Polly Cadman Knox was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts on October 16, 1934 and died in Seattle on February 22, 2019. Her parents were Hilda May Cadman and Harold Waterman Knox. She had one sister, Ellen, who has died. As her father pursued military and civil engineering careers, the family lived in New Jersey, New York, Mississippi, Washington, DC and Westfield, Massachusetts. Her mother was a self-taught money manager, and built up a substantial nest egg for the family. As neither Polly nor her sister Ellen wanted to use these funds the family legacy was conserved for the benefit of the six grandchildren.
Polly attended Antioch College, graduating in 1957 with a degree in Geography. She subsequently earned a master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Washington, and worked in that capacity for 25 years in this area. In the 1980’s she made a career change to physical therapy, and worked for community home health care as a physical therapy assistant, taking inspiration from her clients.
Polly met her husband Frederick Mebus at Antioch, and they moved to the Seattle area after their Antioch graduation. She attended University Friends Meeting and they were socially and politically active. Fred’s work as a city engineer led them to move to Bremerton in 1960. Their three sons, Kurt, Tyler, and Tony Mebus were born in Bremerton. The family moved back to Seattle in 1967.
She and Fred sheltered conscientious objectors to the military draft. They led two AFSC teen weekend workshops. They formed a communal household with consensus decision making, though this did not last long. Polly’s activism was a constant. She was one of the founders of Central Coop, and worked on the early development of organic food standards. Tony describes her as “always in the trenches of good causes" She became an Alternatives to Violence Project facilitator. She had worked with homeless people in Portland, and was active with the hygiene center at UFM at the beginning of our involvement with homelessness as an issue.
Polly and Fred’s marriage ended in divorce in 1974; he died in 1979. Though the divorce was cordial and Polly and Fred shared custody of their sons, the period was difficult for her. She suffered from depression and a drinking problem for a time. Her three sons graduated from Garfield High School between 1979 and 1985.
After her sons were grown, Polly moved to Portland, then Skagit, and Bellingham, always returning to Seattle. Her last house in Seattle was in Montlake, where she built an apartment in the basement. She and her youngest son and caregiver, Tony lived companionably together, off and on, in that house and apartment until her death.
Polly recounted a childhood memory of sitting in a beam of light and experiencing it as spiritual light and epiphany of joy, and being beloved of God. Her first experience with Quakers was on an AFSC work trip to La Encarnacion in Hidalgo, Mexico in 1955 while she was an Antioch student. She first attended University Friends Meeting in 1957, then Friends Memorial Church. She returned to UFM during the late 70’s and early 80’s; Polly's initial membership was with Friends Memorial, where she became a member in 1987. Her need for silence brought her back to UFM in 1989. She transferred her membership to UFM from Multnomah in 2004.
Polly was a runner, an outdoors woman, and participated in several marathons during the 1970’s and 80's. She sustained a hip injury while running. Later, a hip replacement led to painful complications which troubled her until the end of her life.
Polly was a concerned and faithful member of University Meeting. She gave long service on the Library Committee along with her dear friend, Jo Childers. They enjoyed getting together for companionable coffee or tea downtown. When they were both too disabled to meet physically, Polly sent Jo notes and letters. Over several years, Polly supplied the queries and quotations for our First Day Bulletin, e-mailing them to Donal Sullivan even after she could no longer travel to attend Meeting. Her son Tony says a word to describe Polly is "tireless". She found an energy which sustained her through the toughest of times, and allowed her to thrive in the best.
A Memorial Meeting in celebration of Polly's life was held at University Friends Meeting on October 27, 2019.