Zoe was born Nov. 15, 1982, in Portland, OR, to John and Sherry Vinson. Her sister, Marriah Mackenzie Vinson was born in June of 1986. In the summer of 1989 the family moved to Orcas Island, which became their home.

Zoe showed an interest in a medical career at an early age. During her high school years she worked as a veterinary assistant with Ed and Teresa Sullivan, the local vets at the time. After receiving a bachelors degree in biology from the University of Puget Sound, she went on to pursue a nursing degree from Regis University in Colorado. From there, she went on to work in the oncology department at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, where she stayed for five years.

A desire to move ahead led her to pursue post-graduate work in the field of anesthesiology at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Upon graduation as a certified registered nurse anesthetist, she began work at Swedish Hospital in Seattle.

In addition to her interest in medicine, she was a dog person. Her second boxer, Beatrice, a rescue dog from Texas, became, under Zoe’s guidance, a registered therapy dog. As a therapy team, Zoe and “Bee” did volunteer work at Seattle’s Community House, Bailey-Boushay House, and the Reading With Rover organization.

She will be incredibly missed by anyone who had the good fortune to know her. Everyone is welcome to join her family and friends for a memorial at Parish Hall on Saturday, February 25, at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation would be welcome: www.jdrf.org.