Louise Yvonne Holt

Born Louise Yvonne Labelle, 15 November 1922, in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada. Passed peacefully, 24 January 2021 in Edmonds, Washington. She is the last of six siblings, and is survived by her son Don, Jr. (Linda), a favorite niece Jeri Labell, and many other nieces and nephews scattered across western Washington and Canada.
Mom lived life, for the most part, on her terms. After a depression-era upbringing at Delta Beach on Lake Manitoba, life circumstances and mom’s choices finally landed her in Seattle’s U-District where she found work at West Coast Airlines as an administrative assistant to the president of the company. She met Donald Holt, a UW student Engineer as they lived in the same building. In 1951 they were married; Donald having since been hired as a Boeing Customer Support Engineer. In the ‘50’s, his work took them many places around the U. S.; mom always enjoyed traveling and seeing new places. In those days, she named some of the cars they owned, one being a red Olds with a Rocket V-8 (“Red Hot Diggity”). Wherever Don’s work took them, mom found work to do, too. Over the years she did inspection work for an airplane parts manufacturer, learned to type really fast, and did secretarial work in several places. In 1957, they zeroed in on Bellevue, Washington and soon after, Don Jr. was born. Going forward, Don Sr. settled into work on the commercial side of Boeing airplanes. In the ‘60’s, mom wrote a couple of books of poetry and got them published. She also spent time oil painting.
In 1966, the family hopped in the ’65 Olds and drove south to Mexico City where Don Sr. took a two-year assignment as a Boeing Field Service Rep. Mom sort of learned some Spanish and, again, was totally enthralled with the new places we got to see. 1968 saw a move to a new six-year assignment in Bloomington, Minnesota. Mom helped raise her son and also worked for Sperry-Rand in an office environment. In 1974, home beckoned, so we moved back to Everett, Washington to stay. These were the days when mom (and dad) became more involved in Christian ministry. Mom led some Bible studies and she and dad became more regular attenders of worship services at the Mukilteo Presbyterian Church.
In time, Don Sr. retired from Boeing, and mom and dad moved into a new home near Anacortes, Washington. Those days were spent trolling for salmon, enjoying some traveling, and worshipping at Whidbey Presbyterian Church in Oak Harbor. Mom decorated the house with photos she took, and landscaped with painted driftwood. Time was spent maintaining life-long relationships with a small group of friends mom and dad had cultivated along the way.
In the summer of 2015, declining health motivated a move to Harbour Pointe Senior Living in Mukilteo. Don Sr. passed away that fall, and mom continued at HPSL until summer, 2018. Further health decline forced a move to Legends Living Senior Care AFH in Edmonds. Mom continued to receive excellent care until her passing.
Louise was an encouragement to those who knew her. She was a shining light for positive thinking and the work of the Holy Spirit in her life. People in her sphere would comment on her light-hearted and enthusiastic outlook.
Many thanks to Fortuna and Messay at Legends Living for their outstanding care for mom. They helped make mom’s closing days comfortable and fulfilling.
Many thanks to Providence Health and Services, Providence Hospice and Evergreen Hospice in mom’s last months of life. These institutions provided timely and helpful assistance and direction for mom’s care.
Funeral arrangements will be handled by Westford Funeral Home in Bellingham, Washington. No services are scheduled at this time.