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Kenneth Stoddard
Kenneth William Stoddard, 93, died
comfortably at home under Hospice care on Monday, April 13,
2009, due to complications of old age.

Kenny was born in Pomona, Calif., to
LeRoy and Mabel (Gressley) Stoddard on March 27, 1916. He
attended the Chino schools, excelling in his studies and fine
art. He designed and built sets for the high school productions.
After graduating he drove a school bus for his alma mater,
receiving awards for seven years of safe driving.
The love of his life, Cleta Wilson, rode
his bus. She brought flowers to put in his hat. They were
married in 1937 and enjoyed 70 years of marriage until she died.
In 1942 Ken was hired by Douglas
Aircraft as a draftsman, designing parts for the war planes. He
soon distinguished himself for his precise and well-done
drawings. He worked for Douglas for 34 years, retiring in 1973.
Ken and Cleta bought a half-acre lot in
Hawthorne, Calif., in 1942, where they lived for 65 years,
raising their two daughters and building fond memories there.
Ken loved working in the yard. He planted more than 100 trees;
most of them coast redwoods, but also several fruit trees. The
place was like a park.
Ken continued his interest in art,
painting in oil, acrylic and watercolor. After retiring from
McDonnell/Douglas he volunteered at the Hawthorne Senior Center,
teaching painting.
Ken and Cleta, on their 70th anniversary
in 2007, moved to Mt. Hood to live with their daughter, Linda,
and her husband, Norman Frizzell. Ken told people he rode the
train to heaven when he came to his new home.
Just six weeks after moving to Mt. Hood,
Cleta tripped and fell very hard, breaking her hip. During
surgery she had a small stroke. She was recovering well at the
Care Center under re hab when she died in her sleep on Oct 3,
2007. Ken was also preceded in death by a great-granddaughter,
Joy Emma Carson.
Ken is survived by his sister, Mildred
Cox, of Lorna Linda, Calif. (age 102); his brother, Robert
Stoddard (age 90), of Torrance, Calif.; two daughters: Keneta
(Ken) Carson, of Mission Viejo, Calif., and Linda (Norman)
Frizzell, of Mt. Hood, Ore.; three grandchildren: Natasha (Tom)
Scrivener, of Camarillo, Calif., Katrina (Ibrahim) Geylani, of
Adana, Turkey, and Jason (Julie) Carson, of Mission Viejo,
Calif.; and eight great-grandchildren: Zoe, Parker and Quintin
Scrivener; Alana and Kaya Geylani and Halley, Lucy and Janey
Carson.
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 sign the family guest
book.
John ‘Jack’ Barrett
Rear Admiral John M. “Jack” Barrett, USN
(ret.), passed away peacefully in the midst of his family on
April 18, 2009, at his home in White Salmon, Wash. He was 89
years old.
By his own assessment, Admiral Barrett
had “a full and adventurous life”; he was “proud to have been at
the cutting edge of a great Navy and grateful for all that
America had given him and his family.”
Admiral Barrett was born on March 14,
1920, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the first son of John Joseph
Barrett and Margaret O’Neill Barrett. The family moved to
Chicago, and later Hollywood, Calif., where he graduated from
Loyola High School.
Admiral Barrett then enlisted as an
apprentice seaman in the Navy Reserve in 1938 and secured an
appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy after gathering hundreds
of signatures on a petition to his appointing congressman.
At the Academy he enjoyed lacrosse,
sailing and working on the Lucky Bag. He graduated with the
Class of 1943 in June, 1942 as a member of the 9th Company.
After graduation, Admiral Barrett served
during World War II on the USS HALIBUT and the USS TREPANG in
the Pacific Theater. During Admiral Barrett’s nine submarine war
patrols, 17 Japanese combatant and merchant ships were sunk and
eight others damaged. For these actions he was awarded the
Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and the Navy and Marine Corps
Medal for the rescue of a shipmate washed overboard in heavy
seas off Okinawa.
