Louise was born in Pittsburgh, PA to Marie D’Alleves Chappaz and Louis Vassal. She passed away in her sleep from natural causes at age 93. She was the 4th and youngest daughter in the family which had emigrated from Paris, France. Her family ancestry dates back to the 1400’s originally from Sembrancher, Switzerland and Calais, France. In Pittsburgh, Louise attended Peabody High School and was graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree from what was then known as Carnegie Tech. She married Lawrence W. Dalton, Jr. on 7.25.51 and they were married until Larry’s death on 12.19.2010.
She is survived by her daughter, Fran Blair Ikard (Bill) from Houston, TX; daughter Kathleen Nolen of Ft. Collins, CO; granddaughter Michelle Nolen of Houston, TX; niece Nancy Baker of Longmont, CO; and nephew Michael Baker of Pittsburgh, PA.
While Larry was in the Marine Corp, Louise lived in North Carolina, and temporarily in Pittsburgh working at Bell Telephone. Then they moved to Hampton Bays, Long Island, NY. After Larry left the Corp, he was accepted into the Border Patrol Academy in the Rio Grande Valley, TX and they moved to Mercedes in 1962. Louise worked for the Entomology Dept of the USDA in Weslaco and when Larry retired, they moved to Ft. Collins, CO. They took up skiing at age 55 and loved spending time in Durango, Boulder, Estes Park, Poudre Canyon, and other towns in CO and MT. Louise continued to work for the USDA until Larry’s death, which was 1 week before her retirement at age 79.
Although she never liked the heat and humidity of Texas, Louise moved to Houston in 2017 to be close to her daughter, Franny and granddaughter, Michelle. Even though she missed the cooler climate of Colorado and her friends there, she was happy to be in Houston spending time with Franny, Michelle and their friends.
Louise was a bright, kind, generous and sardonic woman who loved animals, reading and watching sports. She loved her family dearly, as they loved her, and would do anything for them. Louise liked to say, “if you’re happy, I’m happy.”
We want to thank the employees of Village of Tanglewood for their kindness and care. Pursuant to her wishes, Louise will be cremated and no service conducted.
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