Krystal Kay Skoda

On April 19, 2016, our beloved Krystal left a huge hole in our hearts when she finally succumbed to her long battle with cancer. A fighter until the end, Krystal left us to join her mother much too soon, leaving behind loving husband of 27 years, Jeff, devoted sons Justin, 25; Kort, 21; and Logan, 17. Also in mourning are her proud father, Marvin, heart-broken siblings Kevin, Kim, and Korey, dozens of relatives, and a legion of friends. Born March 28, 1966, Krystal was the third child born to Marvin and Glee Dykman, following in the footsteps of older siblings Kevin and Kim, and three years before younger brother Korey. Krystal lived her entire life in the Puyallup/Tacoma area, graduating from Harvard Elementary, Ford Junior High School, and Franklin Pierce High School. After attending Clover Park Vocational Institute Krystal began her career at Pederson Fryers before moving on to Buffelen Woodworking, back to Pederson Fryers, to Atlas Foundry, and finally ending up back at Buffelen to complete her working career. The fact she could leave not one, but two different businesses and be welcomed back to both is a testament not only to the kind of worker, but also the kind of person Krystal was. On June 25, 1988, Krystal married Jeff Skoda, and they moved into their first home on South Hill in Puyallup. After a couple of years of marriage they decided to expand their family and Justin came along in November of 1990. Two years with Justin gave them the confidence that they could handle more kids, but decided that to do so would require more space. Thus, they moved to the house that they would call home for the next 23 years, a four bedroom on three acres that would give them plenty of room for their growing family to enjoy the outdoors and allow Jeff to raise some farm animals, from cows and goats to chickens and sheep. The huge yard really came in handy when Kort joined the family in 1995, followed in 1998 by Logan. Even the expanded compound wasn’t enough to contain the three Skoda boy’s. With indoor tackle football becoming the norm, and balls flying in and out of every room, Krystal eventually gave up trying to have nice things because they would just eventually end up getting broken. Many people wondered how she could retain her sanity with so much testosterone flowing through the household, but those who really knew Krystal knew her little secret – she had the exact family she’d always dreamed of, and wouldn’t trade it for the world. No fragile flower herself, Krystal wasn’t into the girly things most girls were while growing up – she preferred the outdoors, whether it be riding her horses or helping her dad tend to the animals and garden, camping, or playing sports. It was on the softball field where young Krystal excelled, even playing on the same team as her older sister – three years older, to be exact. It wasn’t easy being that much younger than her teammates, but Krystal stuck it out and it improved her game enough that she became one of the best softball players in the area once she entered high school. The tomboy life prepared her for the coming onslaught of sporting events she would be involved with as her boys grew older, but the amount of games she would end up watching during her lifetime is incomprehensible. Between three boys who played baseball every year – Krystal even joined forces with her sister Kim to coach T-ball one year – along with basketball, football, and even wrestling, it’s a wonder she had time for anything else. And in reality she didn’t – but because her boys came first, if that meant leaving work in the evening and having to watch two baseball games and go grocery shopping before arriving home just before bedtime, so be it. She got more out of watching her boys play ball than she would any TV show or movie. And rest? Who had time to rest? One of her boys was playing something somewhere! Between work, regular life activities, Jeff’s coaching, and year round sports, there wasn’t much time for anything else. Or so it would seem. Then the schedule got even busier when Jeff became involved with the Puyallup Roughriders in 1999, the Puyallup area’s youth football league team. After coaching for a couple of years Jeff took over as President of the association, and rather than take a back seat Krystal did just the opposite, jumping in with both feet just like her husband by becoming treasurer of the club. So now, not only did she have games to attend, Krystal was at every practice helping keep things organized, selling treats, running fund raisers, signing kids up, handing out gear – everything and anything involved with running such a large organization. With hundreds of kids and their parents relying on things to be run smoothly, Krystal and her fellow volunteers worked relentlessly to make sure it came off without a hitch. And she did it with a smile, nary a single complaint ever crossing her lips. After more than a decade of non-stop involvement, never getting home until after dark during the football season and spending nights and weekends at the ballfields during the spring and summer, Krystal and Jeff found themselves at a crossroads after Justin graduated from high school. With Kort soon to enter high school, and deciding that he wanted to attend Emerald Ridge rather than Rogers as his older brother had, the Skoda’s had a decision to make: stick with the Roughriders, or try to help create something new up on the hill for the kids attending Emerald Ridge. The Roughriders drew most of their players from the Puyallup and Rogers high schools, while the kids who lived up near the recently built Emerald Ridge had no other option than to make the long trek down to the valley. And with Jaguar football struggling to compete during its early years, it was decided that they needed their own youth system to support the growing area. In answer to this need Jeff and Krystal decided to leap in with both feet once again and this time help create an entirely new youth football program from scratch. So in 2012 the Jr. Jags were born, Krystal and Jeff at the forefront. Then, in the midst of spending countless hours getting the program up and running, supporting Justin as he matriculated at WSU, being there as Kort made his way through high school, and helping Logan as he continued his foray into youth football and baseball during middle school, all while working a full time job, Krystal decided that yet another group of people needed her help; the high school football team. While school districts looked for the best way to spend their limited funds, athletic programs continued to see less money coming their way year after year. Football programs, being the most expensive of all sports to run, found themselves with the biggest mountains to climb, so in order to fill the void a booster club was formed to help support the Jaguar football program. In 2012 the Four Yard Club was also born, with, of course, Krystal again at the forefront. With a life as full as this, it’s a wonder Krystal ever had a chance to sleep. But her accomplishments, and more importantly those of her boys, made the sacrifices worth it. Justin graduated from WSU and is in the midst of beginning his career; Kort is a junior at Pacific Lutheran, playing on the football team and on track to graduate next year; Logan is finishing up his junior year at Emerald Ridge, enjoying his first foray into track and looking forward to his senior season of football, while planning for his own future at college. So while all of these wonderful things were happening in Krystal’s life, behind the scenes storm clouds were brewing. In June of 2013 Krystal’s mom, Glee, suddenly lost her life. Then just months after losing her mother, the force who had helped make Krystal the woman she had grown into, Krystal was dealt a second blow: ovarian cancer. But with a tenacity she had inherited from the same woman she was still mourning, Krystal hardly slowed down enough to even feel sorry for herself. Following exploratory surgery came round after round after round of chemo. When one didn’t work, they moved on to another. And another. Never once did Krystal allow the thought of failure to cross her mind. Ever the optimist, she told anyone who asked that the next round of chemo would work. Or the next. She would allow nothing to slow her down. During her two years of chemo Krystal continued to work every day, to watch her boys play ball, to continue all of her volunteer efforts, and even spent an afternoon Ziplining with her family while on vacation in Oregon. Krystal told more than one person that she wasn’t afraid to die, but that she didn’t want to miss out on being around her family and friends. And until the end she did just what she wanted, making certain to see Logan’s first track meet even though most people in her condition would have been in the hospital, and allowing her family and friends to throw her a 50th birthday party even though just walking across the room was a struggle. In the end her body finally gave up, but never her spirit. And that spirit lives on in her husband, her boys, her family, and anyone who was lucky enough to call her friend. If you too were touched by Krystal at some point in your life please join us in celebrating this wonderful woman April 30, 2016, at 4:00pm at Church for all Nations located at 111 112th St. E. Tacoma, WA 98445. In lieu of flowers, you are encouraged to donate in Krystal’s name to www.jagnation.org, the booster club Krystal was instrumental in creating to support her beloved Jags. And if you would like to share your own memories or condolences you are invited to do so here at the Edwards Memorial website.