Louella "Lou" passed away peacefully on June 26, 2025 in Mount Vernon.  She was born in Anacortes on November 15, 1934, the daughter of Evelyn and Kenneth Showalter.

There were many changes for Lou, early in her life. Her mother was married and divorced five times, to three husbands. This accounted for several moves, changing schools, and the occasional intrusion of three step-sisters.  Lou and her sister Delores, older by 19 months, happily got their father back when he was discharged from the Army. Their parents remarried and the family moved to Big Lake.

Lou did most of her schooling in Sedro-Woolley, graduating with the Class of '52. Her first job was at Max Dales Restaurant, then as a telephone operator at West Coast Telephone Co.  In 1956 she was happily employed by the Shell Oil Company as their switchboard operator and receptionist at their Anacortes Refinery.

Lou married her long time sweetheart, Joe Schorno, and they purchased a home in west Mount Vernon. Their time of happiness tragically ended a year and half later, when Joe died in an plane accident while returning home from construction work located on the Olympic Peninsula.  The plane and three other passengers were found  three months later.

Love found Lou again in November of 1961 while she was still employed at Shell Oil Refinery with a co-worker Dick Bergeson .  They married and were blessed with two wonderful children, Bob and Linda, whom they doted on. More blesssings followed through the years with the happy addition of three grandchildren and later, they welcomed two great-grandsons.

Motherhood was fun and busy for Lou, with PTA, Little League, forming and becoming the leader of "The Freedom Riders" a 4-H Club where all thirty members had at least one horse.  She enjoyed photography, drawing, singing, painting, travel, swimming, riding her Arabian horse, and being a volunteer for the Skagit Tulip Festival for many years.  She didn't stop there, she would sing and dance; singing for the school, church choir and also participated in Elks and Eagles Follies. Last but not least she was voted Princess in the 1957 Mariners Pageant in Anacortes.

In 1981 Dick and Lou moved back to Fidalgo Island, purchasing a home which overlooked Similk Bay.  Lou became a volunteer at the Anacortes Information Center enjoying meeting people from all over the world and helping them see the beauty of her favorite island.  Being sports fans, Lou and Dick had season tickets for the Mariners, Seahawks and Huskey games.  They would spend several weeks annually on the Hawaiian Island of Kauai from 1977 to 2013. Lou became active with a local Polynesian dance group, Kanala Halau, while they were there.  They enjoyed cruising, visiting many interesting areas, their favorite being the Panama Canal which they visited three times.

In 2015, following several accidents Dick needed to be moved into the Lighthouse  Assisted Living in Anacortes, where Lou found volunteer opportunity there as she was there visiting Dick daily while he was receiving his care there.  She continued volunteering till Dick's passing on February 14, 2018.  They had shared 57 wonderful years of happiness and had great memories.

Lou was preceded in death by her grandparents, Edith and Enos Cudmore, her parents, her husbands, grandson Danny Bergeson, sister and nephew Delores and David Windish.  She is survived by her children, grandsons Kenneth and Chris Hill and great grandsons Chase and Rylee Gunter.

To share memories of Lou, please visit www.evanschapel.com/obituary/lou-bergeson and bookmark the link to check updates on Services for Lou.