Dorothy M. Ekern

passed away on Monday, December 27, 2010 at Messenger House on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She was 92 years of age.Dorothy was the youngest of 5 children born to homesteaders William & Carolyn Clark in Howe, Idaho near Lost River, on June 16, 1918. At the age of 6, their family moved to Blackfoot, Idaho where she grew up. After high school she traveled to Salt Lake City, attended Wasatch Academy and received a degree in Business. While visiting her sister (Ruth and Victor Jones) on a Seattle vacation in 1942 she was introduced to a young state patrolman who completely captured her heart. After a whirlwind romance, she returned to her Pocatello job to give her 2 weeks notice, packed up all her belongings, and boarded a bus back to Seattle to marry the very charming, tall, handsome and talented Bainbridge Islander, A. Kermit Ekern. They were married 55 years living in various parts of Washington state as Kerm continued his career with the State Patrol always dreaming of someday returning to Bainbridge Island which they did in 1977. Dorothy was a school secretary while in Tumwater and Vancouver and worked at the state capital as Representative Al Bauer's secretary while in Olympia but her true calling was as a loving wife, homemaker and mother. After their retirement, Kerm & Dorothy created their final home by remodeling Uncle Oscar's little cabin off Sunrise Drive where the berries, clams and wildlife abounded, sunrises were spectacular and the view of Seattle, the Cascades and Puget Sound never ceased to amaze them. She was appreciated for her indomitable spirit, stout hearted in her faith, blessed with wisdom, loved helping people, cooked like a gourmet, sewed like a designer, laughed infectiously, prayed incessantly, danced like the Norwegian she wasn't, and unabashedly loved her children and grandchildren. Dorothy and Kerm enjoyed traveling, especially to Turkey and Russia but their favorite part was always coming home. She might have slowed down a little after Kerm died in 1997, but was still the Fastest Kisser in the West to those grandbabies! We all laughed at how much she loved her last trip to Canada - she truly appreciated beauty and had a terrifically great life.She leaves 3 enriched and grateful children: Carolyn (Don Bonker) of Arlington VA, Kristin of Bainbridge, and Kermit (Lynnea Peters) of Ballard, 6 grandchildren (Linsey Budden, Seattle; Deanna Smith, Poulsbo; Carmen Jones, Bainbridge; Dawn Bonker, Queen Anne/Seattle; Jonathan Bonker, Bangladesh; and little Andrew Ekern, 7 of Ballard); and 3 great grandchildren (Darrin Smith, Poulsbo and infant twins Sophia and Isabel Jones of Bainbridge).Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 2:00 pm, Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church, Bainbridge Island. A reception will follow. Please sign the online Guest Book for the family.