Obituary of Lois Eline Van Slyke

Lois Eline Van Slyke passed away on December 12, 2017 in Shelton, Washington. She was 92. Lois was born in De Smet (the Little Town on the Prairie), South Dakota on February 14, 1925 to Earl and Carrie (Larson) McGarvie. She grew up on a farm in De Smet and graduated at the age of 16 from De Smet High School. She moved to Seattle, WA shortly after graduation, joining her older sister and cousins , where she worked in several civil service jobs in the War Department. In Seattle she met Elston Van Slyke, her husband of 54 years, through mutual friends while he was attending the University of Washington after returning from World War II as a paratrooper. With these friends Lois visited Elston on Hood Canal in the summer where he worked on the trail crew out of Hoodsport, WA. They were married in Seattle in 1948 as he was graduating from the UW and moved to Raymond, WA, where he had taken his first newspaper job. They moved to Renton, WA, where they lived for 45 years and raised their children before moving to Christmas Village in Shelton, WA in 2000 . Elston passed away in 2002. Lois was a homemaker and a loving and dedicated mother to her three children. She was a volunteer literacy tutor with Valley Literacy Council in Renton, teaching reading and English language skills to adults. She also helped elementary children with reading. She was a Brownie troop leader for a close-knit group of girls who grew up together in their Bryn Mawr neighborhood She was a member of Mason General Hospital Auxiliary in Shelton. She took art classes while living in Seattle and was an accomplished painter. She loved gardening , birds, crossword puzzles and Scrabble. She especially loved music of all kinds, and family members were often greeted with music playing in the background when visiting. She enjoyed playing games and holiday meals and get-togethers with her extended family . She was preceded in death by her parents , her husband Elston, her sisters Lorraine Mayer and Carolyn Aadland and her brother Donald McGarvie. She is survived by her daughter Melanie (Bob) Appel of Shelton and sons David Van Slyke of Seattle and Donald Van Slyke of Richmond, TX; granddaughters Meredith Kandoll and Cara Appel; grandsons Brandon Van Slyke and Curtis Van Slyke; numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. She was Tia Lois to her niece Carrie Aadland of Centralia, WA . The family wishes to express their appreciation to the staff at Shelton Health and Rehabilitation Center and Alpine Way Continuing Care Community for their care and support . Inurnment will be in Tahoma National Cemetery alongside her husband. Memorials may be made to Mason General Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 1668 Shelton, WA 98584