Edith May Kirkpatrick went home to be with her Lord Jesus Christ on Saturday, December 29, 2012 in Bellingham, WA at the age of 91 years. May was born on May 5, 1921 on Lopez Island, WA the daughter of R.T. and Edith (Anderson) Biggs.
She grew up on Lopez Island and later moved to Orcas Island where she graduated from Orcas Island High School with the class of 1938. May attended Western Washington University and St. Luke’s Hospital Nursing School in Bellingham where she completed her education in 1941.
May married Tate Kirkpatrick on September 27, 1941 in Seattle and they made their first home in Bremerton, WA. They lived there for 5 years where their two daughters were born. They then moved to Lyman, WA where they purchased the Star Service Station. They lived there for 8 years, later moving to the house on Lyman Hamilton Rd residing there for 45 years.
May retired from the Sedro-Woolley School District as Secretary to the Principal and Office Manager of Sedro-Woolley High School for 17 years. She was a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Burlington for the past 60 years where she was Treasurer, Sunday School Secretary, and Sunday School Teacher. She also belonged to numerous educational organizations, Territorial Daughters, United General Hospital Guild, Retired Senior Volunteer Program, Historical Society, and the La Conner and Sedro-Woolley Museums.
May was an oil painter. She did beautiful pictures during her lifetime, which her family and friends have enjoyed throughout the years. She also loved to fish, and camp in their trailer. May loved to preserve food from the great garden they had each year. She was a very good cook and loved to entertain. May moved to Bellingham in 2002 and resided at Northern Meadows Estates. For the past two years, she has resided at Merrill Gardens where she met many wonderful new friends.
May is survived by her two daughters and sons-in-laws, Colleen and Chuck Newton of Bellingham and Cheryl and Dennis Beyer of Spokane. Grandchildren, Ron and Shawna, Craig and Charez’, Dean and Nancy, Scott, Mark and Sue Ann, Chad and Richelle, Chris and Lisa, Mason and Laure, Nathan, Kristi and Mike, Tim and Bobbie. She also has numerous great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. She has one sister, Jackie Wecker of Spokane and numerous nieces and nephews. May dearly loved her family and was so proud of each one of them. She was preceded in death by her parents, R.T. and Edith Biggs, her beloved husband of 58 years Tate Kirkpatrick, and her sister, Grace Wolslegel.
Graveside Services will be held on Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 2:00PM at the Lyman Cemetery with Ron Walton and Chris May officiating. Visitation will be available at Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley on Wednesday, January 2nd from 9AM to 5PM and that evening from 7PM to 8PM and on Thursday January 3rd from 9AM to 1PM. A Memorial Celebration of Life Service will be held in July of 2013 at the family property in Lyman. Memorials are suggested to the Sedro-Woolley High School Alumni Association or a charity of your choice.