Paula Henrietta Chapple passed away on December 30, 2020.  She was born on May 29, 1929 as the 11 ^th of 16 children of Ida and Henry Pitstick.    She grew up on the family dairy farm in rural Ottawa, Illinois where she worked in various jobs in the dairy, including milking the cows and bottling the milk, with her sisters until her marriage.  On January 21, 1950, Paula married Arden Lee Chapple of Dwight, Illinois.   Arden and Paula raised 6 children: Lee Michael, Thomas William, Jeffry Paul, Kathleen Sue, Virgeen Marie and Loren Dale.

Paula and Arden left farming and moved to Morris, Illinois in 1957 where Paula worked outside the home primarily as a waitress and seamstress while raising the kids.   In 1973, Arden and Paula moved to Spokane with their 2 youngest children.   In 1976, Arden started Arden's Glasswasher Service, a maintenance and repair service for glasswasher machines in restaurants and bars in the Spokane area.  Paula provided the administrative/office functions for the business until the business was sold in 1996.

Paula was a wonderful wife, mother, homemaker and part saint.   She was always there, but somehow was doing something else at the same time.  She was always in a good mood, had a smile on her face and time to sit and chat with family and friends.  She prepared home cooked meals from scratch every day and always had delicious homemade desserts too.    She loved to bake.  She had many specialties including Christmas cookies, peanut butter balls, cinnamon rolls and every kind of fruit pie you can imagine!  Her pies were sought after by friends, family and church goers.  She always had a freezer full to choose from ready to pop in the oven.   She had a huge garden at her home on the Five Mile Prairie for many years and canned or froze all kinds of vegetables.

She was very active in the St. Thomas More Catholic Church ladies' group and the Five Mile Prairie homemaker's group.  Arden and Paula traveled around the country visiting friends and relatives and attending Polka Fests in their 5 ^th wheel trailer for many years.  She loved being out in nature and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.   Paula enjoyed ballroom dancing weekly with Arden until her illness made it too difficult.   But, she was able to dance her last dance on their 67 ^th wedding anniversary in 2017.   She was diagnosed with Alzheimers in her early 80s.   She moved into Brookdale North (Pegasus Senior Living) in June 2016 when it became too difficult to care for her at home.   She received excellent care by all the wonderful caregivers at Pegasus Senior Living until her death.   The Horizon Hospice caregivers and nurses also provided compassionate care for Paula over the last year.

Paula was preceded in death by Arden in August 2020, after 70 years of marriage. Her son, Jeffry also preceded her in death in 2011.  She is survived by her remaining five children—Lee of Valley Springs, CA, Tom (Carla Goeransson) of Juneau, AK, Kathleen Kopczick (Randy Fewel) of Spokane, WA, Virgeen Stilwill of Spokane, WA and Loren (Jennifer) of Vancouver, WA.  She is also survived by ten grandchildren-- Darren, Tanya, Jered, Kelsey and Julia Chapple, Cassandra (Chapple) Self, Shawn and Eric Kopczick, Christopher Stilwill and Nikita (Stilwill) Henderson and 11 great grandchildren—Dylan, Ashton, Taylor, Mason and Isaiah Kopczick, Charlotte, Briella and Jeffry Chapple, Juniper Self, Kairi Henderson and Elijah Stilwill.    Paula is also survived by one of her siblings, Eddie Pitstick of Ottawa, Illinois.

A private family Funeral Mass for Paula will be celebrated at St. Thomas More Catholic Church and she will be laid to rest next to Arden at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery. Due to the current Covid virus condition, the family has decided to sponsor a Celebration of Life honoring Paula and Arden which will be announced at a later date.  We wish to have a safe gathering for all friends and family of Paula and Arden Chapple, perhaps this spring or early summer.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Alzheimers Association or Horizon Hospice.