North Bend bench honors Toppen family community service
Published 12:00 pm Wednesday, July 8, 2026
More than 70 years after Doris and Harvey Toppen took root in North Bend, they have been memorialized with a bench alongside the South Fork Snoqualmie River.
The Toppen’s daughter and son, Terri and Chris Toppen, had a bench for their late parents installed July 2, with approval from the city of North Bend. It sits behind Mount Si Senior Center, beneath the trees with a view of the mountains; a very similar view to the one out the front window of the Toppen family home.
The bench, made by Smith Steelworks of Utah, is made of steel and powder-coated with a deep red color — “the color of mom’s hair,” Terri said. The back of the bench is cut out to read “In loving memory of Doris & Harvey Toppen. Forever in our hearts.” Local company SnoValley Concrete Services installed the bench for free.
Terri and Chris, along with their two other siblings, grew up in North Bend and were raised deeply immersed in the community. Doris and Harvey moved to town in 1955 and were always involved in town happenings.
“Everyone knew who they were,” Chris said.
Harvey worked as a mechanic for King County and was a volunteer firefighter, becoming the assistant captain for the local department before there was an established fire department in town. He died in 2012.
Doris was a dental assistant, taught aerobics and was a teacher of Sunday school and creative writing. She is a published author and was heavily involved in the senior center before she died in June 2025.
Doris also organized a large bike ride fundraiser each year for cystic fibrosis and ran the Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon when she was 85.
“All her life, every part of it, she had connected to the community,” Terri said, “whether it be Seattle or here or wherever she lived.”
Together, the couple was involved in Alpine Days (now the Festival at Mount Si), local river rafting and the firemen’s water hose fights with other local cities.
“It pretty much showed us,” Terri said, “that giving back to the community that you live in was what you did.”
