After many months of love and care from her family and caregivers, Lois “Puz” King Kent passed away in the early morning hours of Aug. 4, 2016, at the Avalon Care Center in Pullman, one week before her 89th birthday.
She was born Aug. 11, 1927, in Port Townsend, Wash. Her father, Victor King, a logger, and her mother, Dorothy (Stevens) King, a logging camp school teacher, both worked for the Simpson Logging Company in the Shelton area of the Olympic Peninsula, moving between camps.
Lois was the youngest in the family, joining her brother Vic and sister Nita (Clothier). They lived a good life amid the forests, streams, rivers, lakes and inland salt waters, always together and working during the trying times of the Great Depression. They were very close to their relatives, enjoying many fun gatherings at the King family farm, near Matlock, the Stevens family homestead on Whidbey Island, as well as the Shelton and Hood Canal areas.
During World War II, Lois worked in a service station, while attending Shelton High School. Upon graduating, Lois went on to attend the “Cow College on the Hill,” Washington State College, in Pullman, Wash., for a short time. Missing her native climate, friends and family, she transferred to Western Washington College, Bellingham, joining her sister Nita. There, she met the man who would become the love of her life, James Kent. The two were quite a dynamic pair in college and were married Dec. 18, 1948. Together, they graduated, each with education degrees in June of 1949.
They were hired together for their first teaching jobs at the three room school house of Galvin, Wash., outside of Centralia. Lois taught grades first through fourth and Jim taught fifth through eighth. They soon moved on to the Centralia School District, where they spent the rest of their careers. Lois took some time off from teaching to raise their children, Scott, Jeff and Barbara, returning to work in elementary education and, eventually, special education.
During those growing up years, the family spent many weekends and summers at “the bay,” their family get-away in Shelton. Upon retirement, Lois and Jim moved there and spent a great deal of time traveling before moving once more to a home in the Timberlakes Community, near Shelton. They continued to travel with many visits to see family, maintaining close contact with their children and grandchildren. Family was a very important part of their lives.
In 2015, family and friends celebrated Jim’s 90th birthday, followed by Jim and Lois’ 67th wedding anniversary.
Early 2016, with failing health, the couple moved to Palouse, Wash., to be near their son, Scott and his wife, Patti, their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jim passed away on Jan. 21, 2016. Lois stayed in the Palouse area, making a trip in March to attend her sister, Nita’s festive 90th birthday party. That was her last trip.
Lois was preceded in death by her husband, James; parents, Dorothy and Victor; brother, Vic; and son, Jeff.
She is survived by sister, Nita (Clothier); son, Scott (Patti); daughter, Barbara (Bill Larson); daughter-in-law, Kathy (Bill Lanning); seven grandchildren (and their spouses); 5 great-grandchildren; and innumerable loving family and friends.
A graveside service will be held Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, at 1:00 p.m., at Shelton Memorial Park cemetery followed by a gathering of family and friends at the Agate Grange.
Memorial contributions in Lois’s honor are suggested to the Lois and James Kent Memorial Scholarship, Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 1104, Centralia, WA 98531. Kramer Funeral Home of Palouse is caring for the family.
