Violet "Vi" Matilda Young was born Oct. 24, 1927 to Peter and Matilda Hansen. She left our world August 7, 2021 to join her family, friends and husband of 68 years, Wilbur, that preceded her. She is survived by her twin daughters, Barbara Corley of Georgia and Dianna Officer of Oregon and son, David Young of Oregon; along with seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. 

Her kind and loving soul and smile will be missed by many. Violet was a woman that gave unconditional love and acceptance. She made family, friends and even strangers feel welcome and cared for through her enduring smile and the twinkle in her beautiful blue eyes.

Violet met her husband at the age of 18 at her church in December 1945 and they were married February 1st, 1946 in Little Rock, Arkansas. She recounted that they were meant for each other because they had a sign when they first locked eyes on each other. She described that they both felt an electrical shock which bound the two of them together for life. Wilbur continued in the service for another year and a half while Violet lived with her parents at the coast and worked at the local bank. After Wilbur's discharge from the Navy, the couple settled in Vanport, Oregon where he studied photography and Violet worked for the College in the office. They were survivors of the Vanport Flood of 1948 and moved to the coast after the flood and managed a photo studio in Toledo, Oregon.  

Family matters brought them to Tampa, FL in 1949 where they lived for 3 1/2 years and started their family, with the twin girls being born October 1951. The family stayed active with their church, The Salvation Army and they moved back to the Portland area. The couple's son David Richard was born in 1956 and they wanted to be closer to Violet's aging parents.  After raising her children, working for the City of Gladstone, and Wilbur retiring from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Violet retired. The couple traveled in a Winnebago for 12 years, visiting family, exploring the country and were Park Hosts for a period of time. They purchased a mobile home in 2000 in Gladstone where they both lived out the rest of their lives. Violet's father lived to the age of 105!

Violet served the Lord through the Salvation Army for much of her life.  She enjoyed gardening, knitting, crocheting, sewing, camping and most of all, spending time with family and friends. She dealt with her own health issues with courage and hope and was a survivor but yet at the same time she was always concerned about the health and happiness of her family.  The most important thing to her was family, friends and her animals. She was such a truly caring and altruistic woman and those that loved her felt this in every interaction with her.   Violet was featured in several Vanport history projects and she enjoyed sharing her memories and memoirs with the Historical Society. 

Below are links to a few of her interviews: 

https://vimeo.com/149108309

https://www.vanportmosaic.org…

**A Celebration of Life will be held at Gladstone SDA Memorial Hall on 10/24/2021 2-4pm.

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