Obituary: Painter, Gwendolyn Jean
Age 85
Vonnie was born June 22, 1927, to Larramore and Agnes Mattoon in Uniontown, WA.
When in high school her mother died in an auto accident, leaving her seven-year-old sister to Vonnie and her father’s care.
She was predeceased by an older brother, Jack; sister, Helen; and her younger sister, Rita.
Vonnie was married on September 7, 1946 to Alan Painter in Clarkston, WA.
They lived in Pullman, where she was a secretary in the Rural Sociology Lab while Alan attended two years at WSC.
They moved to Spokane where Vonnie worked as a secretary for an insurance company and Alan attended the Spokane Trade School to learn the printing trade.
She had her first daughter, Karen Lee, December 13, 1949.
They moved to Puyallup in 1956 and had a second daughter, Linda Jean, on September 23, 1957.
Vonnie was co-owner, secretary and employee of Times Printshop in Burien, WA, from 1971-1979 when it was sold.
Linda died on January 2, 1991, of a burst cerebral aneurysm.
Vonnie was a secretary for a mobile park in Puyallup for several years before moving to Spokane in 2008 and being diagnosed with Parkinsonism.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2013, at 1 p.m. at Fowler United Methodist Church, 3928 N. Howard St., Spokane, WA 99205.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane, P.O.
Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99210-2215.