“Being kind with a caring smile is the best kind of attractive! Sometimes I wish I knew more about how to ‘beautify’ myself, but that sounds too time-consuming.”
“You’ve got the same shoes to get glad in that you got sad in.” -Vereleta’s Granny
Vereleta has been surrounded with tenacious women since birth. Her name is a combination of family names: her aunt, Verta, the first initial E of her mother Edgel and the last part from her aunt Oleta. As a younger woman, Vereleta was not just present as a mother, but involved in her daughter’s life by coaching Little League and volleyball, being a Campfire Girl leader. Also present in the community, she worked with high school and college age kids at church, and even went to Mexico to build homes – all while working full time.
Vereleta was raised by a migrant farm worker mother and a second generation father who was born to Polish immigrants. They valued hard work and education, resulting in Vereleta’s love of reading to this day. Vereleta plays competitive tennis and casual golf with her girlfriends. Her favorite hobby is sewing and crafting to create gifts for others and decorate her own space. She is involved with an incredible book club.
Persistence is Vereleta’s prime characteristic. When presented with the choice to curl up in a ball or forge on, she has made the choice to keep moving through life, including death, fires, and new beginnings. No matter how daunting a situation may appear, Vereleta is determined to find a solution.
Since the age of eight, she has been planning her very own dream home. With more than 3 years from planning to completion, a third of the work done with their own hands, Vereleta and her late husband made that dream a reality, designing and constructing their own dream home. After creating that dream home, grit was needed. In 2021, her husband and best friend passed away from cancer. This occurred just one year after their home was demolished by wildfires. Once again, she made the decision to move forward rather than stand still in frozen grief. Vereleta has been carving out a new life with a townhome in Washington and a suburban home in Texas.
Vereleta sees the true beauty of ‘being kind with a caring smile is the best kind of attractive.’ She fondly recalls her father always saying, ‘pretty is on the outside, ugly goes all the way through.’
