Perri was known for her freckles, bright red hair, and blue eyes. She took her first and her last breaths in Everett, Washington. She was the second born out of five girls to Peter and JoAnn Walton, and she had so many stories about the 5 Wild Walton Girls. They had a Summer House on Mission Beach, where they would stay during the Summer Months, and also a cabin across the Bay on Hat Island. Perri has always been happiest when at the beach, or on the boat, anywhere near that salty ocean air. She always had a knack for sewing, and it started when she was a young girl and would sew her own clothes. She passed that talent down to her oldest daughter Jen, who learned so much from her that she uses that talent to sew her own costumes. She grew up in Everett, and graduated from Cascade High School in 1976. While in High School she tried out for cheerleading but instead was the mascot, the Bruin Bear. As well as her talents in the kitchen and sewing room, she also had quite the talent for fixing things mechanically. She taught her self how to drive manually, and passed her drivers test with a 100% . She could change a tire, and had no problems hooking up a trailer to the car, and taking the boat to the marina and launching it. She was a book full of life experience and loved teaching others.
She was raised in Everett, and stayed in the Seattle area but she would eventually end up in University Place, Washington where she raised her two girls there where she stayed home to be a full time homemaker. She was involved in her girls lives so much, and loved it all. She was a PTA Mom, signed up for bake sales, ran her youngest daughter’s Girl Scout Troop for two years, made everyone’s birthday cakes from scratch, she even made a wedding cake for her Dad. She wanted her girls to experience so much, and she succeeded in doing that. Perri loved music, gardening, camping, hiking, skiing, crafting, cooking, baking, and would expose her family to her beloved hobbies. In 2007, she and her husband divorced and she moved to Ruston where she would make that house “Grandma’s House” when she welcomed her first grandchild Taylor in 2008, then twins Ethan and Aiden in 2011. After a hard change from being a wife for 25 years, becoming a Grandma brought her so much joy and helped with that transition. Her youngest daughter Melissa moved in with her when Taylor was born and she helped raise her for her first year.
She has always been such a nurturing human being, being Grandma was just second nature. Her grandkids have such fond memories of her, and will always remember how fun she was. She would take them on bike rides, thrift shopping, and had sleepovers where she would make little “lattes” out of tiny espresso cups and the tiniest amount of coffee and milk. Those memories will last a lifetime.
She leaves behind two daughters, Jennifer Zach and Melissa (Alex) Reems; three grandchildren, Taylor, Ethan, and Aiden Reems; three sisters Anne (Jeff) Campbell, Teresa (Ken) Johnson, Nancy (John) McCloskey; her mother JoAnn Walton; along with three nieces and three nephews.
Perri is preceded in death by her father, Peter Walton, and Susanne Walton, her youngest sister. There will be a celebration of life at a later date for friends and family.
If anyone would like to send flowers, please send them to 4441 Merry Lane West, University Place, WA 98466 .
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