Civic activist grew up in Bellevue

When Erna Hardman Poliak grew up along the shores of Meydenbauer Bay and on what is now Clyde Beach Park, it was considered "the country."

Mrs. Poliak, who died Oct. 29 at age 96, was 5 years old when her family moved to the blueberry-lined property from the bustle of Seattle in 1918. Back then, Bellevue wasn't much more than a grocery store and post office, and she spent much of her time swimming in the bay, often with a line to a rowboat tied around her waist for safety — at her mother's insistence.

Her family would raise a flag and hail a passenger boat that would shuttle them across the lake to Leschi. Her commute was a ferry to Leschi and a cable car up Yesler Way to Garfield High School.

She eventually outgrew the bucolic patch of land, became a mother and moved to California, where she became a dedicated participant in social causes. After her husband, Bernie, died in 1996, she returned to Bellevue, made more friends, served on more boards, reported for a retirement-community newspaper and, yes, swam.

"She was invincible, friendly, fun, stylish, enthusiastic, elegant, super-competent, considerate," said her daughter Carol Poliak, "and always there for her wide circle of friends and family. She was almost always happy."

She was also tenaciously thoughtful. Carol Poliak recalled how her mom found a cancer-treatment program for one of Carol's friends.

Mrs. Poliak married Bernie, a young dentist, in 1935 after meeting him on a blind date. They lived in Laurelhurst until World War II began. When he went to serve in New Guinea, she moved her young children to Palm Springs, Calif., because she believed the dry climate would help her son's health.

She managed construction of their desert home and after the war she and her husband became integral members of the growing Palm Springs community.

She served on more than a dozen social-services boards, sometimes as founding chair. She helped the Child Care Study Center at Desert Hospital, the Child Advocacy Center of the Desert, Palm Springs Youth Counseling Service and the Suicide and Crisis Hotline, among many. And she received numerous distinguished-service awards.

Mrs. Poliak also managed to find time to teach synchronized swimming throughout her life.

"She was an inspiration to me in many ways," her daughter said, "including how she took care of herself. She always swam at least three times a week."

About 13 years ago, the city of Bellevue demolished Mrs. Poliak's childhood home, long known as the Wick House, to make way for the sloping lawn at Clyde Beach Park. All that was left from her childhood was an old boat house where she used to play with her dolls.

But she applauded the progress.

"The house was getting old," Mrs. Poliak said days before the dedication of the expanded park. "I think the city deserves a lot of credit for buying waterfront property for the public."

Mrs. Poliak is survived by her sister, Joanne Senders, of Portland; three children, Roberta Fourkas, of Sacramento, Calif.; Richard Poliak, of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Carol Poliak, of Kirkland; five grandchildren, three great-grandsons, and nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to Food Lifeline, 1702 N.E. 150th St., Shoreline, 98155-7226; Evergreen Hospice, 12040 N.E. 128th St., Kirkland, 98034; or a charity of choice.

A remembrance celebration will be at 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at The Fountains at Pacific Regent, 919 109th Ave. N.E., in Bellevue.

Richard Seven: 206-464-2241 or rseven@seattletimes.com