Sylvia Grace Blatt, 91, passed away peacefully Sunday, March 17, 2019, at her daughter's home in Ephrata, Wash. Sylvia was born May 11, 1927, in Lowell, Wis. Her parents, Steve and Elsa Stoflet, immigrated from Germany to Wisconsin.
Sylvia was the seventh of 10 children. They lived in Arpin on a farm and she attended the local school house where she completed her eighth grade education. She continued to help on the farm and house chores until she was sixteen. She then went to work as a waitress at several restaurants in the Wisconsin Rapids area, until she moved to Rice Lake, Wis. Working at restaurants there, she had her best friend with her, Audrey Derusseau, and they both worked at that same restaurant as well as shared a two bedroom apartment with six other women, and they made it work.
Sylvia married Edwin C. Blatt Aug. 9, 1946. Edwin also grew up on a farm, not far from the Stoflets'. Edwin was a cheese maker. They purchased and sold several cheese factories, Gray Town Cheese Factory, Four Town Cheese Factory and then purchased Cloverleaf Cheese Factory in Rice Lake, Wis., where they lived until January of 1967, when they moved to Centralia, Wash.
Sylvia and Edwin raised four children, Arla Jean in 1947, Edwin Ronald in 1948, Susan Marie in 1949, and John Jacob in 1950.
At an early age, Sylvia learned to cook, bake, sew and crochet. Daily, she had household chores on the farm. So it didn't matter what time you came to visit, she could put something together in no time at all. She loved company and the laughter in their home was contagious.
Sylvia enjoyed everything, whether it was a board game or dice game and card games with many names. They fished in Wisconsin and continued in Washington, the only difference was the size of their boat and the size of their fish. Sylvia also liked the outdoors, which included lots of deer hunting trips to Wyoming and bringing back Venison.
Sylvia worked in all the Cheese factories, while working full time at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) in Cumberland, Wis. Saturdays were busy with baking and cleaning. Making her own bread, 12 loaves, 10 dozen buns, for lunches and more. If there was a small amount of dough left, she would flatten it, fry it in butter and then sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
When they moved to Centralia, Sylvia worked at the Yard Bird Shopping Center in Chehalis, Wash. She worked the receiving room, taking in shipments, sorting and marking prices then stocking the shelves. She loved her job as it allowed her to see everything and have "first choice at buying it". She never missed a day of work in 30 years. She retired in 1997, to take care of her husband who had Alzheimer's and cancer.
Sylvia is survived by sons, Edwin "Ron" (Lek) Blatt and John (Margaret Ann Williams) Blatt; daughter, Susan (Ron) Kuhn; sisters-in-law, Olive (Otsie) Stoflet and Ruby (Blatt) Yost; son-in-law, John L. (Marilyn) Pryor; grandchildren, Robert B. Pryor, Edwin R. Blatt Jr., Dana U. Blatt, Alicia Blatt, Sean P. Kuhn, Jessica White and Cynthia Kuhn; There are too many great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren to list, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Edwin C. Blatt, daughter, Arla Jean Pryor; two grandchildren, John Michael Pryor and Steven William Pryor; parents, Steve and Elsa Stoflet; and all her siblings.
Many thanks to Grant County Hospice for all the nurses, bath aids and helpers that would come sit with Sylvia. This meant the world to us, their love and care not only helped us to keep her at home, but Sylvia would smile, her blue eyes would shine and she'd sometimes giggle when they would come.
A celebration of Sylvia's life will be held at Mountain View Cemetery at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 20, 2019. Sylvia would like donations made to your local Hospice in lieu of flowers.
