July 02, 1927 - February 03, 2023
Verla Tomlinson Obituary
She was born in Pendleton, OR,?on July 2, 1927, to Bernice Firkins?
Thompson and Riley Edgar Thompson. She was preceded in
death by her parents, a daughter,?Julie Lee, three brothers: Ray
Eugene, George Albert, and Riley?Dale, and two sisters: Bernice?Gates
and Daisy Helen Seaman.?She attended Hawthorne
Elementary School, Helen McCune Jr. High School, and Pendleton High
School graduating in 1945. She was very active in school sports, The
Pep Club, Latin Club, and National Thespian Society was student body
secretary, and was awarded The Danforth Award for citizenship and a
scholarship to the University of Wisconsin. She attended Eastern
Oregon University in La Grande, OR, Victor Beauty School in Walla
Walla, WA, and classes at Spokane Falls Community College and EWU.
She was a licensed beautician in Oregon and Washington.
After she married Ray Tomlinson on August 8, 1948, she moved to
Spokane where she worked at Davies Beauty Salon and The Western
Hair Company on Riverside Avenue. She then stayed home to have a
family, and when the children had all entered school, she worked 18
years for District #81 Food Service Department. She worked 11 years at
Ferris High School and 7 years in the Food Services Office. She took
early retirement in 1982 at the age of 55. Nancy (Verla Lee) was a past
state secretary for the Washington School Food Service Association
and had served as past president, president-elect, and secretary of
her local chapter. She was a member of SSFSA and the American Food
Service Association for over 30 years.
She and her husband were very active in PTA, Campfire Girls, Boy
Scouts, their church, square dancing, and volunteering. She was a den
mother for her son's Cub Scout group. All three of her sons were Eagle
Scouts. She and her husband were involved in the Swap 'N Swing and
KD Square Dance Clubs and the Western Dance Center for many years.
They participated in many local square dance activities as well as
state meetings and state and national square dance festivals. She
made many of her square dance dresses and enjoyed sewing them
with friends when they were all at the lake in the summer with their
children. They enjoyed camping, swimming, water skiing, and boating
for many years. They built their own home on Hayden Lake and spent
many hours there enjoying the peaceful surroundings with friends and
family.
She attended and sang in the choir of the Lincoln Heights
Congregational Church. She and her husband celebrated their 50th
wedding anniversary and repeated their vows in the Congregational
Church on August 8, 1998. Their 4 children and 5 grandchildren were
their attendants and participated in the service. Their daughter Pastor
Nanette Tomlinson/Knoell officiated at the service and granddaughter
Amanda Tomlinson, was the soloist. Many of the original wedding
parties were present and over 200 guests attended.
After retiring, the Tomlinson's built their home on Hayden Lake,
Idaho, and wintered in Yuma, AZ. While there, they were able to play
golf, swim, square dance, and enjoy many new friends from up north.
She also enjoyed taking classes and doing many new arts and crafts
projects. Ray built many things in their new home, especially for Verla,
like a beautiful white stone fireplace and a covered deck that she had
always wanted. They enjoyed making many new friends, playing golf,
swimming, attending college classes, and being with friends and
family on many special occasions.
Nancy (Verla Lee) and her husband were lifetime members of the
Southside Senior Activity and Community Center. They became
involved in the center in 1985 and served on many committees. They
enjoyed volunteering and made many new friends. She especially
enjoyed being a member of the Donn and Dude Thompson Golf Group,
which was organized in 1992 and played numerous courses in
Spokane, Canada, and Idaho. These 20 people became lifelong friends.
She was involved in the organization of The Teal Ladies at the
Center and served twice as President. They are the volunteer group of
35 ladies at the Center who regularly greet for events and social
functions. She was also very involved for 2 years with the Pen Pal
Program at the Center, which involved senior pen pals with student
pen pals from Roosevelt Elementary School. Morgan Bachman and
Lauren Merrithew from Roosevelt School became very special to her.
She had also been involved with tutoring at Adams School. Nancy
received the "Volunteer of the Year" award at the Center in 2004 for
her dedication and service to the Center.
Mrs. Tomlinson enjoyed sewing, camping, square dancing,
traveling, golfing, and going to Pendleton, OR, on the second Thursday
of each month to have lunch with her high school classmates,
Pendleton High School Class of 1945. They had a reunion every 5 years
and a luncheon on the second Thursday of each month for 10 months
out of each year. They were a very dedicated class and still keep in
touch with each other after all of these years.
Her greatest pleasure was to spend time with her children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, friends, and to play golf with
her husband Ray. She also was a red hatter and was co-queen with
best friend Gayle Craig, of a group called the Red Hat Royalty. She
loved being with her friends and looked forward to all of their meetings
and outings. She loved dressing up in purple dresses and red hats and
going to special events and restaurants with her friends.
Verla was married to her husband Ray, for 73 years before his
passing, last year in 2022. She is also preceded in death by her
daughter Julie Tomlinson and son Steve Tomlinson. She is survived by
three children: Pastor Nanette Tomlinson/Knoell and her husband Jerry
of Fayetteville, NC, Stuart
Tomlinson of Maryland Heights, MO, and Kris and Barbara Tomlinson
of Moses Lake, WA, grandchildren: Jennifer and Luke Mahoney of Saco,
Maine, Casey and Darral Eason of Meridian, ID, Amanda and
Christopher Reif of Eldora, IA, Kristoffer Tomlinson of Florissant, MO,
and Rachel and Steve Strohm of Dardenne Prairie, MO. She also leaves
great-grandchildren: Jack and Henry Mahoney, Sidney Leigh and
Zachary Eason, Kailyn and Steven Tomlinson, McKinley and Tucker
Strohm, Eliyanah and Ivy Reif, and many nephews, nieces, and friends.
She was a loving, caring, and devoted wife and mother. She adored
her husband and family. She felt life had been very good to her
because she had been blessed with a wonderful husband, family, and
many good friends. She always hoped that she had made a little
different in some way by writing and sending many greeting cards to
her family and friends as her mother had done before her. She
discovered that sending e-mail cards by computer was even more fun
and a great way to keep in touch with everyone. She will be missed by
all of those who knew her. She will not be forgotten because she will be
in our hearts and minds forever.
The family suggests that memorial contributions might be made to:
The Southside Senior Activity Center - Building Fund, 3151 East 27th
Avenue, Spokane, WA 99223 She and her husband's greatest desire
was to make it possible to pay off the loan for the Center so that the
building would be available to all of the community to use for many
years to come.
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