Dorothy Loulla Kirkendall, of Longview, WA, died in her sleep on Saturday September 1, 2018 from Alzheimer’s. She just turned 97.
She was born August 29, 1921 in Day Creek, WA to Elisha and Katie (Parrish) Morgan.
She had five older brothers, Clifford, Herbert, Robert, Carl, and Ralph. A sister Eunice was born in 1924.
She helped her dad in the fields and milked the cows. She often drove the hay wagon pulled by a team of horses. She also helped her mom in the kitchen, making bread and cooking for the family and farm hands.
She loved baseball, playing many games with her brothers. As she got older, she enjoyed watching the Mariner’s on TV–cheering and/or booing along with the crowds.
At an early age, her dad let her row a boat by herself across the Skagit River. This upset her mom but showed Dorothy’s spunky determination that “…she could do anything she put her mind to.”
At age 19, she married Melvin Payne, but was a widow by age 28. They never had children.
The Morgan family was a very religious one, attending Sunday church and Wednesday meetings. They also attended many Camp Meetings during the summer. Although as an adult, Dorothy did not regularly attend church, she made sure her daughters did, and this formed the base of their faith. Dorothy always returned to the church for comfort and strength during times of sorrow and grief.
She married John Weir in 1950. They had two daughters, Penny Jo and Pamela Rae. Dorothy sewed much of the clothing she and her daughters wore, creating her own patterns.
The family moved a lot, settling in Anacortes in 1964. Dorothy went to work part-time at a pet store, and then a paint store. She then found a full-time job at Stowe’s in Burlington. Her dad lived a couple blocks away and she spent her lunch hours visiting him. John and Dorothy divorced around 1971.
In 1975 Dorothy married Wales “Jack” Kirkendall. They built a house in Mount Vernon and she continued working for Stowe’s for a total of 20 years until her retirement. Jack was a retired Army veteran and was manager of a restaurant in the local Elk’s Lodge when they met and continued working there for several more years.
Jack and Dorothy loved to fish. They bought a boat and fished the many lakes around the Mount Vernon area. They bought a motor home and traveled a little before retirement. When they retired, they sold their house and traveled the United States from Mount Vernon to Branson, Missouri and everywhere in between. They were true snowbirds. They stayed with other snowbirds in communities where they handcrafted clocks from tree burls, embroidery scenes, dolls and hanging lamps from beads, etc., many, many things. Of course, there was still a lot of fishing trips. Dorothy’s sister, Eunice and her husband, Grady traveled with them sometimes.
Dorothy was very handy in building things. When Jack’s health began to fail, they bought a home in Mossyrock, WA, and worked together to make it a home. They removed part of a wall in the kitchen, built a front porch and deck, and worked on the garage. They still made time for fishing and short trips in their motor home.
On one of those trips, Jack got sick and Dorothy drove the motor home, pulling a small pickup truck, all the way from California, proving again her spunky determination.
Jack was ill with cancer for several years. Dorothy took care of him at home. He died at home by her side in 1995.
Dorothy continued to live in Mossyrock, spending most of her time helping at the local Senior Center. In 2000, she moved to Longview and joined the Longview Senior Center. She volunteered wherever she was needed. You could often find her working in the kitchen, playing pinochle, or selling jewelry at the Rummage Sales. She also was a Board Member for many years.
Dorothy is survived by a sister, Eunice Atkins of SeaTac; her daughter, Penny Huntington of Longview; four grandchildren, Katie King of Castle Rock, Laura Sampson of Longview, Andy Keane of Mount Vernon, and Tim Keane of Arlington; seven great-grandchildren, Ray King, Donovan Huntington, Gracia King, Bryce Sampson, Brooke Sampson, and Bastian and Lucas Keane; and a special friend, Jack Radigue of Longview.
Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; three husbands; five brothers; daughter, Pamela.
Dorothy wished to be cremated and laid to rest in Burlington alongside her grandparents, parents, daughter and husband Wales (Jack).
Graveside Inurnment services will be held on Friday, October 12, 2018 at 1:30 PM at the Greenhills Cemetery in Burlington with Pastor Jim Cannon officiating. Services are under the care of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley.
