Tom Van Slageren passed away peacefully on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006, at his home with his ever-loving wife and daughter at his side in Arlington, Wash.
Tom was born on Feb. 25, 1934, in Bellflower, Calif., to Peter and Edna Van Slageren.
The family moved in 1944 to the Kent/Auburn, Wash., area in 1948. They moved to Conway, Wash., where his dad bought a dairy farm on which Tom worked. He served in the U.S. Army from 1953 to 1955.
He married Nicki Jean Norback on Jan. 12, 1957. They dairy farmed with his dad as partners until 1967 when he bought his own farm in Arlington. Farming was his life and ended suddenly when he was stricken with a bad stroke in 1991. Tom and Nicki moved off the farm in 1993 to another home in Arlington.
He is survived by his wife, Nicki, at the family home; his four children, Tom Jr., Peter Van Slageren, Wilma (Steve) Potter, and Martin (Trisha) Van Slagere; and seven grandchildren, all of Arlington; brother, Martin Van Slageren, of Mount Vernon, Wash.; sister, Libby (Leroy) Werkhoven, of Sunnyside, Wash.; stepbrothers, Andrew Jager, of Tacoma, Wash. and John (Lonnie) Jager, of Everson, Wash.; stepsister, Janette (Larry) Lund, of Mount Vernon; mother-in-law, Wilma Norback West, and stepfather, Jack, of Stanwood, Wash.; brother-in-law, Allen (Linda) Norback, of Stanwood; sister-in-law, Beverly Van Slageren, of Clear Lake, Wash.; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Peter and Edna Van Slageren; stepmother, Betty Jo Van Slageren; brothers, William and John Van Slageren; and father-in-law, John W. Norback.
He was a member of the Cascade Christian Reformed Church of Marysville, Wash.
Visitation was held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, and from 10 – 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, at Weller Funeral Home in Arlington. A graveside service was held at Arlington Cemetery at 1 p.m., along with military honors by the American Legion Post No. 76, and a memorial service was at 2:30 p.m., at Cascade Christian Reformed Church in Marysville, with the Reverend Michael Kooy officiating. Full arrangements were entrusted to the care and direction of Weller Funeral Home of Arlington.
The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, memorial be made to the Cascade Christian Reformed Church Building Fund, 13908 51st Ave. N.E., Marysville, WA. 98271, or Evergreen Hospice Healthcare Foundation, 12910 Totem Lake Blvd. N.E., Suite 2000, Kirkland, WA. 98034-2901.
Our husband, father, grandfather and brother will join his Heavenly Father in Heaven for a long awaited peace and rest. There was nothing left for Tom in this world. God broke our hearts in the process of taking Tom but He proved to us that he only takes the best. Tom will be in our hearts forever and will be missed dearly by us all.