Pamela Abelson

Pamela Sue Abelson, 58, of Tacoma, Wash., died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, at her home.

She was born Aug. 26, 1950, in Poplar Bluff, Mo., daughter of Gail and Gale Allen King. She and Dr. Norman Abelson were married in December 1976. He died in November 2006.

Abelson attended grade school in Perryville, Mo., where her family lived 10 years. She was a graduate of Truman High School in Independence, Mo., and a graduate of the University of Missouri Conservatory of Music where she received a degree in choral music and a master's degree in curriculum development.

She taught choral music in the Kansas City public school system several years before moving to Tacoma, where she taught choral music 17 years until her death. While teaching in Tacoma she received several awards. Some of those awards include the 1994 Washington State Teacher of the Year, 2002 Seattle Music Festival Sweepstakes Award for her choral program, Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Army JROTC, and one of her most coveted awards was being invited and taking her choir from Foss High School in Tacoma to perform in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Abelson was a pianist and soprano soloist. She had done some opera work as well as singing in several musicals.

Survivors include her parents of Jackson; a sister, Kathryn King of Jackson; and a brother, Scott King of Louisburg, Kan.

Friends may call after 10 a.m. Saturday at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Puxico, Mo.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home, with the Rev. John Rice officiating. Burial will be in Brown Cemetery near Puxico.