Vada Belle (Solomon) Goymerac peacefully left this world with her family by her side on Oct. 11, 2015. She was born to Edward and Gladys (Wigmore) Solomon on August 22, 1922 in rural Ellis, Kansas just moments before her twin brother Vernon "Dale".
She spent her childhood days living farm life to the fullest, working and playing on the Kansas prairie. She and her brother would walk to the country Star Schoolhouse down the road in the mornings and spend afternoons filled with farm chores. She always felt especially connected to nature. She attended and graduated from Hays High School in 1940 and began working at Walker Army Airfield just outside of Walker, Kansas.
Her next adventure began with an invitation to tag along on a cross country move with her cousin Marge (King) Harbaugh to California. Vada happily accepted the invite, and bravely at age 19 packed her bags and headed west!
She began work at Mare Island Naval Base in 1942 where she soon met her husband, Nick. It was a smooth pick up line, "What kind of cigarettes does your husband smoke?" To which she coyly replied, "I don't have a husband..." And that was all it took. They began dating and soon eloped in Reno, Nevada in 1945.
Vada and Nick permanently settled in Napa in 1954 and both lived their lives fully in the same house in the West Park School neighborhood for over 60 years! They welcomed two daughters, Aimee "Janine" Nelson (Ron, of Napa); Niki Bartlett (Ellis, KS) and finally added their son Eddie (Janine, of Napa) to complete their family of five. Vada kept her family close to her Kansas roots as they traveled each summer to her family farm just in time for wheat harvest. She made sure her three children had the full Kansas experience, outhouse and all! Her love for her home state did not wane, she filled her home with pictures of wheat fields, windmills and sunflowers. She loved the smell of a good thunderstorm brewing and would stand outside watching the clouds rumble on her spring-time visits "home."
Vada, Ms. Vada or Grandma Vada, as she was affectionately known to several generations of Napa kids, spent much of her life "raising kids" in one way or another. She worked in the daycare center at Napa Bowl for 30 years, after school daycare program at West Park Elementary, babysat kids out of her home, as well as volunteered countless hours in the classrooms with the teachers and students of West Park. She had a gift to connect with children and an endless supply of patience and love to go along with it. She could spot a baby a mile away and would seek out mothers in grocery stores, churches and even on the street to get a closer look and quiz the mother on the child's birth stats. She never met a baby or child she did not like!
Vada also had a green thumb entering flowers in the Napa Fair for many years, she always enjoyed a good meal and loved to square dance and sew in her younger years. Vada walked a mile a day in her neighborhood up until age 91, caregivers in tow. She also looked forward to her weekly shopping trips, always interested in the new fashion trends for the year.
Vada was passionate about her family and was especially proud of her seven granddaughters, Monica Nelson (New Orleans, LA), JennyferToepfer (Hays, KS), Amy Kuppetz (Ellis, KS), Lesley Bradley (Lee's Summit, MO), Becky Sims (Napa, CA), Betsy Newman (Goodland, KS) and Katie Eleccion (Napa, CA). "Not an ugly one in the bunch!" she would proudly proclaim when asked about her granddaughters. Time with
(/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) Click to send flowers using our local area florist Direct website to florist ordering, saving on wire fees (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book) View/Sign Guest Book (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book)
Grandma Vada was always an adventure, she would load as many as could fit (sometimes not legally) into her Ford Escort and off they would go! She gave all seven of them endless amounts of time, attention, love and lessons as an amazing example of what it means to be selfless and truly put others first.
She welcomed great-grandchildren just as excitedly as grandchildren, for babies were her favorite kind of people! She was further blessed with five great-grandsons and twelve great-granddaughters. She rocked and patted and bounced each one she could get her hands on. She kept up on each childs' milestones and growth, near or far.
All the love she gave was returned as she was cared for like a queen by her son, Eddie, daughter-in-law, Janine, and granddaughters Becky and Katie in her final years. She lived for the chatter of children and looked forward to Becky and Katie's children (the third generation to attend West Park Elementary) to pop over and say "Good Morning, Grandma Vada!" on their way to school each morning.
Vada leaves behind family, friends and neighbors with heavy hearts, but countless happy and wonderful Vada stories! She was preceded in death by her husband, Nick and her daughter, Aimee "Janine" Nelson.
She spent her childhood days living farm life to the fullest, working and playing on the Kansas prairie. She and her brother would walk to the country Star Schoolhouse down the road in the mornings and spend afternoons filled with farm chores. She always felt especially connected to nature. She attended and graduated from Hays High School in 1940 and began working at Walker Army Airfield just outside of Walker, Kansas.
Her next adventure began with an invitation to tag along on a cross country move with her cousin Marge (King) Harbaugh to California. Vada happily accepted the invite, and bravely at age 19 packed her bags and headed west!
She began work at Mare Island Naval Base in 1942 where she soon met her husband, Nick. It was a smooth pick up line, "What kind of cigarettes does your husband smoke?" To which she coyly replied, "I don't have a husband..." And that was all it took. They began dating and soon eloped in Reno, Nevada in 1945.
Vada and Nick permanently settled in Napa in 1954 and both lived their lives fully in the same house in the West Park School neighborhood for over 60 years! They welcomed two daughters, Aimee "Janine" Nelson (Ron, of Napa); Niki Bartlett (Ellis, KS) and finally added their son Eddie (Janine, of Napa) to complete their family of five. Vada kept her family close to her Kansas roots as they traveled each summer to her family farm just in time for wheat harvest. She made sure her three children had the full Kansas experience, outhouse and all! Her love for her home state did not wane, she filled her home with pictures of wheat fields, windmills and sunflowers. She loved the smell of a good thunderstorm brewing and would stand outside watching the clouds rumble on her spring-time visits "home."
Vada, Ms. Vada or Grandma Vada, as she was affectionately known to several generations of Napa kids, spent much of her life "raising kids" in one way or another. She worked in the daycare center at Napa Bowl for 30 years, after school daycare program at West Park Elementary, babysat kids out of her home, as well as volunteered countless hours in the classrooms with the teachers and students of West Park. She had a gift to connect with children and an endless supply of patience and love to go along with it. She could spot a baby a mile away and would seek out mothers in grocery stores, churches and even on the street to get a closer look and quiz the mother on the child's birth stats. She never met a baby or child she did not like!
Vada also had a green thumb entering flowers in the Napa Fair for many years, she always enjoyed a good meal and loved to square dance and sew in her younger years. Vada walked a mile a day in her neighborhood up until age 91, caregivers in tow. She also looked forward to her weekly shopping trips, always interested in the new fashion trends for the year.
Vada was passionate about her family and was especially proud of her seven granddaughters, Monica Nelson (New Orleans, LA), JennyferToepfer (Hays, KS), Amy Kuppetz (Ellis, KS), Lesley Bradley (Lee's Summit, MO), Becky Sims (Napa, CA), Betsy Newman (Goodland, KS) and Katie Eleccion (Napa, CA). "Not an ugly one in the bunch!" she would proudly proclaim when asked about her granddaughters. Time with
(/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) Click to send flowers using our local area florist Direct website to florist ordering, saving on wire fees (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book) View/Sign Guest Book (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book)
Grandma Vada was always an adventure, she would load as many as could fit (sometimes not legally) into her Ford Escort and off they would go! She gave all seven of them endless amounts of time, attention, love and lessons as an amazing example of what it means to be selfless and truly put others first.
She welcomed great-grandchildren just as excitedly as grandchildren, for babies were her favorite kind of people! She was further blessed with five great-grandsons and twelve great-granddaughters. She rocked and patted and bounced each one she could get her hands on. She kept up on each childs' milestones and growth, near or far.
All the love she gave was returned as she was cared for like a queen by her son, Eddie, daughter-in-law, Janine, and granddaughters Becky and Katie in her final years. She lived for the chatter of children and looked forward to Becky and Katie's children (the third generation to attend West Park Elementary) to pop over and say "Good Morning, Grandma Vada!" on their way to school each morning.
Vada leaves behind family, friends and neighbors with heavy hearts, but countless happy and wonderful Vada stories! She was preceded in death by her husband, Nick and her daughter, Aimee "Janine" Nelson.
Vada Belle (Solomon) Goymerac peacefully left this world with her family by her side on Oct. 11, 2015. She was born to Edward and Gladys (Wigmore) Solomon on August 22, 1922 in rural Ellis, Kansas just moments before her twin brother Vernon "Dale".
She spent her childhood days living farm life to the fullest, working and playing on the Kansas prairie. She and her brother would walk to the country Star Schoolhouse down the road in the mornings and spend afternoons filled with farm chores. She always felt especially connected to nature. She attended and graduated from Hays High School in 1940 and began working at Walker Army Airfield just outside of Walker, Kansas.
Her next adventure began with an invitation to tag along on a cross country move with her cousin Marge (King) Harbaugh to California. Vada happily accepted the invite, and bravely at age 19 packed her bags and headed west!
She began work at Mare Island Naval Base in 1942 where she soon met her husband, Nick. It was a smooth pick up line, "What kind of cigarettes does your husband smoke?" To which she coyly replied, "I don't have a husband..." And that was all it took. They began dating and soon eloped in Reno, Nevada in 1945.
Vada and Nick permanently settled in Napa in 1954 and both lived their lives fully in the same house in the West Park School neighborhood for over 60 years! They welcomed two daughters, Aimee "Janine" Nelson (Ron, of Napa); Niki Bartlett (Ellis, KS) and finally added their son Eddie (Janine, of Napa) to complete their family of five. Vada kept her family close to her Kansas roots as they traveled each summer to her family farm just in time for wheat harvest. She made sure her three children had the full Kansas experience, outhouse and all! Her love for her home state did not wane, she filled her home with pictures of wheat fields, windmills and sunflowers. She loved the smell of a good thunderstorm brewing and would stand outside watching the clouds rumble on her spring-time visits "home."
Vada, Ms. Vada or Grandma Vada, as she was affectionately known to several generations of Napa kids, spent much of her life "raising kids" in one way or another. She worked in the daycare center at Napa Bowl for 30 years, after school daycare program at West Park Elementary, babysat kids out of her home, as well as volunteered countless hours in the classrooms with the teachers and students of West Park. She had a gift to connect with children and an endless supply of patience and love to go along with it. She could spot a baby a mile away and would seek out mothers in grocery stores, churches and even on the street to get a closer look and quiz the mother on the child's birth stats. She never met a baby or child she did not like!
Vada also had a green thumb entering flowers in the Napa Fair for many years, she always enjoyed a good meal and loved to square dance and sew in her younger years. Vada walked a mile a day in her neighborhood up until age 91, caregivers in tow. She also looked forward to her weekly shopping trips, always interested in the new fashion trends for the year.
Vada was passionate about her family and was especially proud of her seven granddaughters, Monica Nelson (New Orleans, LA), JennyferToepfer (Hays, KS), Amy Kuppetz (Ellis, KS), Lesley Bradley (Lee's Summit, MO), Becky Sims (Napa, CA), Betsy Newman (Goodland, KS) and Katie Eleccion (Napa, CA). "Not an ugly one in the bunch!" she would proudly proclaim when asked about her granddaughters. Time with
(/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) Click to send flowers using our local area florist Direct website to florist ordering, saving on wire fees (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book) View/Sign Guest Book (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book)
Grandma Vada was always an adventure, she would load as many as could fit (sometimes not legally) into her Ford Escort and off they would go! She gave all seven of them endless amounts of time, attention, love and lessons as an amazing example of what it means to be selfless and truly put others first.
She welcomed great-grandchildren just as excitedly as grandchildren, for babies were her favorite kind of people! She was further blessed with five great-grandsons and twelve great-granddaughters. She rocked and patted and bounced each one she could get her hands on. She kept up on each childs' milestones and growth, near or far.
All the love she gave was returned as she was cared for like a queen by her son, Eddie, daughter-in-law, Janine, and granddaughters Becky and Katie in her final years. She lived for the chatter of children and looked forward to Becky and Katie's children (the third generation to attend West Park Elementary) to pop over and say "Good Morning, Grandma Vada!" on their way to school each morning.
Vada leaves behind family, friends and neighbors with heavy hearts, but countless happy and wonderful Vada stories! She was preceded in death by her husband, Nick and her daughter, Aimee "Janine" Nelson.
She spent her childhood days living farm life to the fullest, working and playing on the Kansas prairie. She and her brother would walk to the country Star Schoolhouse down the road in the mornings and spend afternoons filled with farm chores. She always felt especially connected to nature. She attended and graduated from Hays High School in 1940 and began working at Walker Army Airfield just outside of Walker, Kansas.
Her next adventure began with an invitation to tag along on a cross country move with her cousin Marge (King) Harbaugh to California. Vada happily accepted the invite, and bravely at age 19 packed her bags and headed west!
She began work at Mare Island Naval Base in 1942 where she soon met her husband, Nick. It was a smooth pick up line, "What kind of cigarettes does your husband smoke?" To which she coyly replied, "I don't have a husband..." And that was all it took. They began dating and soon eloped in Reno, Nevada in 1945.
Vada and Nick permanently settled in Napa in 1954 and both lived their lives fully in the same house in the West Park School neighborhood for over 60 years! They welcomed two daughters, Aimee "Janine" Nelson (Ron, of Napa); Niki Bartlett (Ellis, KS) and finally added their son Eddie (Janine, of Napa) to complete their family of five. Vada kept her family close to her Kansas roots as they traveled each summer to her family farm just in time for wheat harvest. She made sure her three children had the full Kansas experience, outhouse and all! Her love for her home state did not wane, she filled her home with pictures of wheat fields, windmills and sunflowers. She loved the smell of a good thunderstorm brewing and would stand outside watching the clouds rumble on her spring-time visits "home."
Vada, Ms. Vada or Grandma Vada, as she was affectionately known to several generations of Napa kids, spent much of her life "raising kids" in one way or another. She worked in the daycare center at Napa Bowl for 30 years, after school daycare program at West Park Elementary, babysat kids out of her home, as well as volunteered countless hours in the classrooms with the teachers and students of West Park. She had a gift to connect with children and an endless supply of patience and love to go along with it. She could spot a baby a mile away and would seek out mothers in grocery stores, churches and even on the street to get a closer look and quiz the mother on the child's birth stats. She never met a baby or child she did not like!
Vada also had a green thumb entering flowers in the Napa Fair for many years, she always enjoyed a good meal and loved to square dance and sew in her younger years. Vada walked a mile a day in her neighborhood up until age 91, caregivers in tow. She also looked forward to her weekly shopping trips, always interested in the new fashion trends for the year.
Vada was passionate about her family and was especially proud of her seven granddaughters, Monica Nelson (New Orleans, LA), JennyferToepfer (Hays, KS), Amy Kuppetz (Ellis, KS), Lesley Bradley (Lee's Summit, MO), Becky Sims (Napa, CA), Betsy Newman (Goodland, KS) and Katie Eleccion (Napa, CA). "Not an ugly one in the bunch!" she would proudly proclaim when asked about her granddaughters. Time with
(/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) Click to send flowers using our local area florist Direct website to florist ordering, saving on wire fees (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/send-flowers) (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book) View/Sign Guest Book (/notices/Vada-Goymerac/guest-book)
Grandma Vada was always an adventure, she would load as many as could fit (sometimes not legally) into her Ford Escort and off they would go! She gave all seven of them endless amounts of time, attention, love and lessons as an amazing example of what it means to be selfless and truly put others first.
She welcomed great-grandchildren just as excitedly as grandchildren, for babies were her favorite kind of people! She was further blessed with five great-grandsons and twelve great-granddaughters. She rocked and patted and bounced each one she could get her hands on. She kept up on each childs' milestones and growth, near or far.
All the love she gave was returned as she was cared for like a queen by her son, Eddie, daughter-in-law, Janine, and granddaughters Becky and Katie in her final years. She lived for the chatter of children and looked forward to Becky and Katie's children (the third generation to attend West Park Elementary) to pop over and say "Good Morning, Grandma Vada!" on their way to school each morning.
Vada leaves behind family, friends and neighbors with heavy hearts, but countless happy and wonderful Vada stories! She was preceded in death by her husband, Nick and her daughter, Aimee "Janine" Nelson.
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