Obituary: Kilpatrick, Jean
Viewing will be Monday July 8, 2013 from 9:00am to 5:00pm at Bruning Funeral Home in Colfax.
Graveside funeral services with vault interment will be held on Tuesday July 9, 2013 at 10:00am at the Oakesdale Cemetery with Pastor Erik Buhl of the Oakesdale Presbyterian Church officiating.
A reception will follow the services at the fire hall.
Jean was born on September 29, 1925 in Steptoe, Washington to Dale and Nona (Tinnel) Shahan and grew up there, graduating as Valedictorian of Steptoe High School.
She married Edwin Kilpatrick on May 12, 1944 at Steptoe and the couple made their home tending to the Kilpatrick family homestead outside of Oakesdale.
In 1966 they moved into Oakesdale and resided there until Jean moved to The Courtyard in Colfax a few years after Edwin’s death in 2009.
Jean was a homemaker and took great pride in caring for her family, especially during the Christmas season.
During harvest she would prepare a daily hot meal for lunch, including an assortment of cinnamon rolls and pies, and serve it to the harvest crew in the field off the tailgate of the pickup truck.
She was also an avid seamstress but had a strict rule of “no sewing on Sundays”.
She was active in many community groups including being a 50 year member of Hope Chapter, Order of Eastern Star where she held many statewide offices and served for 35 years as the Grand Deputy for the International Order of Rainbow for Girls in Washington.
She was a member of the Slippery Gulch Players in Tekoa and also sang for many years in a ladies quartet.
Jean is survived by her daughters Margaret Kilpatrick; Colleen (Chris) Riedle; granddaughters Jo Ann (Steve) Gardner; Jennifer (Andy) Widrig; grandson Robert Smith; great-grandchildren Blake and Danika Gardner and Elizabeth Widrig; her sisters-in-law Marillyn Kilpatrick and Bev Kilpatrick; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents Dale and Nona Shahan; her husband of 65 years, Edwin Kilpatrick; her son Robert Kilpatrick and her brother Norman Shahan.
The family suggests memorial donations be made to the Kilpatrick family for installation of a permanent monument in Oakesdale to honor Edwin and Jean’s contributions to the greater Oakesdale community.
Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax has been entrusted with funeral arrangements.
Online condolences may be left at www.bruningfuneralhome.com