Obituary: O’Neill, Verdelle Izetta
Age 89
She was the daughter of Clifford James Green and Anna Nyreen Green and was born February 16, 1926 in Portal, North Dakota.
Her family moved to Spokane in 1941 and she graduated from North Central High School in 1944.
She planned to attend Whitworth College following high school but a physical the summer before college revealed she had tuberculosis.
She spent the next three years as a patient at Edgecliff Sanatorium.
On May 10, 1947, Verdelle married Thomas Patrick O’Neill.
They were married nearly 50 years, when he died in December of 1996.
Although Verdelle was never able to have children of her own, her home was often filled with nieces, nephews and neighbor children.
She was known as a great storyteller.
She would read a book and then tell the story in her own words, often being asked to do so for different ladies’ group in the Spokane area.
She loved flower arranging and won many ribbons for her arrangements.
Verdelle and her husband, Tommie loved to travel in their motor home after retirement, often visiting the Washington and Oregon coasts.
In her 40’s she learned to drive and also attended Kinman’s Business College.
She was employed by the City of Spokane as a clerk at the Public Safety Building for eight years.
Verdelle was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, sister Yvonne Nix; mother-in-law Gladys Holbert; nephew Russell Peterson and niece Roxanne Peterson Robuck; and special friend Ivar Aspebakken.
She is survived by a sister, Carole Aughney of Denver, Colorado and a sister-in-law, Pauline Curtis of Omak; a much beloved foster daughter, Lynn Smith of Cape Elizabeth, Maine; nieces, Gail Jensen of Medical Lake, Cherry Rampley of Spokane, Peggy McDaniel of Loomis, Maureen Hendershott of Enumclaw; and nephews, Daniel Aughney of Denver, Colorado and Michael O’Neill of Kent.
She also leaves behind many great-nieces and great-nephews many of whom called her affectionately Grandma Auntie Delle.
In accordance to her expressed wishes there will be no funeral service.
The family will gather at a later date to bury her ashes beside her husband at the cemetery in Loomis, Washington.