Irene Kirkpatrick

Irene Clarambeau Kirkpatrick, age 89, passed away at home in Bozeman, MT, on September 19. She was born in Red Deer, Alberta, to Charles and Hulda Blain. She grew up in Burnt Lake, a small prairie town outside of Red Deer, and for several years attended high school at Canadian Union College in LaCombe, Alberta. Her parents moved to Oregon in 1938, and she graduated from Albany High School. She moved to the Walla Walla Valley and worked at a cannery so that she could attend Walla Walla College. While in college she met Verne Clarambeau and they married in December 1942 in Sandy, Oregon. In 1963, Irene returned to college, and went through nurses training, graduating in 1966 from nursing school with her daughter Vernita. In 1967 she lost her son Marlowe who drowned in the Walla Walla River while attempting to save another youth. She worked as an office nurse in Walla Walla for Dr. Charles Potts, until her retirement in 1985. She was an active member of the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church. In 1992, Verne passed away following a horse-riding accident. The following year she reconnected with her long-time friend Dr. Charles Kirkpatrick, and in August of 1993, she and Dr. Kirkpatrick married in a private ceremony in Milton-Freewater, OR. They spent most years traveling between College Place and Bozeman, MT, where each had a home. They enjoyed many trips to Yellowstone National Park where they loved to take pictures of wildlife, and wild flowers. Over the years, their love for travel took them to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland. The past several years they have lived in Bozeman, MT. Irene is preceded in death by both parents; her son, Marlowe Clarambeau; her sisters, Alice Ann DeVaney and Virginia Bock; and step-sons, Chuck Kirkpatrick and Glen Kirkpatrick. She is survived by her husband Charles Kirkpatrick, daughters: Vernita Clarambeau Kontz of College Place, WA and Verlynn Clarambeau of Walla Walla, WA; step-daughters: Sharon Kirkpatrick of Portland, OR, and Heather Kirkpatrick of Helena, MT; step-son, Bill Kirkpatrick of Bozeman, MT; grandchildren, Marlo Logan of Walla Walla, WA, Matthew Kontz of Peoria, IL; and great granddaughter, Isabella Kontz of Peoria, IL. Funeral services and interment will take place in College Place, WA.