I cannot presume to write an obituary for my friend Bertha Davis who died last Friday at the age of 97. Her three daughters are working on that hard task -- probably overwhelmed by all that could be included in detailing the life of a woman who inspired others every day (try the math on that one).

One could say that Bertha wasn’t from Ballard; she just lived here for almost 80 years after graduating from Queen Anne High School. She lived in the community for eight decades and over the course of half of century in teaching, she was Mrs. Davis to thousands of students. If she had forgotten a single one of them it wasn’t evident because she seemed able to recollect details of their school days even as they presented their middle-aged (and even older) selves to her.

For the last 20 years she was a resident at Sunset West where her neighbors considered her the spirit of the building. She was a member of a walking group there, one of the Ladies Guild, played bridge regularly and continued to tutor students until a few weeks before her death.

Mrs. Davis was looking forward to attending next year’s Webster School reunion and had near celebrity status at the reunion held last year. Two years ago she broke her hip on her 95th birthday but managed to complete rehab and return to her home even earlier than doctors had anticipated. I met her at that time and she charmed me into helping her to restore the original bell from Ballard’s town hall to its place on Ballard Avenue. She was adamant that the bell needed to be automated so that it could ring regularly.

Just last December the Ballard Historical Society took on the project and was awarded a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant from the City of Seattle. Bertha’s neighbors and people throughout the community had pledged volunteer hours and collected in-kind donations valued at $18,000 in just a matter of days. On the Saturday before Bertha’s actual birthday the Bring the Ring Back to Ballard project had a kick-off party and “rang that bell.” Over 200 people attended the reception at Ballard Landmark, introducing their own children and grandchildren to the teacher they had never forgotten and clearly still adored.

I only knew Bertha Davis for a little over two years and I’m envious of those who called her grandmother or Mrs. Davis in the classroom or library. But I saw her in action enough times to see that she saw the possibility for a connection in every encounter. She recounted several stories when the “Seattle Sketcher” Gabriel Campanario from “The Seattle Times” profiled her and the Ballard Bell in his March 3, 2011 piece. Each story involved meeting a new student or one that was struggling a bit. “We’re going to get along just fine,” she’d tell them and to the surprise of their parents or other teachers, that student was on fire.

As Ballard resident and Webster School ’62 reunion organizer Shelley (Tennant) Butchart commented upon learning of Bertha’s death last week, “It will be a trick to find a venue large enough to hold all her friends and admirers!”

Nonetheless the family is organizing a Celebration of Life for Bertha Davis at 2 p.m., June 9th at First Lutheran Church located at the corner of 20th NW and NW 65th.

Rest assured those of us who promised to help her get the bell ringing again are more committed than ever. Whether we remember the teacher who often wore a red hat on the playground or the vibrant woman who took your hand firmly and said, “We’re going to be great friends.”