Julia Poukka

Our beloved GG (loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother) died on January 23, 2018 at the age of 91 years old. She had a fierce, unconditional love for her family and the warmest, most hospitable personality. In her presence, you couldn’t help but laugh when she laughed, and she loved to laugh. She was the best person to bestow with a gift or share good news. No matter how small the gift or how big the news, she would light up with joy. She will be remembered fondly as a great cook. Some of her family favorites were fried chicken and pork chops, cheesy mashed potatoes, and baked cookies and pies. After every meal, she always had to have a little something sweet to eat. She was born in Wright, Minnesota in 1927 and she had many great stories to share about life on the farm and growing up with her 10 siblings in a small two-bedroom house. Even though she didn’t get to see her brothers and sisters often, they remained very close over the years and were very dear to her heart. She moved to Arizona with her husband and two sons nearly 60 years ago. After raising her sons, she worked at Medtronic for many years before retiring in 1991. She is survived by her loving family: son, Dennis and his wife, Ruby; daughter-in-law, Mary; granddaughters, Lisa and her husband, Doug; Rachel and her husband, Troy; Rebecca and her husband, Tom; and grandson, Ryan; great-grandchildren, Hailey, Jake, Luke, Krew and Maylee; brothers, Glen and Kenny; sisters, Elvina, Dolly, Fran, and Bonnie; and many nieces and nephews. While she will be terribly missed, her family is filled with a deep sense of peace knowing she is home with her loving Heavenly Father and that she is reunited with her son, Don Poukka; her mother, Thalia Lubben; her father, Joseph Solomon; her brother, Joe; and her sisters; Tillie, Elsie, and Katherine. Rest in peace GG! You will forever live in the hearts of your loving family.