Violet P. Sperry

Violet SperryJune 3, 2025 Surrounded by her children, Violet Sperry passed away at 2 A.M. on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in Vancouver, WA. She was 92. Born in the small mountain village of Qyteze, Albania, Violet immigrated to the United States in 1936 to escape what would later become - due to the actions of Italian and Nazi fighters - one of the most war-torn regions in all of postwar Europe. At just three years old, poor and unable to speak English, she boarded a ship with her mother and two older siblings. Weeks later, she arrived in New York, was processed at Ellis Island, and was reunited with her father, Peter Michael, who had spent nearly eight years away from his family, learning a trade and preparing a home for them in America. Shy and struggling to fit in with other kids in Seattle, Violet benefited from an older brother, Mike Michael, whose athletic prowess won favor in the Sunnyside neighborhood of the Emerald City. In his shadow, Violet was given to the rough-and-tumble of outdoor play, often returning home dirty with bloody knees and elbows. She enjoyed skipping rope and roller skating, but would come to regret never learning to ride a bike. She graduated from Seattle's Lincoln High School in 1950 and later attended the University of Washington, where she studied textiles and home economics. She worked briefly for the Boeing Company before meeting Donald Sperry, to whom she was married in 1952. She left school a year early to start a family and begin supporting her husband's ambitions in dental and medical school. After living in impoverished neighborhoods in Chicago and Baltimore while Donald was completing medical residencies, Violet, now pregnant with a fourth child, moved from Maryland to Vancouver, WA, in 1965. There, she raised four children and made a loving home for her family. In 1995, after living in Vancouver and Lake Oswego during their working years, Donald and Violet moved to Triton Head on the western shore of Hood Canal. Violet delighted in tending to her gardens, walking the remote gravel roadways with her beloved maltipoo, Pepe, and visiting with neighbors who stopped by for dinner or drinks. She was a talented cook and baker, seamstress, gardener, and a gifted watercolor artist whose framed paintings decorated her homes. Always fit, she was an early adopter during the running boom of the Seventies and enjoyed snow skiing and playing recreational tennis. She was still actively walking outdoors at the age of 90. While Violet's many talents were indeed impressive and packaged with timeless beauty, nothing could outshine the light that radiated from her tender heart. Her love was abundant, shared not only with the family to whom she dedicated her life but also with nearly everyone she encountered. She offered a warm smile, a strong embrace, and a lipsticked kiss for all. Referring to them all as "honey," more than a dozen caregivers made touching visits to her bedside during her final days, reminiscing about Violet's sweetness and praising the joy she brought to everyone she knew. She lived a life of goodness, personal humility, and endless love for family, friends, dogs, and the grocery store babies and small children to whom she went out of her way to speak. Violet was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Vita Michael of Kirkland, WA; her brother, Mike Michael of Wenatchee, WA; her sister, Emily Odegard of Tumwater, WA; and her husband of nearly 69 years, Donald Sperry of Vancouver, WA. She is survived by four children, including Michele Rutherford of Woodinville, WA; Michael Sperry (Betsy) of Issaquah, WA; Dan Sperry (Monica) of Sonoma, CA; and Chris Sperry (Andrea) of Vancouver, WA. In addition, she passed on her enduring love to nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A celebration of life is planned for Sunday, Sept. 21, at Alderbrook Resort. Friends and family interested in attending should contact Mike Sperry at msperry@onedegreebc.com. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Jude's's Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org) may be made in Violet Sperry's honor.

Violet P. Sperry

September 10, 1932 - June 3, 2025