Luke Vangolen, 87, died on January 17, 2014. He resided at Arrowhead Gardens in West Seattle, WA for the past 4 ½ years, having lived on Vashon Island, WA before that for over 20 years. He was a longtime member of the United Methodist Church. Cremation will be private. The family will hold a memorial service at a later date.
He was the beloved husband of Margaret (Mappie) Vangolen for almost 64 years. In addition to Mappie, he is survived by their five children: Elisabeth Olivo (Anthony) of Morristown, NJ, Alida Cerny (Ronald) of Park City, UT, John Vangolen (Jan) of Vashon, WA, Glenn Vangolen (Tracey) of Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Jennifer Vangolen of Seattle, WA. He was Opa to nine grandchildren: Christina Wetherbee (Christian), James Olivo (Christine), Jesse Vangolen (Melissa), Kimberly Cerny, Thomas Olivo (Julie), Corinne Cerny, Andrew Vangolen, Douglas Cerny, and Brent Vangolen. Luke also leaves eight great-grandchildren: Anna and Ian Wetherbee, Ella, Lydia and Sadie Olivo, Lila and Stella Vangolen, and Dean Olivo, as well as relatives in the Netherlands and Canada.
Luke was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on August 10, 1926. His greatest pride, besides his family, was immigrating to the United States with his wife and two daughters in 1952. He became a naturalized citizen in 1957. Over the years, they added three more children and moved throughout the United States and Canada (Minnesota, Illinois, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington and Vancouver). Luke sold cars early on and won many sales awards doing so, but spent most of his career in various sales positions for well-known national companies. He was a very dedicated hard worker.
Luke was a Mason for most of his life and most recently belonged to the Masonic Lodges of Vashon Island, WA and West Seattle, WA. He once served as the "Most Merciful Master" of the Vashon Lodge.
Luke lived life to the fullest. He liked traveling, meeting people, skiing, sailing, trains, the color yellow, shrimp, coffee "light and sweet", whistling, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade (whether being there or on TV), and listening to music (especially Frank Sinatra, Doris Day and Ella Fitzgerald, plus all the big bands). Luke will be forever loved and missed by his wife, family and friends.