To the editor:

I lost my best friend of nearly 47 years last April 29. We had been married since we were both teenagers.

The coroner’s assistant, Susan, responded to the scene that day and left me feeling as though I’d been comforted by a little sister. She advised that I’d be hearing from the coroner in a few days with the cause of death. I expected the call on Saturday and shooed everyone who called off the phone, waiting for his call.

About 4:30 p.m. that afternoon there was a rap at the door. There stood Susan and her boss Robert Bishop, the man himself. They had come down to my Bayview area home from Oak Harbor to call on me personally to tell me what had caused my wife’s death. They sat with me at my dining-area table and answered every question with great patience.

This past Wednesday I stopped into his office in Coupeville to request a copy of his findings. It has been nearly four months now, but he remembered me, remembered about my little dog and my line of work.

It is a reminder to me of why we moved here from Woodinville, and why I can’t come up with any notion to ever leave. Tell me you’ll get that kind of personal service in King or Snohomish counties. I think not. Don’t let this man get away. At the worst time in my life, I found a new friend.

Richard Law

Clinton