Wanda Victoria Valentine, 96, a lifelong resident of the Harbor, died at Pacific Care Center, Hoquiam, Sunday, June 21, 2020. She was born the youngest of nine children in Aberdeen, Washington, on July 23, 1923, the daughter of Stephen and Victoria (Kozlowski) Mekosky. The family lived in the Wishkah Valley on the family farm in Aberdeen Gardens. She attended school at Wishkah and Aberdeen. Wanda married Don William Valentine in 1941.

During WWII, like many other women of the time, Wanda worked in local industry for the Grays Harbor Chair Company. Following the war, she was busy raising her four children and taking care of her home.

Wanda was a member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Aberdeen and taught volleyball at St. Mary School. She was a bowler on the Englund Jewelers and Smoke Shop bowling teams and was a lifetime member of the 600 Club of Women’s International Bowlers Congress. She played bingo almost everyday, and in her earlier years she golfed and played tennis. She would also fish on the local rivers and dug razor clams commercially on the ocean beaches.

Wanda is survived by a daughter, Barbara James, Hoquiam; a son, Kenneth (Kathi) Valentine, Sparks, Nevada and two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a son, David Paul Valentine in 1979 and a daughter, Connie V. “Vicki” Valentine in 1964 and all eight of her siblings.

At the request of the family, there will be no formal memorial services.

A card of condolence with a message or a memory may be sent to the family at www.fernhillfuneral.com.

Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen.