Violet Darlene Nyholm
October 9, 1933 - March 20, 2025
Obituary
Violet Darlene Nyholm was born on October 9, 1933, to Robert and Vernice Herrington in Hot Springs, South Dakota. By 1937, during the “Dust Bowl” days of the Great Depression, a decision was made to move to Washington State. They eventually ended up in the Poulsbo area where her father worked at the Bremerton shipyard. In 1943 a farm was bought where they farmed with the added work of father being employed at the Bangor Submarine Base.
Violet grew up attending school in Poulsbo, eventually meeting Jack Nyholm while at North Kitsap High School. They began dating in earnest as he started college. Violet graduated from High School in 1952 and they were married in 1953. In 1954 following Jack’s college graduation he was hired at Ames Laboratories, so the family moved to Mountain View, California. There they lived for five years while son Michael was born. When Michael was a little past 4 years old, the decision was made to move back to Washington where Mike and Cheryl (yet to come) could have the blessing of growing up around their grandparents. Jack secured a nice position at the Boeing Company and retired from there some twenty-five years ago.
The Nyholm family moved to the Boulevard Park area. Both Jack and Violet had placed their faith in Jesus Christ growing up, so they were eager to find a church home. God blessed them with Roy and Jane Clemons who were next-door neighbors. It didn’t take long before they were active in the church’s “Outriggers” group of young families. Both served in several different roles while at Boulevard. Violet with her spiritual gift of house cleaning was eventually charged with overseeing/coordinating the church’s housekeeping for over 20 years. She also enjoyed the many years of involvement in the women’s ministry at church.
During the 1970s recession, Violet began working in the Highline School District to supplement the family income. She was a homemaker at heart which was reflected in the kind of jobs she worked: a playground monitor for 3 years, in the district bake shop for 3 years, and as a cook in a school. All these jobs allowed her to be able to be home when her children got back from school.
Violet loved Jesus and as such was a prayer warrior for many. She loved the glory of the sunrises that beamed through the east windows that looked out over the Kent Valley and the hummingbirds that would daily visit those same windows each day. She felt greatly blessed with the family and friends God had given her. She is survived by her son Michael Nyholm, daughter Cheryl Lee, her sister Marlene Doughty, grandchildren Carrie Hill, Christa Burke, Taylor Lee, and numerous cousins.