Tālis Laimonis Jaundālderis was born in Gulbene, Latvia, to Jānis and Auguste Jaundālderis on November 24, 1937. He passed away peacefully at home in Seattle on May 25, 2023. His wife Charlene was by his side.
Much of Tālis’s childhood was spent as a war refugee. He fled Latvia with his parents and older brother in 1944 to escape the Russian invasion. They walked for days to reach the seaside town of Liepāja, where they boarded a ship to Germany. His family spent six years in Baltic displaced persons’ camps in Wurzburg and Bamberg. In 1949 they left for the United States and arrived at Ellis Island. Their first home was on a farm in Yankton, South Dakota, where his father worked off their passage. After a year they traveled with other Latvian refugees to Seattle to join other friends from the homeland.
Tālis graduated from Queen Anne High School in 1956. He was a radar technician in the Air Force. After his discharge he returned to Seattle. It was love at first sight when he saw Charlene enter the German Club with her friends for a night of dancing. They married in 1961 and welcomed two daughters soon after.
Tālis attended night school at the UW to earn a BA in Business while working full-time to support his family. He worked in a ham radio store before joining Radar Electric, where he sold electronics to Boeing for 40 years. He retired in 2006.
Tālis was very active in the Seattle Latvian community. He was a teacher at the Latvian school , president of the Washington State Latvian Association, on the church board and an active member of his Latvian fraternity, Fraternitas Metropolitana.
Over the years Tālis and Charlene enjoyed 13 trips to visit family in Latvia, as well as traveling through Europe and the USA.
Tālis is survived by Charlene, his wife of 61 years, daughters Benita Jaundālderis (Peter McNeill) and Sandra Jaundālderis (Michael Boswell), sister-in-law Lucille Hellmann (Tom), brother-in-law Everett Corbin, sister-in-law Virginia Jaundālderis, many nieces, nephews, a much-loved Goddaughter, Erika Peterson and cousins in the United States and Latvia.
Talis is preceded in death by his brother Imants, and many close friends.
A memorial services and celebration of life will be held on July 29 at 2pm at the Latvian Lutheran EV Lutheran Church, 11710 3rd Ave NE, Seattle.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Seattle Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church, 11710 3rd Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98125; the Latvian Association of State of Washington, PO Box 75081, Seattle, WA 98175; or any animal charity. He loved his cats.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Evergreen-Washelli.com for the Jaundalderis family.
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