Eva Pellervo

Eva Pellervo, a lifelong resident of Naselle, Washington, died at her Nyberg Road home on June 20, 2015. Born on July 1, 1925, Eva was the fourteenth of the fifteen children of Finnish immigrants and early Naselle settlers Andrew and Hilda (Korpela) Wirkkala, and the second of their three daughters. Eva graduated from Naselle High School in 1944 and married Henry Pellervo, a son of H.V. and Laina Pellervo, on October 1, 1949. In addition to helping raise their family, Eva worked as a bookkeeper for Wirkkala Brothers Logging Company and subsequently as a secretary at the Naselle Air Force Radar Station, but is best known in Naselle and the Long Beach peninsula as a long time waitress at Jim ("Red") and Helen ("Smokey") O'Connell's restaurant in Ilwaco, Red's Restaurant. A great lover of the outdoors, Eva enjoyed crawfishing in the South Fork of the Naselle River that ran between the Wirkkala and Pellervo homeplaces, ice skating, clam digging in Long Beach, hiking, and organizing memorable picnics in Evergreen Park, the beach at Knappton, and elsewhere. Eva also was well known for her baking and, in particular, the high ratio of pies to guests at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. Eva is survived by her younger sister Aimee Carathers, husband Henry, sons Arlan and Duane, and grandchildren Brandon, Kevin, Brittany McNally, and Evan. Eva was preceded in death by her sister Elizabeth Lindholm and by her brothers Arne, Oiva, Howard, Edwin Wirkala, Lauri, Albert, Martin, Paul, Fred, Urho, Ben, and Hannes. A funeral service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, June 27, 2015, at Naselle Assembly of God Church, of which Eva was a member for her entire life. A graveside service will follow at Peaceful Hill Cemetery in Naselle, followed by a reception back at the church. Arrangements are by Penttila's Chapel by The Sea and an online guestbook is available at www.penttilaschapel.com. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to the Sunday School Program of Naselle Assembly of God Church, 278 Knappton Road, Naselle, WA 98638.