After World War II, Admiral Barrett
became a carrier aviator. He served in the Korean War, followed
by a stint as a naval test pilot. In 1952, Admiral Barrett
returned to the submarine service aboard the USS SEA OWL and
then commanded the USS TIRANTE. He served as the commissioning
commanding officer of the Polaris/Poseidon submarine tender USS
CANOPUS and next commanded Polaris Ballistic Missile Submarine
Squadron Sixteen based in Rota, Spain.
Admiral Barrett was selected for Flag
Rank while commander, Submarine Flotilla One at San Diego,
Calif., in 1968. His shore assignments included Head, programs
branch, Submarine Warfare Division, Office of Chief of Naval
Operations; Director, Plans and Programs, Polaris Special
Projects Office and first U.S. Executive Secretary for the Joint
US/UK Polaris Program. Admiral Barrett also served as Head, Navy
Section of the Joint US Military Mission for Aid to Turkey in
Ankara.
Of his seven operational commands during
the Cold War, his last two were Commander, Service Force, U.S.
Pacific Fleet and Commander, Naval Logistics Force, Pacific,
both at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Authorized to wear Submarine Dolphins,
Naval Aviator Wings and the Surface Warfare Insignia, Admiral
Barrett always proudly wore the Submarine Dolphins on top.
Admiral Barrett and his wife, the former
Eda Joan Odem, of Sinton, Texas, were married for 61 years.
After retiring in 1977, Admiral and Mrs. Barrett lived in
Honolulu, Hawaii, where Admiral Barrett was a founding Director
of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Memorial Association and was
instrumental in the development of BOWFIN Park, the Submarine
Museum and the magnificent Submarine Memorial across from the
Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor.
In 1990, Admiral and Mrs. Barrett moved
from Hawaii to the Columbia River Gorge. Admiral Barrett
organized a successful three-year effort to establish the USS
BLUEBACK as a memorial to all submarine shipmates on ETERNAL
PATROL — past, present and future. BLUEBACK is moored on the
Willamette River as part of the Oregon Museum of Science and
Industry in Portland, Oregon.
Since moving to White Salmon, Admiral
Barrett pursued many passions, including mentoring young men and
women to the Service Academies, serving on St. Joseph Parish
Council and the White Salmon Pool committee, acting as advisor
and sponsor to the White Salmon Youth Center and participating
actively in many political campaigns and community issues. He
was a loyal member in his favorite coffee group at the Bingen
Big River Diner and an active and lively participant in the
lives and activities of his children and grandchildren.
In addition to his wife, Admiral Barrett
is survived by his five children: John Michael Barrett Jr., USNA
’71(Debra), Ann Barrett Oldfather (Michael Hasken), James Odem
Barrett, Capt. Brian Odem Barrett, USN (Kimberlee) and Rebecca
Barrett Rawson (Patrick).
Admiral Barrett was a loving grandfather
to 14 grandchildren: John Michael Barrett III (Megan); David
Odem Barrett; James Francis Odem Barrett; Michael Patrick
Oldfather; Michael Richard Hasken Jr.; Eleanor Ann Hasken;
Kimberlee Brooke Barrett; Brian Patrick Barrett; Christopher
James Barrett; Abigail Elizabeth Barrett; Daniel Francis Rawson;
Sean Vincent Rawson; Kathleen Joan Marie Rawson and Claire
Rebecca Rawson.
Admiral Barrett is also survived by his
brother, James Leonard Barrett (Judy); his sisters-in-law, Mary
Elizabeth Odem and Grace Odem Doyle (Richard); numerous nieces
and nephews and many friends.
Memorial services will be held at St.
Joseph’s Catholic Church in White Salmon, Wash., on April 22 at
1 p.m. There will be a Catholic burial and memorial service with
military honors and interment St. Andrew’s Chapel at the United
States Naval Academy on Friday, April 24, beginning at 9 a.m.
For those who wish, the family suggests
memorial contributions to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Building
Fund, White Salmon, Wash., the White Salmon/Bingen Youth Center
or the charity of your choice in care of Gardner Funeral Home
P.O. Box 390, White Salmon, WA 98672.
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