Jay Carlyle Voelker 59, of Sedro-Woolley, WA passed away on Monday, September 9, 2013 at Life Care Center of Skagit Valley.
He was born August 16, 1954 in Seattle, WA, the first born of Leroy and Dolores (Armstrong) Voelker. He was raised and attended school in Wapato, WA, graduating from Wapato High School in 1972. Jay continued his education and graduated from Central Washington University in 1983.
Most of his adult life was spent working with his younger brothers on their father’s orchards in the Wapato area.
Jay’s 3 great loves were hunting, fishing and the Seahawks. He surely will have a front row seat of the current season. Go Seahawks! We all love you Jay.
Jay is survived by his mother, Dolores Armstrong, of Concrete; brothers, Chris Voelker, of Concrete, WA, Aaron Voelker, of Yakima, WA; nephew, Dane Voelker, who attends school in Ellensburg, WA; niece, Ashlee Avila, who lives in Scotsdale, AZ who has been like his attending nurse from afar with moral support and information that helped us all to cope, and niece, Cassandra Voelker, who is attending school in Bellevue, WA.
He is preceded in death by his father, Leroy Voelker.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the closeness of Jay and his cousin, Mark McAllister. The two had birthdays just a week apart and celebrated together with a real closeness. Mark is a very special human being.
A memorial mass will be held in Yakima and announced at a later date. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley.
I’ll always appreciate Jay. He had a gentle and kind demeanor. He managed to save me from serious beatings from my older brothers on many occasions. He had a way of calming people.
Dear Dolores & Family,
Harold and I were very sad to learn of Jay’s passing. He was a good friend during the years I worked at the YMCA. We ran some local fun runs together. We did a midnight time run one year and all ended up at Miner’s for peanut butter milkshakes! Jay said he was deathly afraid of spiders, so I used to look for great Garfiled cartoons about spiders and save them for him. He laughed, but said it wasn’t really funny. Harold and I were blessed to have him stand as a groomsman at our wedding over 27 years ago. We are certain the family will deeply miss him. We are praying for you the peace of Christ and comfort of God’s presence.
Sincerely,
Pat & Harold
Jay was and will always be my brother-in-law and who was dearly loved. He was always there for his niece, my daughter Ashlee and she was able to get there in time to say goodbye and have him meet his great nephew Kaden 5yo and niece Rhian 2yo. Jay always had a smile and I have so many great family memories of hanging out at the pool, fireworks on the 4th of July and he loved taking Ashlee trick or treating on Halloween. He has been taken from us much too early, I guess like his father God had other plans for them. Separated by 3000 miles my thoughts and prayers are with you.
SanDee
I knew Jay through the Yakima YMCA. He was often there at the same time I was in the 1990s, and we struck up conversation eventually. Jay was a nice guy–easy to talk to. We turned out to have been at CWU at the same time, and he was in the Yakima-area fruit orchard business, as my mother’s family was. His father’s passing was hard on him. I left the gym years ago but have wondered whether Jay still goes there; I was startled to see his obituary. I would appreciate if someone would write to me at smith858965@gmail.com and tell me what happened to Jay. Brad Smith
Deloris and family,
I have many fond memories of Jay. As a child swimming at the pool and many other gatherings, Jay always made me feel welcome, cared for, and loved. He never made me feel like I was JUST a kid. I was special……. Just the way he treated me. I’m so sorry for this loss and I will always think of Jay fondly and keep you all in my prayers.
Love,
Ja’Neen Welton
Dear Delores and family,
I am terribly sorry to hear about your loss, Jay was a great guy and I have fond memories of times growing up spending time Jay, he was a smart and caring guy and loved the Seahawks. I will keep all you in my prayers.
Love Patty
Stacey and I send our sincerest condolences. I will always enjoy the cherished memories of our childhood times with Jay, Chris, and Aaron: dirt clod wars, muddy faces, late nights watching Alfred Hitchcock movies, and long motorcycle rides resulting in burned-out engines. Jay was always that cousin we looked forward to visiting.
Craig