Geraldine "Jerry" Rae Aasland Crisman Our mom was born here in Tacoma, WA, on April 26, 1926, and spent her entire life in this area. She passed away quietly on May 19, 2010. Jerry grew up during the Depression era, and shared many stories from those early, difficult years. She graduated from Lincoln High School, and then completed a business course. She enjoyed working for Weyerhaeuser Corp. and the IRS for a time. Mom married our father, Harold W. Crisman, in January 1948. He passed away in July 2007. For most of her marriage, she was a homemaker. She and our father had two children together, Bruce Crisman, who resides at the Washington Soldiers Home in Orting, WA, and Kaaren (Roderick) Graciano, who lives here in Tacoma. Throughout Jerry's life, she enjoyed an ongoing interest in the entertainment world. She was a prolific letter writer and had many pen pals. Jerry was a cookie baker, and shared countless dozens of cookies with many people. Jerry remembered people's birthdays. She struggled to overcome many adversities throughout her life. Her Norwegian Lutheran heritage was a thread woven into all of her life. Uff da! Jerry was the grandmother of three beautiful granddaughters who captured her heart and her interest until the final days of her life: Rachel Graciano, Leslie (Ted) Rios, and Elise (Ronnie) Halbert. Jerry had five great-grandchildren who made her smile and whose names and birthdays she always remembered: Alexandria, Micah, Noah, Annalise and Max. Jerry is also survived by her first cousins, David Simpson of Port Orchard, WA, and Shirley Simpson Kiesz of Bremerton, WA. At our mom's request, there will be no service. A sincere thank you to those who served our mom at the end of her life; she valued kindness, many were kind to her.
News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) 23 May 2010