Ida Slezak

 Ida (Victorson) Slezak (1935 – 2025) peacefully passed away on Oct 29, 2025 at Ivy Park Memory Care Facility in Santa Rosa. 

Ida was born in 1935 in Thomas, West Virginia, the daughter of James and Louise Cooper. She had an older brother, James and sister, Carol, then Ida was born and her sister, Susan came a few years later.

Ida attended grade school and high school in Thomas, WV. She attended University of West Virginia, receiving her BA degree in 1957. The following year, Ida received a MA degree from Louisiana State University (LSU).

After graduating from LSU, she married Bill Victorson and followed his military deployment to Germany where sons Steven and David were born. Following Bill’s military service, they lived in Southern California. Ida worked in a nursery school from 1964-67 in Los Angeles. 

In 1968, they moved to Santa Cruz and Ida was hired in the Scotts Valley School District as a primary teacher for 2nd & 3rd grades. After teaching for 11 years, she worked for 2 years as a reading specialist, assisting teachers in the primary grades. 

In 1981, the family moved to Santa Rosa and Ida was hired as a principle at Mark West School District. Ida felt that the most important ingredient in a school is the people who work there. Ida said “teaching is a teamwork job: a group of people who care about students and work together as a team make a good school. A school is only as strong as the people who work in it.”

Her leadership improved staff morale and increased student achievement. In 1983 she was named District Superintendent. During the next 13 years, as student enrollment increased, she additional classrooms and a new school built. Ida created staff development and teacher training programs which increased test scores from 50th to 72nd percentile. When a new District office was built in the 1990’s, it was named the “Ida Victorson District Office” in her honor. She retired in Dec 1996. 

In 1988, Ida and Bill divorced and Ida moved to Bodega Bay. In 1989, she reunited with a longtime friend, Don Slezak. They were married in 1993 and blended their families of 8 adult children, 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. 

After Ida retired in Dec, 1996, she joined the Bodega Harbour woman’s golf club. She was an active member as president, secretary and regular participant. She won numerous tournaments and traveled for golf vacations with Don in the USA, Canada and New Zealand. 

Ida belonged to three books clubs and a bridge group. She was a member of the Fisherman’s Chapel by the Bay and was secretary of the church for many years. Ida and Don were also avid snow skiers, skiing in Tahoe, Aspen and many other ski resorts throughout the US and Canada. 

Ida was blessed with a happy and productive life. In her death, we welcome Ida’s family and friends to celebrate her life at a memorial service followed by a reception at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts, 282 S. High St, Sebastopol, CA on Sunday Nov 16 at 1pm.  In lieu of flowers, please donate in her honor to Providence Hospice, 439 College Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (707) 568-1094