Obituary: Degabriele, Matilda N.
Age 92
She was born 5/7/21 in Spokane, WA and grew up in Kellogg, Idaho.
Nicki had been a Seattle resident since 1946, moving here after a stint in Wash. D. C. during the war, where she worked for the Bureau of Naval Affairs.
She met her husband Ray while attending a dance at Dick Parker’s Ballroom.
She liked his sincerity and sense of humour and he felt “an instant rapport” with her.
They wed in 1949 and moved to West Seattle in the Admiral district, where they thoroughly enjoyed “life on the bluff” and the ever-changing Seattle skyline.
Nicki juggled family life, homekeeping and a career in the Trust Dept.
of Sea-First Bank with seeming ease and positive attitude.
She loved family and friends and loved to entertain them with her delicious cooking.
She also maintained a beautiful flower garden, enjoyed quilting and baking, and played piano and accordion.
She loved and had a special way with animals, especially “Perry” the toy poodle, her favorite pet.
Born to Croatian parents, Nicki was very interested in her cultural heritage.
She was a past secretary of Seattle CFU Lodge 439, hosted “The Slavic Hour” on radio station KXA in the early ‘70s and studied the Serbo-Croatian language in preparation for travel to then-Yugoslavia.
And no holiday was complete without her mouth-watering “povitica” (Croatian nut roll).
Nicki was a great listener and non-judgmental friend with a ready sense of humour.
She loved meeting new people, new experiences and learning new things, with the motto “be yourself”.
Our lives will not be the same without her, but she will continue to inspire us forever.
Nicki is pre-deceased by her parents, John and Mary Pavelich, and her brother, Andrew Pavelich.
She is survived by her husband Ray DeGabriele; daughters Lisa Florio (Jim) and Rita DeGabriele; and sisters Katherine Davis of Seattle and Josephine Stimson of Spokane, and many nieces and nephews.
There will be a Funeral Mass at Holy Rosary Church in West Seattle on Wed. 2/19/14 at 10:30 a.m., with a reception following.
We wish to acknowledge the love and care provided by her wonderful care-givers, Kerry Thacker, Patti Wunder, Nayeli Perez, Aliya Carrillo, Alexandra Alfaro, and the caring staff at Park West Rehab.
Center.