OLTON, Priscilla June
January 11, 1923 – January 24, 2014
Our beloved Priscilla passed away January 24th, 2014 surrounded by her loving family. Priscilla was born in Fayette, Ohio, January 11th, 1923, to Agness Pollock Smith and LJ Smith. She grew up in Massillon, Ohio, where she was involved in theatre, speech, and debate. Priscilla and her cousin, Marilyn Lough, were raised as sisters by her father and stepmother Ruth Snyder (Mimi) following the untimely death of her mother at an early age. She received her BA from Ohio Wesleyan University and stayed to teach at her alma mater, where some of her students were returning WWII veterans who were her former classmates. Priscilla married her college sweetheart Roy Olton, on September 17th, 1946, and the couple settled in Boston for the first ten years of their marriage. Priscilla and Roy moved to Kalamazoo in 1957, where she worked as a substitute teacher at Kalamazoo Public Schools and later in a local firm. Priscilla was loved and admired by all who knew her. She had many long lasting friendships including her bridge group of over 50 years, as well as the new friends they made since moving to the Friendship Village community in Kalamazoo. Priscilla’s love of life, friends, and family, and her unwavering optimism and joy will be cherished and missed by all. Priscilla is survived by Roy, her husband of 67 years, as well as her two children, Bertrand (Pamela Heiss) of Dexter, Michigan, and Leslie (James Babel) of Portage, Michigan, and her five grandchildren Tamara, Timothy, and Christina Olton, and Rick and Ross Babel, as well as her sister Marilyn Lough Pattinson of Boca Raton, Florida. Memorial services will be held at Friendship Village KIVA, 1400 N. Drake Rd., Kalamazoo, Mi, 49006 on 10:30AM Friday Jan 31, 2014. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to be made to Borgess Foundation, Friendship Village of Kalamazoo, or Hospice of Southwest Michigan.
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