November 2, 1943 – February 26, 2018
In the early morning hours of Monday February 26th, Lois Ann DuPont Yunker unexpectedly passed away in her sleep from complications brought on by the flu. She was 74 years old.
On moving to Vashon nine years ago, Lois immediately plunged into several causes that rewarded and enriched her life on the Island. First was Vashon Island Pet Protectors (VIPP), where she found the perfect outlet for her love of cats. She embraced the Vashon Senior Center, where while on the Board she led a local knitting group’s Stitchin’ for a Kitchen fundraiser that raised over $8000 for a new commercial gas stove and dishwasher for the Center. Adopting Granny’s Attic as her second home, Lois spent countless hours organizing and maintaining Granny’s office supplies department. She loved to cook for her family and friends and spent much of her time knitting for others. As her friends have said, Lois was (almost) never not knitting. She became a mainstay volunteer in the Vashon Sheepdog Classic knitting corps, knitting a long scarf used to adorn one of the Misty Isle Farm’s signs, transforming a plain orange traffic cone into a colorful piece of yarn art, and happily knitting a 12 foot long scarf for one of the event’s mascots to wear. Lois helped create the life-sized Scotty sheep mascot’s “sweater” and the Yarn Pen Gate, still focal points at each year’s dog trials. Her support for Vashon Interfaith Counsel on Homelessness (IFCH) spanned several years, organizing key fundraisers like the Chicken Plunge Dip. Lois was a true volunteer for any cause she believed in, including many local as well as global causes.
Born in Port Chester, New York and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut, Lois met her husband Phil while attending Indiana State University. After college, Lois and Phil started their family in the Chicago area, where they lived for seven years before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area where Lois earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Gerontology from California State University, Sonoma. In 1985 the family moved to Hingham, Massachusetts where, with their children on their way to college, Lois began devoting her energies to local causes while serving as Director of the Hingham Senior Center. Lois was especially proud of her work with Meals on Wheels and her weekly Hingham Journal “Around Town” columns. Lois and Phil chose Vashon as their new home and were able to move to the island in 2009.
Lois leaves behind Phil, her husband of 53 years, daughter Jennifer and her husband Robert Gilliam of Land o’ Lakes, Florida, son Jason and his wife Anne of Austin, Texas, son Jonathan and his wife Stephanie of Chico, California, three grandchildren — Jessica and Jordan Yunker of Chico, and Philip (Alex) Yunker of Austin, as well as her brothers Victor DuPont of New York City, Sidney DuPont of Durham, North Carolina, brother-in-law David Yunker of Indianapolis, Indiana, and sister-in-law Sharon Kerr of Marshall, Illinois.
Most of all, Lois will be remembered as loving and caring wife, beloved grandmother, and the mother of three wonderful, successful children, all of whom are a continuing example of and testimony to her dedications, passions, and loving spirit.
Memorial and remembrance services celebrating Lois’s life are scheduled for 2pm Sunday April 29th at Camp Burton Lodge, with a reception immediately following.
Memorial donations may be made to Granny’s Attic, Vashon IFCH, or the Vashon Island Senior Center.
Please visit our online guest book at www.islandfuneral.com
