John Lyall
(7/9/1940-1/7/2024)
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It is with sadness that we announce the passing of John Lyall, one of the co-founders of Evergreen Children's Theater, the precursor of the Valentinetti Puppet Museum. Lyall along with the late Marshall Campbell (1940-2013), were the founders of a community organization dedicated to the performance arts and puppetry for children here in Kitsap County and Bremerton.
Prior to Lyall and Campbell's move to Bremerton, Lyall had a career at the Seattle Public Library as Human Resources director and was also active with the Library for the Blind. Settling in Bremerton, John sold real estate for Reid Realty for several years before retiring to his home on Rocky Point.
A community activist , John's service included serving on the Bremerton Housing Authority Board, during the time of the major development in West Bremerton, among others. He also served on the board of the Kitsap Regional Library and was a prominent supporter of Kitsap PRIDE and the LGBTQ+ community in Kitsap and the Puget Sound region.
John's final days were spent at Northwood Lodge care facilities in Silverdale. He is survived by his husband Felix Gullette-Romero and members of the Lyall family. Grateful thanks are given to the Northwoods staff for the care bestowed on him and husband Felix in his last years.
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Stanley W. Hess
Curator Emeritus
Valentinetti Puppet Museum
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An obituary is published courtesy of Joan Dingfield in the Kitsap Sun newspaper, Sunday, February 11, 2024. Included in the obituary is a photograph of John painted by Bremerton artist, Gwendolyn Atwood.
These are two examples of what are referred to at Nang Talung, a style of shadow puppet found in Southern Thailand (the Malay Peninsula).
This Nang Talung style of Thai puppetry is related to the style found in the country of Malayasia.
These were recently gifted to the museum by Itsara Namtapi, a UW student from Thailand.