Elizabeth Stewart Gacek was born Nov. 28, 1925, in Lebam, Wash., the daughter of Leslie Stewart and Suewayne Hastings Stewart. She attended and completed elementary and high school in South Bend, Wash., and began studies at WA State University in 1943. She married Arthur (Archie) William Gacek of Raymond, Wash., a Veteran of World War II, on Aug. 17, 1947. The couple moved to Eugene, Ore., where Archie completed his bachelors degree at the University of Oregon. The couple later moved to Portland in the late 1940s, where Archie began his career as an insurance adjustor and agent, starting with the Hartford Insurance Company. He founded his own insurance agency, Gacek Insurance, Inc. in Portland in the early 1960s. Archie died in May of 2009 in Clackamas, Ore. Elizabeth moved to Gaithersburg, Md., immediately after her husband’s death to live near her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren at an assisted living facility.

Elizabeth is survived by her only child, son Stanley Arthur Gacek, who was born in Portland, Ore. on Aug. 21, 1952, and by her two grandchildren, Catarina (age 13) and Leo Arthur (age 10). Stanley’s wife, Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law, and the mother of Catarina and Leo Arthur, Liliane Fiuza Gacek, was born in Brasilia, Brazil on Dec. 8, 1970, and died in Brasilia on Nov. 26, 2015 after a struggle with cancer.

Elizabeth died of complications related to pneumonia on Oct. 30, 2016, in Gaithersburg, Md. She was a very devoted daughter, mother, mother-in-law, wife and grandmother. She worked as a secretary as a young adult, and later as a homemaker in Portland. She was an active member of Grant Park Baptist Church in Portland, Ore., she also served actively with the Oregon League of Women Voters.

Funeral services will be held at 9 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, at Stoller’s Mortuary in Raymond, followed by burial at the Fern Hill Cemetery in Menlo. Viewing will begin at Stoller’s Mortuary after 11 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 4. You may visit www.StollersMortuary.com to leave condolences for the family.