Deanna Wilson
Deanna Wilson, age 86, passed away peacefully at home on August 22, 2024, due to lung cancer.
She was born May 1, 1938, in Richfield, Idaho to Hayes Vaden and Lydia Dallolio.
Deanna married Maury Dean Wilson on July 3, 1958, and they settled in Mountain Home, Idaho. They had three children, Maury 1959, Marla 1960 and Crystal 1963.
Deanna and her husband Dean bought LaMode Cleaners in 1963. When their first child, Maury, was born a special needs child, so Deanna was a stay-at-home mom until he passed in 1973.
When Maury passed away, Deanna needed something to do and decided to work at La Mode Cleaners with Dean where they did dry cleaning and sewing. Deanna was an
excellent seamstress and did a lot of sewing for customers. She cared about how clothes fit people and was always willing to meet the needs of all her customers. Deanna once helped design a bra for a customer who had a partial mastectomy and was having issues finding a good-fitting bra at the time. Deanna helped design a bra for this lady that fit well and made her feel good. On another occasion, she helped design an outfit for a customer who had severe burns on his body; the idea was to make something that could be worn without causing him pain, and what she came up with worked for the customer.
Deanna also did a lot of work for the Air Force Base, always making sure that stripes were correct and completed promptly. She cared about the young men who were new to the Air Force, as well as the officers. She had a lot of people who left after their service and if they came back to Mountain Home, they would stop by to see if Deanna was still there. They always said she made their stay in Mountain Home better.
She has locals who knew her forever, and they would bring new clothes in and have her take them in only a small amount. Most of the time they never tried anything on and Deanna could make them fit just right, often leaving people wondering how she did that. And she always did, because she took pride in her work and the relationships she developed with every customer who walked through the cleaner’s doors.
She opened her home to exchange students who were a part of the Lions Club exchange student program. She hosted several kids form Australia and Japan, loving them as if they were her own kids. She stayed in touch with them for numerous years after their stays and still saw several of them over the last few years.
Deanna also opened her home to several kids who needed a place to live so they could finish high school. On several occasions, her daughters had friends that needed a place to stay and Deanna would always open her home. She had a big heart and was always willing to help those in need.
She was active with her spouse in the Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Air force appreciation day for over 40 years.
She loved to travel and went on as many cruises as she could. Deanna always said she wanted to go to Cuba if they opened the borders. Eventually, it happened and she went on a cruise to Cuba with her daughter Marla, and friends Steve and Dee Kissick. They had the BEST time and made many memories on that trip. The border was closed back down which ended visiting Cuba, but Deanna had gotten to check that item off her bucket list!
After owning the cleaners for 46 years, Deanna sold it to her daughter Crystal. She stayed on and continued to work for a number of years. After selling the cleaners she had the opportunity to babysit her first two great-grandchildren Riley and Jayden Moore.
In the past four years, she truly retired and found a gentleman who asked her out on a real date. Nick Rudzki invited her to go to the movie. Nick asked her daughter Crystal if she would go, and Crystal indicated her mom didn’t go to the movies. However, Nick asked and she said yes. Both of her daughters were so surprised. That was the beginning of a relationship that Deanna truly enjoyed.
Nick spent the last 4 years driving Deanna (like Miss Daisy) everywhere. He taught her to enjoy going to the movies. He took her fishing and she always said she hated fishing, but he had the patience to teach her how to fish. Her greatest joy was beating him while fishing, but then she would say she was “just lucky.” They went to Texas to fish and came back through Laughlin, NV, and spent a few nights meeting new friends and beating up on the casinos. Nick likes blackjack and Deanna liked roulette. She was always lucky and very rarely lost. They traveled through Sturgis when the motorcycle rally was going on and found a nice little place to eat and have a drink. They enjoyed people-watching there. They laughed and giggled at the bikers and the people on the street, creating memories. They took off for the Alcan highway to drive to Seward Alaska via Canada. When they got tired they found a place to stay for the night. This trip took them 17 days or so, but they got there. Their plan in Alaska was to go fishing, but it was raining so bad, and it was going to be raining for about 5 days so they turned around and came home, still enjoying the drive and each other’s company.
This past winter they stayed in Florida and had a wonderful time and said “They might want to go back, but maybe not.” Maybe there was another place they could visit.
Nick was in it for the long haul, so when Deanna got sick, he was there to hold her hand and take care of her. They laughed and cried and had good times. Nick’s story said that Deanna never really got angry with him except maybe one time and she pointed her finger at him and said, “you are getting on my last nerve!”
She is survived by her two daughters – Marla (Ross) Schultz, and Crystal (Mark) Moore, her three grandchildren Nicole (Ryan) Longergan, Kyle (Aiyana) Moore, and Lauren Moore, and her 7 great grandchildren-Jayden, Riley, Georgiana, Jayden, Jesse, Charlie, and Mark.
Most people who met Deanna loved her. She was a good friend and a great Mom and Grandma.
Special thanks to Nick, for being so much support for Deanna. It was nice to see someone take care of her, like she always took care of everyone else. She would say it was probably 4 of the best years she had. She loved you as much as anyone else in her life.
Deannaisms: If you don’t like me, don’t swing on my gate, kick the can on down the road. And probably one of her favorites – if you don’t like life, turn the page and write the next chapter.
She will truly be missed by all.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, August 30, 2024, at the Mountain Home Elk’s Lodge, 325 S. 3 rd W. St. in Mountain Home. Burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain Home.
Arrangements are under the direction of Bowman Funeral Parlor of Garden City.