Weslie Ann Rodgers passed away on June 23rd, 2025. Perhaps best known for her “Please do not eat animal” sign campaign, her touch can be found almost anywhere you look on Vashon. She and her husband Saul first reached Vashon in 1979, and have been permanent residents for the last 30+ years. The smile dispensers are hers, as were the peace rocks found around the Island in past years. If you get your lunch at the Senior Center, that slip of paper with the saying is hers. She had dozens of other secret projects.
Over the years, Weslie volunteered at almost every place that involved volunteers. She pitched in at the Food Bank, the Senior Center, the Vashon Community Care Center, and the showers and dinners offered by the Vashon Interfaith Council. She even tutored students for the legendary math teacher Mr. Lopez.
Her husband thinks Weslie was a Southern Belle born a century too late. Her loving approach to the world was bound to an iron determination to hold to what she considered right. She never drove a car, neither did she ever own a cell phone.
Weslie had experienced a number of health issues after a lifetime of dodging cancer, especially in this last year. Even with these, her force of will was such that she walked to town with her signs right up to the week before she passed. She even achieved one of her last wishes, passing away peacefully out in the open air with the sun shining on her face. Hundreds of people attended her green burial and held her deep in their hearts.
If you want to honor her memory, consider having a vegetarian – or even vegan – day. And we can all raise a cup with her favorite drink:
Water
