Iris Patricia Decker

Iris Patricia Decker, age 87, passed away on Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Iris was born in Arborfield, Saskatchewan on January 17, 1936. She was the second of seven children of Willard Winston Elliott and (Edith) Muriel (nee Armitage) Elliott.

Iris studied nursing and graduated from the nursing program at City Hospital (Sask., Canada) in 1957, at age 21. She moved to California to practice nursing, and it was there that she met her future husband, Dale Lee Decker. Family lore has it that Dale was one of Iris’ patients in the hospital. He told his children more than once, “I wanted to ask her out from the first moment I saw her. She was so beautiful.”

Dale and Iris moved to Redmond, Washington sometime in the early 1960s. Iris continued nursing for many years. She worked at various places around the Redmond area, including Overlake Hospital, Group Health Hospital, Evergreen Hospital, and a number of different nursing homes.

Dale and Iris were the loving parents of three children: Brian Decker (Bothell, WA), Carolyn Ashizawa (Tokyo, JP), and Brad Decker (Reno, NV). They were also blessed with three grandchildren: Taylor Decker (Los Angeles, CA), Jeremy Decker (Bothell, WA), and Liam Ashizawa (New York, NY).

Iris was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Faith Sharpen, her brother Wayne Elliott, and by her husband Dale, who passed away 26 years prior, almost to the day. Iris is survived by her sisters Sandra Rohatyn, Lois King, and Lynn Elder, and by her brother Gary Elliott, all of whom live in Canada.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CedarLawns-Washington.com for the Decker family.