1956 and from the University of Washington in 1961. He married Georgia Stokes of Seattle on August 4, 1961. In September 1963, their daughter Lindsey was born in Seattle. In 1964, Spike and his wife and daughter moved to Phoenix, AZ to work in the retail shoe business. In 1970, he moved to Palm Desert, CA to start his own shoe business, Sandpiper Shoes. His son Christopher Bauer was born in June of that year. By 1974, Sandpiper Shoes had expanded to San Diego, CA and Spike moved his family to the coast. In 1981, Spike sold his business and relocated with his family back to Seattle, WA where they settled on Mercer Island and eventually ended up in Bellevue, WA.

Spike was a student of humanity; He was funny, kind, and contemplative. He loved his family (including his dogs) more than anything else. He loved to cook and became quite an adept amateur chef, as he passed his love of cooking onto his children. He loved a good single malt with raw oysters and thoughtful conversation with his family and friends.

Spike was a problem solver able to fix anything. If he did not know how, he would figure it out; He loved the challenge. His other passions included running, walking with his dogs, travel with his family, good food, and fast cars!

Spike loved being a parent. He loved kids and always treated them with the utmost respect, even if they were not his own; He was genuinely interested in their perspective. He openly would share his own thoughts, but not in absolute terms - more as a conversation which would often flow into debate. He was a philosopher and loved to ponder big questions and ideas.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Georgia Bauer, his son Christopher Bauer and his wife Jaymi Bauer, daughter Lindsey Bauer Leon and her husband Jay Leon, his sister Patricia Bauer Haggin and 3 grandchildren: Joe Bauer, Lucy Bauer, and Tommy Bauer

FUNERAL INFORMATION

A Memorial will be held for friends and family on the Maris Pearl at Shilshole Bay Marina on Sunday July 24, 2016 at 1:00 PM.

Memorial

Hope is the Thing

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all, 

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm. 

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
t asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickenson

A Good Life

When we are gone, and people weep
for us and grieve, let it be because we
touched their lives with beauty and simplicity.
Let it not be said that life was good to us,
but, rather, we were good to life

Jacob P. Rudin