Our dearly loved Viola went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, December 7, 2019. As her 3 years of peaks and valleys battling cancer came to an end, she was able to remain comfortably at home.

Viola was born in May of 1940 in Lewiston, ID to Isaac and Esther (Wright) Luce. Her family lived for a while in Bates, OR, but at the start of her 4th grade year, they moved to Myrtle, ID on the Clearwater River. Viola, her one beloved younger brother Larry Luce and the rest of the family enjoyed many years of fishing, swimming, boating and many other water recreational activities. Viola enjoyed school and her classmates enjoyed her lively, sweet presence. She played the trombone in the school band and was a majorette with a baton-twirling talent. She also played a bit on the accordion and piano.

At age 18, in February of 1959, Viola married her classmate and friend since 4th grade, Gregory Yochum, who attend the University of Idaho in Moscow. Viola had also attended the University of Idaho Beauty College in Lewiston and worked as a cosmetologist until five of their seven children were born. Viola and Greg's three daughters: Teresa (Bradley) Sausser, Catherine (Jeffery) Stone and Susan (Mark) Taylor were born while they lived in Idaho. In 1964 the family moved to Spokane where two more sons were born: Michael (Susie) and Edwin (Paulette). In 1970, Viola convinced Greg to move their family to the Deer Park area onto the country property of their dreams: 40 acres with a tremendous Golden Weeping Willow our front. It was there that they became ambitious farmers of alfalfa and cattle. The good Lord then blessed them with two more sons: Bradley (Kimberly) and David (Sara).

In addition to being a sweet-hearted mother of seven children, Viola was also a diligent homemaker who tended the family's half-acre vegetable garden, sold cow milk and raspberries, drove the hay truck and managed the agricultural bookkeeping. She taught her older daughters to milk cows and all three girls to can and preserve the family's garden-grown wares.

As their young sons grew and gained skills advantageous to Greg in farm operations, Viola began a career cooking for the Deer Park School District and then Meals on Wheels. She moved on to Gonzaga University where she cooked for the students on campus and later worked preparing meals for the Jesuit priests at the Bea House. For a time, Viola and Greg owned a restaurant in Loon Lake which they managed together. Through the years Viola rose before the crack of dawn to care for her babies and support Greg as he managed commercial bakeries and farmed approximately 550 acres on various properties.

The couple joyfully became blessed grandparents to 20 grandchildren and more than 18 great grandchildren with whom they enjoyed many years of outdoor recreation collecting rocks, camping, huckleberry picking, swimming, dirt bike riding, fishing and cheering on the Zag's boys and girls basketball teams consistently from the stands and often in Las Vegas. They are also blessed to be aunt and uncle to a great number of nieces and nephews.

Viola and Greg have been actively involved in St. Mary's Presentation Catholic Church in Deer Park. Their fellow congregants have become many of their closest friends and have been a tremendous, blessed presence in their loving support of the couple.

Viola, with her sun-shiny heart and warm smiling spirit, has graced and enriched the lives of so many who will miss her with all their hearts. At last, Viola has finished her earthly race well and is presently realizing her proclaimed goal of spending eternity in the loving, glorious presence of her Lord Jesus Christ.