Helen Gell, 82, founded the Helen's Of Course fashion boutiques in Portland, Seattle, and Bellevue. Helen's Portland (opened in 1960) and Seattle (opened in 1981) stores were among the first local outlets for several European designer lines (including Escada and Louis Feraud), and introduced Ultrasuede fabrics to the U.S. market. Gell also invented the "trunk show," now an industry-standard promotional event for introducing new products to preferred customers. She once claimed her only major mistake was telling a young Calvin Klein he'd never make it in the fashion business. Gell retired two years ago; her daughter Jeri Rice, who'd been a co-owner of the Seattle store, kept it open under her own name. Gell died January 30 of complications from diabetes.

Ted Evans, 56, was one of the most prominent figures in the Northwest fishing industry. In the '80s, as founding director of the American Trawlers' Association (now known as the At Sea Processors' Association), he helped promote the use of factory trawlers by U.S. companies, encouraged American fleets to fish more cod and pollack (previously disdained within the business as "trash fish"), and lobbied against the dominance of foreign fishing fleets in the waters off Alaska. He made headlines in 1988 when he and colleague San Hjelle used a private plane to videotape foreign ships surreptitiously fishing at night in U.S. waters. The resulting publicity led to a treaty between the U.S., China, Russia, Japan, and Korea over fishing rights in the Bering Sea. Evans had previously worked at times for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association and for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, where he played a big role in writing international standards for seafood quality. He later started the Sure Fish company, which operates fish-testing labs in eight countries.

Evans died from brain cancer on December 21. He'd been married since 1991 to Dr. Jennifer James, the local anthropologist, self-help author, and former talk-radio personality.

George C. Bauer, 80, was born and raised in Seattle, and came back here in 1980 to retire. In between, he had a long musical career in New York. He was a pianist, arranger, conductor, and musical director for several Broadway musicals and early TV series (including occasional stints in the '50s as a live organist on As the World Turns and Guiding Light). He also wrote ballet music and choral arrangements. Bauer died December 28 of unspecified causes.

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