Viola Maye (Savage) Nations Wilson, a longtime Hoquiam, Wash., resident went to meet her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Thursday, June 15, 2017.

Vi was born in Coatsville, Mo. on Nov. 29, 1935, to Viola Maye (Cooksey) Savage and Patrick Savage.

Her father passed away when she was four. Her mother later married her second father, Afton Lidtka of Grinnell, Iowa. Afton was a farmer and Vi attended grade school in Iowa. In 1948, tired of the farm life, they loaded up and headed west.

Vi enrolled in Hoquiam Junior High School in the seventh grade. She then “took” her step-father’s name of Lidtka. She graduated in 1954 from Hoquiam High School.

In 1955 she married Bill Nations. The marriage lasted eleven years before ending in divorce. They had three children.

Vi worked from the time she was 13 until she was a grandmother, and then she “retired” to take care of her grandchildren. She said “that wasn’t work, it was the greatest pleasure she had ever known”.

At age 13 she baby sat for friends. Then when she started high school she worked at Arlands Fountain Lunch in Aberdeen, making milk shakes and anything with ice cream, what a sweet job! After graduation she worked for a while at Woolworth’s in Seattle then came home to go to business school. She quit business college to go to work at the Bell Telephone Company on 6th and K Streets in Hoquiam. She was laid off when the “new” dial system came in. She then worked for a while at an insurance company but sitting at a desk in a small cubby hole, answering phones and typing all day weren’t for her. She had to be moving! Her mom was working at the Hillside Rest Home on B Street in Aberdeen and got her a job for four days a week as a nurse’s aide and relief cook. While she was there she got a divorce from Bill. She was making 90 cents an hour working at Hillside and also at Parklane (now Grays Harbor Health and Rehab). She couldn’t support her three children on this so she applied and got a job at Chuck’s Hideaway in Hoquiam. She made $1.25 an hour plus tips! Vi had found her calling. She loved being a waitress and considered herself a good one. She worked off and on at “the Hideaway” then Riverside Terrace and finally River Haven. No matter what they named it, to Vi it was always “the Hideaway”. She worked there for 20 years, more or less. She waited on the Kiwanis Club for so many years, they joked that they should make her an honorary member.

It was there that she met the love of her life, Don F. Wilson. They were married in 1968 and would have been married 25 years when he passed away with Alzheimer’s just months before their anniversary. Vi and Don bought a cabin at Lake Quinault and planned to retire there. Vi worked for five years at the Lake Quinault Lodge, but always came back to work “the Hideaway” in the winter. She made many friends working there and when one of them would come in grouchy or complaining about “a lousy” day she would give them a big smile and tell them “any day God lets you get out of bed is a good day”! She also worked for a short time at both the Nordic Inn and Riverside Terrace. Then later she worked as a caregiver. She retired from this to take care of her grandchildren.

Vi loved the Lord and her favorite book was her Bible, which she read from cover to cover several times.

She loved to read and had an extensive library. She also loved to crochet, do crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, play card games, bowl, garden, and take the grandkids anywhere they wanted to go. She liked watching NASCAR, Motocross, Animal Planet, the Mariners and the Seahawks.

She loved to attend anything her grandkids were involved in, whether a basketball game, football game, soccer or a concert, whatever, if it was close to home, she was there.

She was a den mother, taught Missionettes, was a Commander in Royal Rangers for her church, Harbor Assembly of God, of which she was a member for several years. She also participated in “the singing Christmas Tree” at her church for several years.

When she was younger she loved to garden and always had beautiful flowers that she gave away to friends. She also loved to take the grandkids to the beach or rivers and she always came home with “beautiful” rocks. She also loved to bowl and was on several teams.

Vi is survived by her four children, Dave Nations of Florida, Rick Nations of Hoquiam, Sheri (Nations) Morrissey (Tom of Morrissey Construction) of Hoquiam and Mike Wilson (Wilson Plumbing & Repair) of Hoquiam; four grandchildren, James Nations, Kayla Morrissey, Taylor Wilson and Joe Wilson; three great-grandchildren, Annica, Ashleigh and Hadleigh Nations; one brother, Arnold Lidtka of Sequim, one sister-in-law, Sandy Lidtka of Aberdeen and other relatives.

Vi was preceded in death by her father, Patrick Savage; her second father, Afton Lidtka, her step-father, Fred Fiene; and her mother, Viola Maye (Cooksey) Savage Lidtka Fiene who passed away in May of 1997.

In the year 1993, Vi lost both her beloved grandson, Patrick Joseph Morrissey and the love of her life, Donald F. Wilson. In 2013 she lost her younger brother, Gary Lee Lidtka and a younger sister, Janice Fay Lidtka died shortly after birth in Grinnell, Iowa.

At Vi’s request there will be no funeral and no public viewing. If you would like you can make a donation in her name to the SIDA Foundation or to Alzheimer’s Research.

Cremation arrangements are by the Coleman Mortuary.

Please take a few moments to record your thoughts for the family by signing the on line register at www.colemanmortuary.net.