Luella Jean Showalter

SUN CITY WEST - Luella Jean Showalter, 83, Sun City West, died peacefully at home Dec. 18, 2011. A memorial service will be 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, at the Desert Palms Presbyterian Church in Sun City West, Ariz. Reception to follow. Family and friends welcome. Lu was born in Spokane, Wash., Sept. 20, 1928. She earned a B.A. in Education from Eastern Washington College of Education in 1951. Lu met John Showalter in Spokane and moved to the San Francisco area where they married in 1955. They started their family in San Mateo and had two children, Jim and Sheri. They moved to New Jersey in 1967, and then to Burlington, Conn., in 1978. Lu loved to travel with her kids and later her grandkids to National Parks, monuments and ALL the family attractions. As the kids got older, Lu's hobbies grew to include golf, bowling, gardening, coin collecting, and volunteering to help the needy. She was a hard worker and could accomplish anything she set her mind to do. In 2000, Lu and John retired to Sun City West where she became an active member of the Echo Mesa Women's Golf Association, served on the board of directors, and won the Presidents Cup in 2006 and 2007. She bowled in leagues for many years at Johnson Lanes in Sun City West. Lu is survived by John, her husband of 56 years; son, Jim Showalter (Jackie Tan); daughter, Sheri Durant; and grandchildren, Jamie and Gary, Lea and Scott, and Tom and Doug.