Verena May Erie Wanless

Verena May Wanless, of Olympia, Washington, went to be with the Lord on May 23, 2016, surrounded by her family. Verena was born in Seattle on December 22, 1941 to Arthur and Wilma Erie, Verena was the eldest of three children. She was raised in a home that loved and served God, including five years spent as missionaries to Brazil during Verena’s childhood. She carried this faith all of her life, and loved being part of her church and serving others.

She attended Mt. Rainier High School, and upon graduating worked as a data entry clerk at Boeing in Seattle, later moving into customer service at U.S. Intelco in Olympia.

Verena’s greatest joys were her home and her family. She was constantly occupied with creative projects, and was a particularly gifted seamstress. Verena crocheted afghans, created beautiful quilts, and other hand-sewn items for her home and for those she loved. She was also a skilled baker and gardener, an avid reader and an enthusiastic Seattle sports fan. She loved being surrounded by her children and particularly cherished her role as “Nana”. She also loved cats. She grew up with a cat that she called "Neve" which means snow in Portuguese. Neve was pure white. Now she has two Bengal cats, Celeste and Crystal.

Verena is survived by her husband of forty-three years, Thomas Wanless; their blended family of 7 children, Donna Atwood, Dale Harold, Cindy Ruggiero, Cheryl Rogers, Laura Hogan, Darin Wanless and Daniel Wanless; sister Charmayne Holman; brother David Erie; 17 grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

The family requests that any memorial donations be directed to The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Duke University Medical Center.