Lucille Agnes Gaunt

A funeral Mass will be held for her on February 7, 2024, at 11 a.m. at St Joseph's Catholic Church, 400 S. Andresen Road Vancouver, WA and she will be interned at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, in Vancouver, WA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Affectionately known as ‘Lucy’, Mom was born September 11th, 1937, in Rolla, North Dakota, to Simon and Elizabeth Sattler. She is the youngest of four children along with GusSattler, Terry Sattler-Yost, and Jim Sattler, who all preceded her in life. As a devout Catholic we know she is with God in Heaven because of her kind, caring and loving heart.

She is survived by her four children: Chris (Scott) Apling, Dawn (Derrick) Fuller, Gregory (Rita) Gaunt and Vicki (Dean) Gano, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The funeral Mass service will be live-streamed and can be watched at: www.facebook.com/stjoevan; www.youtube.com/stjoevan; www.vimeo.com/stjoevan

EULOGY:

Several hours after the initial shock of mom’s death, I had a thought: knowing what a joker Uncle Gus was, I’m sure Uncle Gus was the first to greet Mom in Heaven with a booming, “What took you so long?”

Mom was married for better than 42 years to our father, (Mark Gaunt) whom she met while he was stationed at Minot AFB in North Dakota. She was a loyal and loving wife and mother to us. She is the youngest of 4 children along with her brothers Gus and Jim Sattler, and her sister Terry Sattler-Yost, who all preceded her from this life. As a devout Catholic we know she is with God in Heaven because of her kind, caring and loving heart- three important ingredients to getting into Heaven. One of Mom’s favorite past-times was cooking and baking! It was her comfort zone. A memory I have is how she would often create her own version of recipes she found in magazines. I think her favorite was spaghetti with chili beans…or was it chili with spaghetti noodles?

I was given this sympathy card by my sister-in-law Leota and I‘d like to read it because it captures the essence of mothers…from American Greeting cards…

It’s titled:

A Mother’s Love Is Forever~ As children we can’t comprehend or fully realize the meaning of our mother’s love, how tender and how wise…The patience and forgiveness that are part of every day, the unexpected “little things” she does in her own way. Years go by before we can look back on life and see through older eyes and wiser hearts her love and loyalty, and yet it’s these and other special things we’ll hold so dear, for memories of her steadfast love will keep her ever-near.

Mom had a unique way with each of us, and my memories are different than my sisters’. Being the only son, I think I was treated differently to some point. As a young boy, I remember 6 words from her that terrified me: “Wait ‘til your father gets home!” I’m pretty sure I had it coming to me. Because, after all, having two older sisters, I should’ve learned from their mistakes.

Mom probably taught me more than most mothers would to their son about being “domesticated”. Whenever I was “sick” and stayed home from school, and after I began feeling better, she had me doing chores. Not just any chores, but chores that taught me things. She taught me how to wash my clothes...and my father’s and my sister’s…I learned how to iron my own clothes, sew, and cook too. Indispensable skills to have…even as a married man. Right, Honey? Each of my sisters remembers her differently. Each has her own special memories and thoughts as they grew up that they hold dear. Some can be spoken. Others are private and personal. One thing in common that we share is that we are all grateful Mom was always there.

Having Mom at home at a time when dual-income parents were taking root, meant we weren’t “latchkey” kids. Mom was often there, making dinner for us when we came home from school…unless she was on strike. The German or Yiddish phrase for “do it yourself” were the only words that would give us a clue of whenever she was, and then we knew were on our own. She was there when we all were happy, sad, angry, frustrated, silly, sick, and stupid. She kept us clean, fed, and clothed. She did her very best to teach us right from wrong and left from right. She struggled and grew frustrated with four close-aged kids growing up in a changing world of politics, fashions, and morality. One or two of us came out better than the others, but all-in-all, we survived, and she is the reason why.

I had a dream of Mom my last night in Costa Rica last week. We were all cleaning up after this reception (all of us) when I looked up and found her standing in front of me, smiling with that big, warm smile of hers. I threw my arms around her neck and cried on her shoulder. She looked taller than she really was, so this must’ve been a childhood memory of mine. I thanked her for being my mom. I apologized for not always being a good boy and asked her to say “Hi” to my late wife Shari. And in the same comforting voice from my childhood, she said, “You’ll be OK. Everything will be alright.” And things usually did turn out OK. And like back then, everything will be alright today…and tomorrow, too. For all of us.

I love you, Mom.