Sylvia Daniels

January 15, 1942 – September 6, 2017

Sylvia Daniels, 75, was born Jan. 15, 1942, in Melvin, Ky. and was raised by her grandparents with their nine sons and two daughters. They were a strict Baptist family where most everything was a mortal sin: no cards or gambling, no makeup, no shorts or short dresses and certainly no dancing. Once she was caught dancing to Jerry Lee Lewis, who her grandma thought was a disciple of the devil, and she got in trouble big time. She had fond memories from those early years and told numerous stories about those “hillbilly ways.”

Sylvia came to the Northwest with her uncle Frank when she was 16. She graduated from Moses Lake High School, class of 1961, where she met and married Percy Schrag. They welcomed two daughters, Darlene and Lorraine. She enjoyed her years on the farm with Percy. She was waitressing when she met her second husband, Ron Roskammer, and they had a daughter, Tami. She also had a brief marriage to Pete Olson and made a lifelong friend in Ruben Junes.

Night shift can be tough, but so was Sylvia as she worked at former Omark – now Vista Outdoor – for nearly 20 years in cartridge manufacturing. When she wasn’t working, she was digging for old bottles, rockhounding or watching a good thunder-and-lightning storm. She loved all things old including antiques, old books and old-style communication. She wrote countless hand-written cursive letters. Old country music singers like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Marty Robbins and Jean Shepard were some of her favorites. She taught us to appreciate the lyrics and wasn’t afraid to turn it up loud enough to rattle the windows. She was also skilled at refinishing antique furniture and gave life to many beautiful pieces.

In the last quarter of her life, she enjoyed keeping a nice yard with green grass and pruned roses, and she was heck on weeds. She liked going to yard sales, reading, crafting, visits from her loyal friend, Greta Junes, and long walks with two very special “girls” – Sixi and Mixi, her beloved dogs with whom she had a deep bond. One of her greatest loves was spending time with her grandchildren. She was always seeking individual and appropriate trinkets and collectibles to give each of her loved ones.

Sylvia succumbed to heart disease and passed in her home Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. We are comforted by the fact that she is with the Lord and no longer in pain. She loved God and often quoted scripture and offered biblical encouragement to her family.

She will be missed by her daughters Darlene Schrag formerly Resendez, Lorraine (Schrag) Barnum (Garth), and Tami (Roskammer) Saleen (Travis); beloved grandchildren Danielle Resendez, Jeff Barnum, Devon Leavitt, Lanae Barnum, Kyler Barnum, Josie Saleen and Ross Saleen and great-grandchildren Rayne and Kali Smith. She leaves an aunt, Justine Yennor, in Michigan , half-brothers Will and Ron Goble and half-sister Vivian Jones, Ohio and Michigan areas and nephew Wayne Bryant.

In respect of Sylvia’s wishes, there will be no funeral. She requested that we celebrate her life by getting together to whoop it up, play horseshoes and laugh, with “no tears for me.” To honor Sylvia, you may want to listen to the song “He Walks With Me” by Merle Haggard. It was one of her favorites. We will celebrate her life at a later time with notification to family and friends. Sylvia chose to rest among the whispering pines in the beautiful Pomeroy, Wash. cemetery.

“See you when I see you.” — Sylvia Daniels