Barbara Julia Kimball

Keith was the tow-truck driver who helped her when she crashed her car into a tree in Palo Alto. It was love at first sight and they married 14 months later at the First Congregational Church in Palo Alto.

Bobbie was an active young mother with four children but found time to do other activities which included bowling, golfing, cooking, listening to Big Band and Frank Sinatra music, entertaining and changing the decorations in her home with every occasion.

She loved having flowers in her garden and had a wonderful talent for making beautiful arrangements. Her nails were always perfectly manicured and her hairdo was always beautifully coiffed.

Bobbie worked in San Francisco and Alameda before she became the office manager for B&Z Manufacturing in Palo Alto for 18 years. She then enjoyed doing childcare in her home until she retired.

Bobbie and Keith retired to Hood River in 1992 and celebrated their 61st anniversary together in April. They cherished their visits with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and traveling in their RV. One of her favorite destinations was Salmon Harbor on the Oregon Coast.

Bobbie was a dog lover her entire life and enjoyed showing her St. Bernard, and breeding miniature poodles and Lhasa Apsos. She loved watching the many birds that visited her bird feeder as well as the Canada geese, quail, and pheasants that visited their beautiful property in Hood River.

Bobbie is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Keith; son Bob (and Nancy) of Lake Oswego, Ore.; son Dennis (and Tracy) of Sunnyvale, Calif.; daughter Peggy Spedick (and Mike) of Bend, Ore.; and daughter Donna (and Sozo) of Gresham, Ore. She was a devoted wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother to six grandchildren, and great-grandmother to six great-grandchildren with another due in February.

The family would like to thank the Hood River Care Center and Providence Hospice, along with numerous doctors and home care nurses who helped Bobbie with her health challenges and kept her comfortable.

A special thanks to Sue and Denny Anderson who have been dear friends for almost 20 years and have provided tremendous emotional and spiritual support to our family along with lots of kisses from their golden retriever puppies.

We will miss Bobbie’s amazing chocolate chip cookies, her delicious potato salad and her love, but we know she is now dancing on streets of gold with her Lord and Savior.

A private celebration of Bobbie’s life will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the direction of Anderson’s Tribute Center (Funerals, Receptions, Cremations), 1401 Belmont Ave., Hood River, OR 97031; 541-386-1000. Please visit www.andersonstributecenter.com to leave a note of condolence for family.