Vivian Irene Mabry

Vivian Irene Mabry (“Vivian”), age 92, of Gladstone, passed away Friday, November 10, 2016, at Christian Park The Village, in Escanaba.

Vivian was the seventh child of ten children, born April 18, 1925, in Exeter, California, the daughter of T.B. Alvie Warnes and Lulu (Ayers) Warnes. She was raised in California and graduated from Sutterville High School in California. Vivian met her future husband, Anton (“Tony”) Valencic, when she was assigned as his helper in 1952 while working at McClellan Air Force Base for the Department of the Air Force in Logistics Command Communications¬Electronics Maintenance. In 1954 she began her career at Sears, Roebuck & Co., in downtown Sacramento, in later years she also worked at Arden Fair and Florin Road stores in the Sacramento area. She held many positions throughout her 30 plus years with Sears, including Accounting, Catalog and Home Improvement. She retired in 1987 and enjoyed the many years she had left by traveling the world and especially visiting her children, brothers and sisters and many favorite nieces and nephews who lived in various locations around the United States. Vivian spent most of her life living in the Sacramento, California, area, until July of 2008 when she and her husband Tony, moved to Gladstone to live with daughter Rosalind Heck.

Vivian was a loving, sweet, giving woman and had many talents. She was an incredible seamstress and not only created beautiful wedding dresses, throw pillows and stunning embroidery work but also recovered furniture. She was a trophy winning bowler, played in Scrabble tournaments, loved to line dance and cook. She enjoyed going to the Sears luncheons, frequently with her daughter Ginger, where her custom throw pillows were raffle prizes and were so popular, everyone wanted one. Even to the end she loved music and moving to it. At the nursing home when music was playing, she would start moving side to side to the music, just so sweet. She kept in touch with family and was always ready for a gathering. She loved jokes and it was fun to tell her one then watch her get it! Flowers? Vivian was always ready to look at pretty flowers and the birds and hummingbirds that visited. Vivian created so many memories in her 92 years. She will surely be missed by many, but especially by her two daughters, Ginger and Rosalind.

Vivian is survived by: her daughters Virginia (“Ginger”) (James) Lemly of Poteau, Oklahoma, and Rosalind Heck of Gladstone; Grandsons Todd (Melanie) Johnson of Aurora, Colorado and Garred Getchell of Fresno, California; four great grandchildren Holly and Grant Johnson, Destiny and Grace Getchell, along with many nieces and nephews, including special nieces Patrice Sutton and Jody (Joseph) Bugay of Gladstone, great nieces and nephews and special Sister-in-Law, Eileen Valencic of Gladstone.

In addition to her parents and all nine of her brothers and sisters and their respective spouses, she was preceded in death by her son, Gary L. Getchell, in December of 1992, and her husband Tony, in March of 2014.

Private graveside services will be held at the Fernwood Cemetery in Gladstone sometime in 2018. The Skradski Family Funeral Homes of Escanaba and Gladstone are assisting the family of Vivian