Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Peter Thomas Kingsley was born to Marguerite (Chapman) and John Lloyd Kingsley in Teaneck, New Jersey on July 6, 1954. The family moved to Glendale, California in 1957. It was here, at age 15, where he first met Paula Joan Noble, an older woman from the neighborhood.
Peter graduated from Bellarmine Jefferson High School in Burbank in 1972. In 1975 he married Paula. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo with his Bachelor Degree in 1977. Mr. Kingsley worked for Bureau of Land Management in Barstow, California before moving to the Columbia River Gorge. He started work in the Northwest at his brother-in-law’s logging company where he was rained as an Emergency Medical Technician. After a short stint in the Forestry Service he accepted his calling to help those in need, as well as to provide for his growing family, and joined the Skyline Ambulance Service in 1979 where he worked for over a decade as the lead of their emergency response team.
Peter then went to Mid-Columbia Medical Center as a Regional Emergency Preparedness Coordinator helping to write the Northwest’s emergency response plan in the event of a regional disaster. He was instrumental in developing and running “Kid’s Kamp,” a program for 5th graders in the Gorge. Over the
course of his career, he trained many generations of paramedics and emergency response professionals and worked to enhance the care and functioning of MCMC. He retired in 2008. Peter was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in White Salmon, Washington.
He enjoyed traveling, working on his house, woodworking (to various degrees of success) and,
most of all, his family. Mr. Kingsley passed away at his home in White Salmon December 20, 2015 at the age of 61. He will be missed by his wife Paula Kingsley; children Joanna Donica of White Salmon, Peter John Kingsley of Seattle and Katie Kingsley of White Salmon; four grandchildren; and siblings Edith McDevitte, John Kingsley, Jim Kingsley, Maria Shultz, Neil Kingsley and Michael Kingsley. He was
preceded in death by his parents and sister Frances Kerrin. A funeral Mass was held at St. Joseph’s
Catholic Church on Wednesday, December 23, 2015 with burial at the White Salmon Cemetery. To send condolences to the family, please visit www.gardnerfh.com.
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