Kathleen Dewhurst of Eastsound on Orcas Island passed away in her sleep March 26, 2009. She was in poor health and was found asleep in her favorite chair shortly after coming home from the hospital. She was 82.

Kathleen was born to William and Catherine Dewhurst in Omaha, Nebraska on April 25, 1926. She was their only child. During the depression, they lost their house and were taken in by relatives. During this time Kathleen developed a strong bond with her many cousins. Some of her favorite times were during the summer when she and other cousins would spend time on their grandfather’s ranch. When she was 13, her father was able to get a job, amid the depression, in San Francisco. He had to hurry to the coast to secure the position and Kathleen and her mother followed shortly after, making the trip by automobile.

Once in San Francisco she was enrolled in Star of The Sea Catholic School and when the war came she and the other students were led down to the wharf area to help with the wounded returning from the Pacific theatre. At that time she decided to go into the medical profession and was preparing to enter nursing school when she met her future husband, Carl Rush. Shortly after they were married.

They resided in San Francisco for a short time where the first three of their five children were born, then moved to the east bay town of Concord.

Kathleen was a mother and housewife until the couple divorced and she worked in a department store while raising her five children. In the mid 1970s, she moved to Seattle to work in the health care industry, eventually becoming the tumor registrar at Highline Community Hospital in Burien. She loved her work, and it allowed her to do some traveling. She spent quite a few weekends on Orcas visiting her family, and in the late 1980s purchased what she called “my little house,” and then retired on the island in 1991.

She dove into volunteer work at the Orcas Center, the Orcas Island Medical Center, and the Orcas Island Public Library, where she was still volunteering the week before she passed away. She made many friends through these activities, and in her later years was also active in the Orcas Island Senior Center, enjoying attending the lunches, even as her health was declining.

Kathleen is survived by her Orcas family, daughter Kathy Stribling, granddaughter Sara Kissel and her husband Logan, great-grandchildren Violet, Quinn, and Cole Kissel. In addition her four other children, Sue Perrault of Monroe WA, Jill Whaley of Sacramento CA, Jon Rush of Helena MT, and Karen Hamilton of Antioch CA, she is survived by nine other grandchildren, and two other great grandchildren.

A loving mother, grandmother and friend, she will be missed by all. Her family and friends joined together on Saturday, April 4, to say goodbye. They thank the Orcas Community for all of the love and support during this difficult time. “She loved living here, and we are very thankful she got to live out her final days here,” says her family.