She was known as a great Mom, grandmother, wife, teacher, storyteller, booklover, killer blackberry pie-maker and one heck of a Scrabble player-Viola Marion Nixon died on April 14, 2020, in the family home surrounded by those who loved her deeply. She was 89.

"Keyed" is the Scrabble word with which she beat the up-until-then unbeatable Rodney T.H. Nixon in the late 1950s. They had met in Banff National Park and maintained a long-distance romance as he was a medical student at University of British Columbia and she was a grade school teacher in Bellevue, Washington. Chastened in the defeat, he saved face by asking her to marry him in 1957. Theirs was a bond rich in love and intellect, which lasted until his untimely death in 1978.

Life with a young doctor had its adventures as Viola helped him with his practice in places such as Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, and 100 Mile House in British Columbia's Caribou Country. Viola told the story of one memorable Christmas Eve, when a local woman slipped on the ice and cracked her skull. She and Rod dropped their own holiday plans to drive the woman over 100 miles on dark icy roads to the regional hospital and in doing so gave the injured woman the ultimate Christmas gift: the gift of life.

In the early 1960s, their move from Western Canada to Minnesota for Rod's surgical training brought Viola back to her Midwest roots. Born in 1930 in a Finnish-American community in North Ironwood on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, she was the second of four children born to Otto and Hanna (Tassava) Spetz.

She grew up in a log house with tight-fitting square notched corners shaped by her father's axe. Helping on her grandparents' farm, jumping into snow banks to cool off after the sauna, or studying to preserve her straight "A"s, Viola developed sisu-Finnish for what in English would be a mash up of meanings such as determination, tenacity, grit, bravery, and resilience.

In 1971, she and Rod again headed west in a blue Pontiac station wagon pulling a travel trailer. They also had in tow five children created throughout their life-journey together. In Port Angeles, they found home.

With growing children with varied interests, Viola sat through countless piano, band, and orchestra concerts, and ballet recitals. She cheered at pinewood derby races, football and basketball games, and swim meets. She supported many efforts to earn Boy Scout and Girl Scout merit badges. Many a night she worked through spelling bee word lists, which harkened back to her own early days as an academic star. Valedictorian of her ninth grade class, Viola earned high marks through high school, Gogebic Junior College and the University of Minnesota, from which she graduated ready to teach.

Somehow Viola found time to earn her private pilot's license and flew her own small airplane. She was active in the local chapter of the Ninety-Nines-the International Organization of Women Pilots.

After Rod died, Viola renewed her teaching credentials and went back to the classroom. She shaped young minds in Port Angeles and Sequim before settling into a third-grade classroom in Joyce where she taught for the next twenty years. She loved being at Crescent School and to her delight, it is hard to go anywhere throughout the region without running into one of her former students. She remembered special qualities about each one.

Having grown up a free-range child, Viola enjoyed observing nature unfolding around her. She surrendered her rose bushes to the deer that found sanctuary in her backyard. She noted the comings and goings of birds from her feeders. She advocated for bee habitat.

She gave of her time and creativity, serving as a docent at the Art Fiero Marine Lab and the Port Angeles Fine Art Center. She served on the board of Clallam County Hostelries. She was a long-time member of the Story People of Clallam County doing her part to make happen the annual Forest Storytelling Festival, a fall community staple for the past 25+ years.

She dedicated much energy and support to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church as a congregant and by serving on the library board. A voracious reader all her life, she was particularly fond of quality children's literature. If the book was a Caldecott medal-winner, chances are she would slip it into the children's section of the church library or obtain it for a grandchild. She loved to talk books.

Viola, herself, said that death is part of life. True. But her absence on this planet will be deeply felt by those lucky enough to have been in her orbit.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Rodney; and brother, William Spetz.

She is survived by her children and their families: Matt and Amber Nixon, and Chris and Linnea; Ross and Kate Nixon; Ingrid Nixon and Kevin Clement; David and Brigitte Nixon, and Joe; Jennifer (Nixon) and Andrew Carter, and Amelia and Sebastian. She is also survived by her sisters, Arlene Renken and Edith Dobrinski; and sister-in-law, Elva Spetz; and many nieces, nephews, and friends-and her devoted cat, Missy.

A memorial service will be planned in the future when it is safe to do so. But in the meantime, you can honor Viola by reading and talking to a friend about a really good book, by hanging up a hummingbird feeder, and by staying in close touch with family and friends during these challenging times. To all: Sisu!

In lieu of flowers, charitable donations can be made in Viola's name to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 360-452-2323 or via go2trinity.org and Clallam County Hostelries by contacting CCHsoiseth@gmail.com or 360-452-9663.

Drennan and Ford Funeral Home, Port Angeles, is entrusted with her arrangements. Please sign the online guestbook for her family at
www.drennanford.com