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Julia ‘Judy’ Christopher Kemmer

| February 20, 2020 11:48 PM

December 19, 1915 – February 13, 2020

Julia “Judy” Christopher Kemmer (Mrs. Orville R. Kemmer), a resident in Moses Lake since 1948, passed away on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. That date just happened to be her husband Orville’s birthday.

Judy (Daddy always called her Judy, as did all her “old” Moses Lake friends) was born Dec. 19, 1915 in Huntley, Montana, to Carl and Leah (Baum) Christopher. The family soon moved to Chelan, Washington, where she went all through school with her two brothers Kenneth (the youngest) and Carl (the oldest) and graduated Chelan High School in 1933 with honors. She attended Kinnman Business School in Spokane, finishing her education by attending Washington State University, where she was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority.

After school, Judy went to work back in Chelan for Washington Water Power (now called Chelan County PUD). Then she moved to Wenatchee for several years, into a boarding house there while she worked for the Puget Sound Power & Light. She met Daddy in that boarding house where he was also living, as he was working heavy construction building Pangborn Memorial Airport.

Then, Judy went down to Vallejo, California, where she was married to Orville on Nov. 13, 1941. Orville was then working more heavy construction for Morrison Knudson, building yet another airfield – it was wartime. She was a stay-at-home mom as that’s where a daughter, Janet, was born Oct. 23, 1942, an only child.

In late spring of 1948, the family moved to Moses Lake, where they purchased a Mobil gas station (the sight of the flying red horse) and car repair shop that became known as Kemmer’s Service and Garage. She was bookkeeper, right-hand-man and gopher, and everybody knew not to “cross” Judy, especially when Daddy wanted to go hunting or fishing. They kept the business from 1948 until 1972.

Judy also worked at several other places: for People’s Bank and the Childress family when they had a car dealership; she volunteered at the Moses Lake Senior Center as treasurer from 1982 until 1992 and also volunteered in the Samaritan Hospital Gift shop for over 30 years. She was a member of Moses Lake Presbyterian Church.

Julia is survived by her daughter, two grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She will be interred at Chelan Riverside Cemetery in the Christopher family plot (one of the first pioneer families to be placed there).