Dorothy Granquist

Dorothy Jane Hower Granquist was born in Albany, Oregon to Ira and Edna Hower on September 11, 1914, the eighth child of ten children. Her father owned a cleaning business and her mother was a homemaker.     During her childhood, her family moved several times in Oregon; Spokane, WA and eventually to the San Juan Islands. She attended schools in Friday Harbor and always described her high school years as a wonderful time in her life.  She would tell us stories of her sisters and friends going to the beach and seeing the lights of Victoria, B.C. across the Sound. She told us great stories about the fishermen dances. When she and her sisters would go to the dances and wanted a new dress –they would do all the work for our grandmother so she could make them new dresses. Mom worked for the newspaper and pea cannery on Friday Harbor. Mom and family moved to Harper, WA in 1933. She worked in Seattle doing different jobs.   In 1940 she met our dad at the South Colby Grange Dance. She married Walter Granquist on June 27, 1941 in Port Orchard. He preceded her in death June 28, 2008.  Mom and dad moved to an apartment in Tacoma where dad worked for the military during WWII. They moved to the farm (Ranch) in Port Orchard in 1942. There they raised four daughters, built their home and lived until 1995 when they moved to McCormick Woods in Port Orchard. They always had a large vegetable Garden, fruit orchard and mother’s wonderful flowers on the farm. Mom was involved in registering voters, she helped dad with his businesses and was a Girl Scout (Brownie) leader.  When dad retired, they took many bus trips to Reno; trips to Hawaii, Grand Canyon, Florida and Georgia.  Dorothy had a stroke the first week-end of November, 2007 and was in remission from lymphoma since 2003. She had also broken her hip previously when she first moved to McCormick Woods. Mom and dad lived at the home in McCormick Woods until January, 2008 when they moved to Assisted Living in Olympia. She broke her other hip in February of 2008 and had hip surgery again at age 93. After leaving the hospital, she moved to the Nursing Home where she was no longer able to use her walker and had to use a wheelchair. She remained at the Nursing Home until her passing on September 30, 2008.  Dorothy is survived by three daughters: Joyce Adams, Sally Levin and Nancy Granquist; sister Alice Weiding (98); six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her daughter, Betty Southwick; brothers Robert, Theron, Gilbert, Glen and Harold; sisters Mary Gresli, Rheta Nelson and Melba Koch.  Final Resting Place is Sunset Lane Memorial Park in Port Orchard, Washington.  Memorial donations may be made to Kitsap Mental Health, 5455 Almira Dr NE, Bremerton, Washington 98311.