Obituary

In loving memory, we pause to remember Gloria Jeanne Van Moorhem. She was born August 15, 1936 in Seattle, Washington and passed on October 16, 2022 in Bellingham, Washington, at the age of 86 years. She is survived by her children, daughter Laura Lindhout and husband Jon of Bellingham, son Erin Van Moorhem and husband Norman Boiani of Seattle; granddaughters Tara and Tallie Lindhout, and Sister Michele Kellogg and husband Michael of Seattle, and many nieces and nephews. Gloria was married to Osborne Graham Van Moorhem who passed when their children were barely of school age leaving her to raise their children as a single parent.

In her youth, Gloria was active in Ski Patrol at Steven’s pass, loved many sports and dreamed of becoming a physical education instructor (as recorded in the Queen Anne Grizzly yearbook).  She was a camp counselor at Camp Four Winds on Orcas Island for many years.   She was also active in Rainbow Girls in Seattle and in 1954 served as Worthy Advisor of Queen Anne Assembly.  She continued with the order of Eastern Star and at her honor night in 2018 she was given a pin and certificate marking her 50 years of service to Maple Leaf Chapter! She is a life member of the Order.

She attended Western Washington College for two years where she met her husband and started a family in the Silver Beach Neighborhood where in 1971 she designed and built her home on Lake Whatcom.

In 1977 Gloria was contacted to set up the office for a prominent neurosurgeon in Bellingham whose practice grew to become Fourth Corner Neurosurgical where she worked many years in medical records, billing, and office management.  She loved her career and people she met there so much that she continued to work well after retirement!  At the age of 84 she finally stopped working due to the covid epidemic shutdown.

She was an active member of St Paul’s Episcopal Church, in Bellingham, where she served as a scripture reader for many years, on the alter guild, as flower directress and as wedding coordinator making sure nervous brides made it down the aisle on time!

She loved adventures, but more than the destinations she traveled to all around the world, she loved the comradery of her travel companions from the order of Eastern Star.

She also loved designing homes and construction and throughout her lifetime built three homes from the ground up.  She continued to remodel her dream home on Sandy Pt. in Ferndale Washington into her final year.

Gloria was a woman of many talents. She loved entertaining and welcoming people into her beautiful home overlooking the bay with Mt Baker off in the distance. This was her happy place.  She was an excellent cook and was called on regularly to assist with luncheons and dinners for many of her social groups. She was always the first to offer help to anyone in need and one of the last members to leave an event when there were cleanup duties to be done.  Her industriousness and willingness to help wherever she could was always done with a willful and happy disposition!

She was stoic at times, and often reserved with her opinions, but will forever be remembered by her radiant smile which was noticed instantly as she would greet you with open arms and a loving hug.

We do not lose the ones we love, they only go before

Where there is life everlasting, where sorrow is no more.

And there the soul will always lie and peace is everywhere.

We do not lose the ones we love, God takes them in His care.

A Memorial Service will be held in honor of Gloria on Friday, November 18 at 1:00 pm at Moles Farewell Tributes, Bayview Chapel, 2465 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham, WA 98229