Obituary of Edward E. Kiser

On the morning of November 11, 2018 at 11:30 a.m., Chief Petty Officer Edward E. Kiser (Papa) passed away peacefully with his daughters, Kandy and Lois, by his side.

Dad was brought home from the hospital in a shoe box on February 27, 1935, weighing less than four pounds and not expected to live.  Well...under the loving care of his mom and dad and a warm wood stove, our families were blessed with 83 more years of fun with Papa! 

Throughout Dad’s life, his priorities remained the same, spending time with his family, including his wife, Cinda Kiser; daughters, Kandy (Andy) Ritter, Lois (Kris) Peterson; and son, Timothy Kiser. Cinda and Timmy preceded him in death as did his five brothers and sisters: Carol Glover, JoAnn O’Malley, Don Kiser, Ralph Kiser, and Judy Nedrow; and Don, Ralph and Judy. In addition to his siblings, Papa had five grandchildren: Justin (Kelly)Ritter, Evan (Dailee) Kiser, Lindsay (Daniel) Greene, Jim (Stormy) Peterson, and Chestoqua (Chaz) Peterson; and 14 great-grandchildren: Noah and Everett Kiser, Skyla, Nola, and Cinda Peterson, and Laila, Allie, Qwaapeys, Daniel Jr, Diya, Uriah, Kawaiolk Greene and Reese and Sadie Ritter. 

 Papa’s parents, Marion and Everett Kiser, moved their family from their farm in North Dakota to Washington in 1946. Upon arrival in Washington, the family settled in to build their life in Olympia. Papa joined the United States Navy in 1955 and served proudly in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was incredibly proud of his service to our country and shared endless “sea” stories with us over the years. At the time of his passing he was a resident at Retsil Veterans Home in Port Orchard, Washington, where he enjoyed his days continuing to share “sea” stories with other veterans.

Growing up as a Navy family, we had the opportunity to live in many new and exciting places, including Florida, California, and Hawaii.  Each time we moved, our Navy family and friends grew as did our lifelong memories of line fishing in Key West, hula shows in Hawaii, beach time in San Diego, and family dinners at grandma and grandpa’s house at home in Washington.

Dad also had the honor to serve on the USS Floyd B. Parks, USS Wilhoite DER 397, USS Laws, USS Theodore Chandler DD-717, USS Knox FF-1052, and USS Rathburne FF-1057 during his time in the Navy.  Each of his deployments took dad around the world and back many times, allowing him to see new countries and make many new friends as he proudly served his country. Dad retired from the Navy on July 1, 1977 as a Chief Sonar Technician with three Good Conduct Medal Awards and two National Defense Service Awards. 

Growing up with dad consisted of endless camping trips gathered around the camp fire while mom made amazing one pot meals, fishing on every lake and river he could find, never having a new car because he loved the challenge of keeping a “clunker” running, family gatherings with lots of dessert, and making sure everyone was clear that he was “in charge” of everything!

Thank you dad for years and years of memories. We will miss you so much as you settle in to your next deployment. Keep sharing your “sea” stories; you have a new audience now.  Love you forever!