Katharine Jean Woods

Katharine Jean Telfer Woods passed away peacefully on Friday, April 25, 2014, at her home in Wenatchee. Kathie was born on February 3, 1920, in Seattle to Lorenzo and Dorothy Telfer. When she was three years old, she and her family spent a winter near Stevens Pass while her father worked as the electrician in charge of the old Cascade Tunnel. The family moved to Wenatchee when Kathie was very young, and she graduated from Wenatchee High School in 1937. She attended the University of Washington, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. In 1942, she married Robert W. Woods (Bob) in Wenatchee. Immediately following the wedding, Kathie and Bob boarded a train to Fort Riley, KS, where Bob attended Officers Training School. The newlyweds made only a brief stop in Spokane for a night’s honeymoon at The Davenport Hotel. Bob served as a first lieutenant with a cavalry reconnaissance unit of the 35th Infantry Division in Europe during World War II, while Kathie worked at the War Production Board in Seattle. Kathie and Bob returned to Wenatchee after the war and Bob resumed his more than 50-year career at The Wenatchee Daily World, where Bob and Kathie were minority owners. Kathie stayed home and raised three daughters. She was a Camp Fire leader and room mother, active in the First United Methodist Church circle and the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital Guild in Wenatchee. Kathie was a member of the Wenatchee Golf and Country Club and enjoyed playing with her nine-hole group for many years. She and Bob were University of Washington football season ticket holders for over 60 years, and rarely missed home or away games. The couple travelled the world together, always returning to their beloved homes on Chatham Hill in Wenatchee, on Lake Wenatchee’s South Shore, and in Borrego Springs, CA. They enjoyed the companionship of a series of faithful and loving dogs. Kathie was preceded in death by her husband, Bob; her parents; and her siblings, Betty Hoffman, Jim Telfer, and Ruth Telfer. She is survived by three daughters, Carolyn (Bob) Ollikainen of Cape Meares, OR, Barbara Woods of Wenatchee, Wendy (Brian) Manhart of East Wenatchee; her grandchildren, Rob Ollikainen of Port Angeles, Tyler (Traci) Shillito of Tacoma, Eric (Paige) Ollikainen of Vancouver, WA, Kelli (Brett) Scott of Wenatchee and Kellen Manhart of East Wenatchee; as well as five great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society. Please express your thoughts and memories on the online guest book at jonesjonesbetts.com. Arrangements are by Jones & Jones-Betts Funeral Home.

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Katharine Jean Woods

February 3, 1920 - April 25, 2014