Obituary: Phyllis Kment

Phyllis was laid to rest at Idlewilde Mausoleum on Nov. 14, 2018.

“In 1939, my grandmother Emma Belle (Hall) Wolford, known as ‘Belle,’ died. This left my grandfather, John Willoughby Wolford, alone and to do the farming. A few months after grandma’s death, my parents moved to this farm, where they cared for grandpa and also farmed his land. The farm, as of this date, still has the original house where my grandparents lived. It is located as follows; going south out of Shenandoah at the place known as ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ travel approximately two miles to a forced turn in the road, turn right at that forced turn, then turn left on the next road (approximately a quarter mile), and continue south on that road approximately one mile. The family home should be on the right side of the road, and may possibly be the only house on that portion of road (a picture of the house is among the photographs that I have kept).  My Wolford grandparents are buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah, Iowa.

“I began my elementary education at White Cloud School, which was a one-room country school with grades kindergarten through eighth grade. My first teacher’s name was Beaulah McClanahan, who taught all the grades and whose job included all janitorial work. In the wintertime, she had to arrive at the school in time to build a fire in the wood stove which heated the building. The school was located approximately a mile and a half from my home and is no longer there.  Most of the time, I rode a Shetland pony named ‘Queen’ to school, and she was kept in a small shed on the school grounds during school hours. Occasionally, Queen somehow managed to open the door on the shed and then return home while I was attending class. In that case, I found myself walking home after school!

“My grandfather, Fred Guy McIntyre, and grandmother, Edith Jane (Herring) McIntyre, owned and lived on their farm property located north of Farragut, Iowa. In approximately 1943, grandpa suffered a stroke, which left him paralyzed on one side and bed-ridden. Prior to his illness, he had been building a new house on his farm, which is located four miles directly north of Farragut, Iowa (always referred to as ‘one mile north of the ‘Farragut’ comer). After his illness, my parents purchased 80 acres of the farm and we moved there before the start of my third grade in school. This farm was originally 160 acres and was divided when my uncle, Ralph McIntyre, purchased the east 80 acres where my grandparent’s old house was located, and which is no longer there. My McIntyre grandparents are buried at the Farragut Cemetery in Farragut, Iowa.

“I began my third grade at McIntyre School, which was only a few feet from our house and was part of our property. This was also a one-room school and was named for my great-grandparents, who had homesteaded 160 acres of land when they came to Iowa. I continued attending this school until it closed at the end of my sixth grade year. I began the seventh grade at Farragut Consolidated School in Farragut, Iowa and attended that same school until my graduation from high school. My most memorable accomplishment in high school was that I won the Iowa State typing contest held in Des Moines, Iowa in 1952. After graduation, I attended business school in Des Moines for only a short time. I then returned to once again live with my parents while working for a small company in Shenandoah for a few months until I was asked to go to work at First National Bank in Farragut, where I worked until 1955.

“In 1953, I was married to Bob Pierce, who was a school classmate of mine. He was, at the time, farming his father’s farm after his father’s death. Daughter, Kim Ann, was born on Oct. 3, 1955 in the same hospital in which I was born in Shenandoah. In 1956, we moved to Pasco, Wash. for a few months while Bob worked in the construction of Ice Harbor Dam. After that job ended in 1957, we moved to Hood River, Ore., where daughter, Robin Marie, was born on April 15, 1959. Our first home in Hood River was at 1024 Columbia St., until we purchased a home at 2219 Sherman Ave. on March 1, 1959, shortly before the birth of Robin.

“In 1964, I became employed at U.S. Bank on the Heights in Hood River. A short time later, the marriage ended. I continued working at the bank for a few years until resigning to take another job. After short employment at United Telephone Company and then at Diamond Fruit Growers, I began working for Pacific Power & Light Company (Fourth & Oak St.) in Hood River as a customer service representative until my retirement in 1989.

“On Oct. 25, 1980, Karl Kment and I were married in Reno, Nev. Karl had five children from a previous marriage: Mike, Tony, Becky Sakimae, Kristie Schmid and Karla Bailey, and also 13 grandchildren. We continued to live in the same home that I had lived in since 1959. Karl had, from 1953 to 1975, owned a music store (American Music) in Hood River, and also other stores in The Dalles, Bend and Pendleton, and later he became a real estate broker for Don Nunamaker Realtors in Hood River.

“Before we retired, we spent as much time as possible each winter in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. We also did some traveling around the continental United States including the New England States, Washington, D.C. and surrounding area, Glacier National Park, San Antonio, Texas (where Karl graduated from high school), Alaska, and my home state of Iowa. We also visited his cousin in Monterrey, Mexico and were fortunate to have been able to travel to Europe (Vienna, Salzberg, Prague and Budapest) in 1998.

“On March 27, 2003, we purchased a condominium at Kailua-Kona and spent three wonderful winters there before deciding to sell it in 2006. Then in March, 2007, we purchased a home at 1726 N.W. Cliffside Way in Redmond, Ore. in order to be nearer our daughter Robin and her family and we moved into the house on April 26, 2007 after having lived in Hood River for approximately 50 years!

“The great joys in my life, in addition to my daughters Kim and Robin, son-in-law Sam Willis, and my beloved husband, Karl, have been my two wonderful granddaughters, Sammy Jo Willis and Stevie Rae Willis.”

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