West Seattle woman killed on bike ride near Walla Walla

A weekend trip to celebrate a nephew's college graduation in Eastern Washington turned tragic for a West Seattle couple as Sally Eustis, 61, was struck by an SUV and killed during a morning bicycle ride outside Walla Walla on Saturday.

"She was a warm, beautiful woman, known for her kindliness and her generosity," said Howard Eustis, her husband of 18 years. "She could prepare dinner for a dozen people on a moment's notice."

Sally Eustis was director of sales and marketing for Heartwood, a Seattle-based furniture and millwork-producing company Howard Eustis started more than 30 years ago. A Portland-area native, she moved to Washington state in the 1970s to attend the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, where she earned a business degree.

Before joining her husband's company, she had been a buyer for Nordstrom and later for The Bon Marché.

On Tuesday, relatives were still coming to grips with the accident in which Sally Eustis was struck from behind on a country road shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday by an SUV driven by Melvin Bohleen, of Dayton, Columbia County.

At the time of the accident, she was wearing a helmet and was riding with her sister-in-law, Terri Wolber, of Seattle, whose son was graduating from Whitman College on Saturday afternoon.

Wolber's husband, Jeff Eustis, said five relatives — the two couples and a cousin — had started out together on the ride about 9 a.m. on the clear, sunny morning.

About 45 minutes into the ride, Sally Eustis and Terri Wolber split off from the group and headed back, to return to Walla Walla in time for a pre-graduation brunch.

The accident occurred a short time later, about four miles north of town, along the Middle Waitsburg Road, a two-lane road with narrow shoulders, according to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

Jeff Eustis said the family disagrees with early media accounts, attributed to a sheriff's official, that the women were riding side by side at the time of the accident. He said his wife was riding in front of Sally Eustis and did not see her until after she was struck.

Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner said Tuesday that the incident remains under investigation and no conclusions have been reached about the circumstances. Turner said there was no indication at the scene that the driver had been impaired, but the results of toxicology tests were not yet known.

Howard Eustis described his wife as an avid outdoor enthusiast whose passions included first water skiing and then snow skiing. "She was a very avid skier and very skilled — it was hard to beat her to the bottom of the hill."

A key aspect of Sally Eustis's personality was her drive to help others, said a longtime friend, Barbara Jacobson Nickerson, of Seattle. "Sally was a tireless mentor to young women, through the Nordstrom and Bon organizations as well as in her personal life."

Cycling was a relatively new hobby for Sally Eustis, one she pursued both with enthusiasm and caution, her friend said.

Jacobson Nickerson said she was at home working in her garden about a week before the accident when Sally Eustis came by and showed her a bracelet she wore when bicycling.

"It had her husband's phone number and my phone number on it," Jacobson Nickerson said, "in case there was ever an accident."

Details on a memorial for Sally Eustis will be posted on her company's website, www.heartwoodinc.com.

Jack Broom: 206-464-2222 or jbroom@seattletimes.com