Elsie Pryor Obituary

Stanwood - It's hard to imagine a world without Elsie Pryor. The mark she leaves behind serves as her enduring legacy, and a testament of a life well lived and fully loved.



Elsie grew up in the Arlington area, on a farm homesteaded by her grandfather, on a road that bears his name. The eldest child of Loyd and Clara Kackman, Elsie was always driven to do well for herself and for others. That high standard earned her valedictorian honors at Arlington High School in 1948.



At a dance in 1946, Elsie met a boy named Jack Pryor. She remembered Jack from primary school and thought he was cute. A few years after reconnecting at the dance, Elsie married that cute, charming young man on April 9, 1949. Elsie and Jack welcomed two daughters, Cathleen in 1950 and Charleen in 1951, and made their home on the Pryor farmstead along Pioneer Highway, where Jack grew up. With her strong dedication to family, Elsie was always proud that she only moved seven miles to her new married home. That home in the years and decades to follow hosted countless family gatherings, holiday dinners, celebrations, grandkids' team barbeques and more, providing Elsie the outlet to do what she did best: care for others.



In addition to being the ultimate host and the matriarch of her family, Elsie lived a life of honorable service. She was very active in Peace Lutheran Church, Silvana 4-H Club, Snohomish Dairy Wives, Stanwood PTA, Loyal Heights Club, Mount Vernon Elks Club and the NW Kidney Center, which she supported by creating the Karlene Anderson Memorial Breakfast fundraiser in 1966. Perhaps her longest tenure of service was her work with the Silvana Fair, where she was a fixture for more than 60 years.



Following family and community, Elsie loved sports. Whether she was a yell-leader at AHS, a proud mom and grandma watching her kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, or a steadfast Seattle sports fan watching her Mariners, Seahawks or Huskies, Elsie loved sports, and Elsie knew sports. If anyone had a question about a game, a player or a play, they would swiftly find themselves on the receiving end of a thorough lesson on the topic.



Elsie is preceded in death by her beloved Jack, her parents Loyd and Clara, her brother Lloyd Kackman and wife Margie, her sister Linda Hartley and husband Rick, her dear grandson Nate Tyler, and many in-laws, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and cousins. She is survived by her daughters Cathy Pryor and Char Tyler, grandchildren Jason and Linda Tyler, Jordana Tyler and Jacki Tyler, and great-grandchildren Marius, Cayden, Brooke and Reese Tyler. The family is deeply grateful to her friend and caregiver Joy Jones for walking this final journey with Elsie in the most loving and reassuring manner.



A memorial service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, August 3, 2025 at Peace Lutheran Church in Silvana. Memorials in Elsie's honor may be made to Peace Lutheran Church or Valley View Cemetery.



It's difficult to express in words the loss that is felt by Elsie's passing. The community has lost a pillar, and our family has lost our north star. As locals know, the sun always shines on the Silvana Fair, but it'll be missing a bit of its glimmer this year. We love you and miss you Grandma Great. Thank you for being ours.