Obituary of Leta Fern Vettori

Leta Fern (Cleamer, Metcalf) Vettori, age 87, passed away December 21, 2018 in Lacey, Washington.  She was born in the small cotton-growing community of Greenfield in Pomsett County, Arkansas, located between the towns of Harrisburg and Truman.  Her proud parents were James and Maymee (Adams) Cleamer.  Her father was a WWI veteran wounded by the effect of chemical warfare.  Leta was the youngest of three children, her sister, Marie, and an adopted brother, Hubert.  They all preceded her in death.

As an infant, her parents would skid her through the cotton fields as they picked cotton.  Then as a young girl, Leta (fondly nicknamed “Pete”) also found herself picking cotton alongside her parents.  Her family was always proud of the cotton farm owner, always saying, “He paid every weigh.”

Leta married a returning WWII Pacific Theater veteran, a Navy SeaBee and a community sweetheart, Melvin D. Metcalf. Their marriage produced one son, Gerry Metcalf, who now resides with his wife, Judy, in La Quinta, California.  Melvin served as part of the 4^th Marine Division that made the initial assault on Iwo Jima.  Now deceased, in his later years, he was known as one of the first law enforcement officers hired by the Lacey Washington Police Department. 

In the 1940s, her husband’s family encouraged them to move to Chicago, Illinois, where post-war jobs were plentiful.  Here Leta found herself employed as a press operator at Algonquin Tool and Die, stamping out TV tube trays.

Leta’s sister, Marie, enticed the family to move to the Sacramento, California, area where the weather was warmer and many jobs were available. Leta and her husband found themselves again moving. Here she followed her sister’s footsteps, studying for and becoming an x-ray technician at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento.

Leta’s mother, Maymee, through a subsequent divorce, remarriage and death of her husband (Clarence), found herself moving to the Olympia, Washington area.  Maymee remarried an Olympia resident, Fred Torrence, and encouraged the family to follow her, which they did and Leta found herself with new employment in shoe sales at the then popular Sea Mart.  Her proficiency at shoe sales opened the door for management of her own store that at the time was located off Lacey Blvd. near what is now Harbor Freight Tools.

Leta’s divorce in the 1960s led her to move to Kaleen, Texas, where she again found herself employed in shoe sales. She was encouraged to return to the Olympia area where she found herself again employed in another environment, Mason/Thurston Counties Community Action Agency, then located off Fourth Avenue.  In the early 1970s, she was introduced to Jim Vettori and they were married at St. Michael Catholic Church on September 15, 1972.  They enjoyed almost 47 years of marriage together.

With her marriage to Jim, Leta used her past medical knowledge and went to work for the Department of Labor and Industry as an x-ray reviewer and was subsequently promoted to a Medical Adjudicator positon from which she retired after 22 years of State service.

Leta, in her middle years, was an avid bowler, acquiring many trophies.  She was an auxiliary life member of Ira L. Cater, Olympia VFW Post #318, and auxiliary member of the Olympia Eagles, Aerie 21, and Olympia Elks #186.

She is survived by her husband, Jim Vettori; son, Gerry (Judy) Metcalf of California; grandchildren, Michael (Valerie) Metcalf of Enumclaw, Washington, Dave Walker of Olympia; nieces and nephews, Ken Welch of California, Margie Welch of Olympia, Shelli (Neil) Scott of Olympia, and Steve Hopkins of Tumwater, Washington.

A Requiem Funeral Mass will be held Thursday, January 3, 2019, 9:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 812 Bowker St. SE, Lacey, WA 98503.  Interment will follow at Mills and Mills Memorial Park, 5725 Littlerock Rd SW, Tumwater, WA 98512.

The family thanks Roo Lan Health Care for their compassion and care given and shown in a difficult and much needed patient mental care environment.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to a dementia memorial fund at Roo Lan Health Care, 1420 Carpenter Rd. SE, Lacey, WA 98503.