Sadly, on June 1, 2019, after eight years of battling cancer, Sylva (Neet) Jurasin passed away in her home encircled by her loving family. She was born to Gayle Neet (D. 10/1/05) and Rosalyn (Olson) Neet (D. 4/26/13), on Sept. 11, 1953, at Saint Joseph’s Hospital, the third of five siblings (Dennis, Jared, Timothy and Andrew (D. 7/3/09)). Being raised with four brothers made her tough, determined and self-sufficient, but she was also elegant, graceful and never afraid to get her hands dirty. She was the second generation of her family to be born and raised in the Wishkah Valley, and had the luck of being raised around her mother’s family, the Olsons. She graduated from Aberdeen High School in 1971, then from Grays Harbor College, where she was the first of her siblings to become a college graduate. She went to work for Western Steel where she became one of the first female traveling sales representatives.
Sylva blossomed into a beautiful woman and at a mutual friend’s house in 1980, she found the love of her life, Philip T. Jurasin. They were married the next summer on June 13, at her family’s estate and a year later she gave birth to Ann Marie Jurasin. She made the choice to became a full-time mother after that and after having Danielle and finally Derek, she felt her life was complete. Once they were all in school, she started working part-time for Wishkah Cable, the family business her father founded. Then in 1999, she went back to college, got a second degree and then she and her brother Andrew, owned/operated Wishkah Cable until it was sold to Comcast in 2004. After that, she worked part time, always allowing time for her family and her passion of gardening and landscaping, which led her to joining the Grays Harbor and Pacific County Master Gardeners, who quickly became an extension of her family.
Over a period of 25 years, she managed to creatively and artistically landscape their home into a garden paradise, so unique in its design, it was chosen to be included in the 2005 Annual Garden Tour. She always enjoyed a challenge, so she was constantly creating bigger and more complex projects for her and her husband to work on together. Her landscaping was so lovely and enchanting, that both her brother Andy and later her daughter Danielle, had the privilege of being married in her beautiful garden. She had an eye for interior and exterior design, a deep passion for working in the earth, had the vision to see beauty and possibility wherever she went and the courage to bring her visions to life! She was truly beautiful inside and out, and unafraid of testing the limits of the world around her!
In addition to her husband Philip T Jurasin, she is survived by their three children; Ann, Danielle and Derek; her grandson Mason Stewart, her brothers; Dennis, Jared and Timothy, along with the rest of her remaining extraordinary family. We will all miss her wonderful smile, room filling laughter and joyful nature. Her love of gardening was second only to her love of her family! We will miss you deeply and always remember the light you brought into our lives.
A celebration of life will be held in Sylva’s honor at her home at 5008 Wishkah Road on June 22, from 1-3 p.m. Come eat, laugh and share your memories of this extraordinary woman! Call Danielle for details (360)-581-8868.
