February 24, 1949 to December 17, 2018
Born to Clara M. and Arlin L. Huttner in Kenmare, ND Sonia was the youngest of 5 siblings and the second child of the families only set of twins. The family lived on a farm in Lignite ND until 1952 when they moved to Spokane WA. She graduated from West Valley High School and entered Eastern Washington University earning a degree in Sociology.
Sonia had a variety of work experience such as working in a souvenir shop during Expo 74 and as an associate at the Crescent until she landed a job in her chosen field of Social Work at the Children's Home Society of Washington on Spokane’s South Hill, where she worked with young teenage girls. When she decided she wanted more stable work hours she found a position at Big Brothers and Sisters of Spokane as a Case Worker matching adults to children needing the assistance of good stable examples in their lives. She also had a little sister from the program and had kept in touch with her on and off for the rest of her life after her little sister graduated out of the program.
Sonia loved working with young people and she also loved animals of all kinds. She learned this love of animals from her parents and especially learned compassion and appreciation of them from her father Arlin. She had several pets over her life and had taken in several cats that were dumped off near the various places where she had lived. She had such a high regard of her father and his love for animals that she had a small scholarship set up in his name at Washington State University in Pullman for veterinary students who wanted to work with shelter animals.
Another thing she also loved was to travel, going on trips to several states and different cities for conventions and workshops while working for Big Brothers and Sisters. She also loved being with her whole family on summer vacations on the coasts of Washington and Oregon where she and some of the family members would get up early in the mornings at low tides for beaching combing and just to walk and talk. She loved and enjoyed her nephew and nieces and was always willing to talk if they needed advice or even emotional support. It was very easy to love Sonia as she was caring, loving and generous with her time and had the best sense of humor and the most bubbly laugh you would ever hear. Sonia was the type of person that could make friends easily and once you were a good friend you were a friend for life. She kept in contact with friends that she made during her school years as well as those in the places where she worked.
Sonia was briefly married to John Perekovic until they divorced.
Back in the late 70's Sonia was found to have only one kidney and that it was a small kidney at that. So she watched out for and restricted her diet to one that was recommended by her doctors. Nine years ago her kidney failed and Sonia was put on dialysis three times a week. This restricted her diet even further and her family admired her ability to stick to that strict diet and her ability to deal with the limitations that the dialysis placed upon her. Dialysis took its toll on Sonia's body and it began to fail her in early December. She was sent to the hospital on December 13th by the dialysis team when she was too dehydrated to undergo a dialysis treatment. She lost her struggle on the morning of December 17th surrounded by her surviving sisters Bonnie & Susan, her niece Dawn and her ex-husband John.
Sonia was predeceased by her only brother and eldest sibling Waldo, her father & mother, her brother-in-law Donald D. Soehren, her nephew Phil M. Soehren and her eldest sister Beverly D. Watt.
She is survived by her sisters Bonnie G. Soehren & Susan J. Roberts, her brothers-in-law Paul H. Watt & Lance Roberts, her nieces Dawn D. Soehren, Cassandra H. Cannon & Kara B. Roberts and her great nephew and niece Charles P. Cannon and Ramona Cannon, her ex-husband John Perekovic and her beloved cat Tawnie.
The family would like to thank the doctors, nutritionists, medical financial advisers and the dialysis team of the North Spokane DaVita Dialysis Center for their care for Sonia during the time she underwent treatment with them.
We would also like to thank the doctors and nurses at Sacred Heart Hospital Emergency department and the ICU for allowing us the time we had left with Sonia after she entered the hospital for the last time. We also thank you for your care and the compassion of the staff and chaplains when we found ourselves losing her.
It's said that “friends are the family you choose”, Sonia not only had friends who she considered her family but family members who were also friends, we should all be so fortunate as to have someone like her in our lives. Her family and friends shall always miss her.
For those wanting to memorialize Sonia in some way we ask that you make donations to the Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service or the Spokane Humane Society.
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