Nelis Lee "Van" VanderPol Obituary (1942

Nelis Lee "Van" VanderPol was born July 22, 1942 in Lynden, Washington. At the age of 6, he moved with his family to Sunnyside, Washington where he attended Sunnyside Christian School through the 8th grade and graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1961. He then joined the US Navy. He served aboard the the submarine USS Rasher from 1964-1966 during the Vietnam War, and was honorably discharged from service in 1968. He worked as an electrician at PSNS for 10 years and then as a supervisor at Trident Refit Facility, Bangor for 22 years. After his retirement he enjoyed working on and restoring old tractors, many of which he used in tractor pulling events. On September 20, 2015, he passed away at Franciscan Hospice House in Tacoma, after a brief battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Shirley, son Todd, daughter Amber, son-in-law Jason, grandson Colton and many loving family and friends. A Celebration of Life will be held at the family home on Saturday, October 3rd from 1:00-4:00 pm. Another is being planned in Sunnyside later in the month. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Franciscan Foundation: PO Box 1502, Tacoma, WA 98401 with funds designated to Franciscan Hospice and Palliative Care Fund. Or online at www.chifranciscan.org/Support-Franciscan.