Dena DePaoli Mowell was born on Sept. 9, 1926, in Aberdeen, Wash., to Dominic DePaoli and Esther Rovella DePaoli, both of whom immigrated from Italy in the early 1900s.

Dena graduated from high school in Aberdeen and Grays Harbor Junior College.

In 1947 Dena married Carl R. (“Bob”) Erickson. Together they had four sons. They divorced in 1965.

In 1969 Dena moved to Olympia, where she married John W. Mowell in 1975.

Dena worked for savings and loans in both Aberdeen and Olympia. She also worked for the City of Tumwater and the House of Representatives of the State of Washington.

Dena was preceded in death by her husband John, her first husband Bob, her older sisters Irene, Josephine, and Norma, her brother Louis, her youngest son, Thomas, and her grandson Geoff Erickson.

Dena is survived by her sons Bob Erickson and his wife Kathy, of Mercer Island; Steve Erickson and his wife Sally, of Olympia; Michael Erickson and his wife Janet, also of Olympia; and her widowed daughter-in-law, Cathy Brown Lesman, of Westport. She is also survived by her younger sister Anita Basich of Aberdeen, seven grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, numerous nephews and nieces, and many grand and great-grand nephews and nieces.

There will be a celebration of Dena’s life at Saint Michael’s Catholic Church in Olympia on July 16, 2018, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, with appreciation, donations in Dena’s name may be made to the Providence St. Peters Foundation, Saint Michael’s Catholic Church, or a charity of one’s choice.