Dee lived in Spokane most of her life, residing the last five years at the Touchmark Retirement Community.
Dee was born in Yakima, Washington on February 17, 1929. Her parents were Lillian and Edward Wubbens. Dee enjoyed growing up with five siblings – Vivian, Vernon, Marvin, Margaret, and Jean.
Living during the Great Depression and WW II made a lasting impact on Dee who was patriotic, thrifty, and a hard worker. She was one who persevered under great trial and was always hopeful that tomorrow was going to be better than today.
Dee was very artistic and always had some sort of project in the works, whether she was sewing a new outfit for her girls, tending her lush flower gardens, or baking her authentic Scottish shortbread to perfection. In her 60s she took up oil painting and created hundreds of beautiful murals, mainly of flowers and landscapes. She loved color which was shown not only in her paintings but the way she dressed or decorated her home.
Dee and her husband Bud owned the Highland House Restaurant on East Trent for many decades. They strived to serve the best food possible and provided a place of employment for dozens of people who were considered family. After they sold the Highland House, they purchased Trent Hardware and enjoyed being business owners once again until they permanently retired and moved to a large home at Liberty Lake.
Dee was proceeded in death by her husband Julius (Bud), her brother Vernon who was killed in action during WWII, and her sister Margaret who passed away tragically in 1957. Her sister Vivian and brother Marvin also proceeded her in death in recent years. Dee is survived by her sister Jean of Spokane, two daughters, Chris Gust (Michael) of Cape Coral, Florida and Julie Alvis (Rick) of Greenwood IN. Grandchildren include Marie (Travis) Hansen of Spokane who served as Dee’s faithful caregiver, Leesa Gust of Cheney, WA, Bethany (David) Alvis-Wininger of Indianapolis, Nathan (Joy) Alvis of Indianapolis, and Kyle (Kristen) of Whitestown, Indiana. Three great grandchildren - Hannah Hansen who spent many hours doting on her great grandmother, Jack Julius Alvis, and Isabelle Alvis along with several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held Friday, May 17 at 3 pm at Touchmark, 2929 South Waterford Drive. The service will be held in the Forum on the second floor of the main building.
As Dee would say “bye bye for now.”
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