Lorraine Joslin

Lorraine J. Joslin (nee Semler), aged 97, passed away peacefully on November 30, 2018, at Pioneer Place Memory Haven near Puyallup, Wash. She was in the presence of dear family members and had her favorite waltz music playing in the room. She succumbed to long-standing illness with diabetes and the inscrutable, gradual decline of Alzheimer's-related mental disease. To the very end, she maintained her sense of humor on her good days and slept a lot on her bad days.

Lorraine was born April 17, 1921, in Colton Wash., to Joseph and Minnie Semler. The family owned a wheat farm and also raised cows and pigs, mostly for their own use. Lorraine talked often about her fond memories of wheat harvests, milking cows and feeding pigs. Her life was filled with great family, great friends and traveling to far away places, but her most cherished memories were of her youth on the farm surrounded by her family and amber waves of grain.

Lorraine graduated from Colton High School and continued to St. Ignatius School of Nursing in Colfax, Wash. Her college friends called her Sem. After she graduated she got a job as a registered nurse at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane. It was her first employment and she was thrilled to be on her own.

Lorraine met her husband, Frank Joslin, when he came to visit her roommate (the roommate was engaged to Frank's brother.) Lorraine answered the door and then romance took its course. They were married June 26, 1946, and remained married for 49 years until Frank died from cancer in 1995.

Lorraine enjoyed knitting and crocheting, as well as traveling and listening to waltz music. She was also a devoted sports fan, keeping close tabs on the Mariners and Seahawks and always being willing to chastise the general managers for the stupid deals they had made. Lorraine and Frank had two children, Jim and Peggy; three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Lorraine was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her sister, Edith Stevens; and her brothers, Cletus Semler and Joseph R. Semler. She is survived by her sisters, Eileen Ankerson and Ora Mae Brigidi; her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; along with numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives. She knew all of their names and precisely where they fit in the family tree.

Lorraine's family would like to offer sincere thanks and affection to the owners and staff members at Pioneer Place Memory Haven for their devoted and compassionate care. They and the hospice workers are the closest you will find to real angels on earth.

We will be holding a celebration of life on April 13, 2019, for Lorraine. Her 98th birthday would have been April 17, 2019.