Katherine B. Kenrick, longtime Sonoma resident, passed away in her sleep in her Sonoma home on Oct. 18. Katherine was known to many Plaza merchants as the jaunty lady walking her rounds. Katherine was born on her grandmother’s farm in Pickering, Mo. in 1910. She attended 11 different grade schools in the Midwest before moving to California at the age of 13, when she helped her father drive their Model A Ford across the country. She never forgot the thrill of arriving in California and going body surfing in the Pacific. She attended several high schools in the Central Valley before graduating from Tracy High.
As a young woman she moved to San Francisco, where she worked as a secretary. She later moved to Marin County, where she raised her family and discovered her love of bridge. Katherine moved to Sonoma 33 years ago.
Katherine is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph L. Kenrick, daughter Mary Jo Kenrick and son, Jay Taylor.
She is survived by her daughter, Katie Kenrick-Vickers (Paul); grandchildren, Forrest Cook (Sara), Gillie Vickers, Connor Vickers; and great-granddaughter, Dahlia Cook. “Grandma Choo-choo” as she was called, would have been 98 on Nov. 1.
Friends and neighbors are invited to celebrate and toast her long life at a reception held at her home at 363 First St. W. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 4 p.m.
Dr. Richard Lose passed away on November 3, 2008. He moved to Sonoma in 1955 to join the practice of Dr. Carroll Andrews and Dr. Wayne Craven, becoming the ninth doctor in Sonoma. It was an old-fashioned country-doctor practice that included house calls after evening hospital rounds. A special joy was delivering babies.
Richard John Lose was born in Decatur, Ind. on April 3, 1924. His father was a country physician, also, who was often paid in eggs, chickens and even a pony during the Depression.
Dick enlisted in the Marines after war broke out. He was trained as a navigator in celestial navigation, flying throughout the South Pacific. Once back home, he was able to achieve his dream of becoming a physician, thanks to the G.I. Bill. He graduated from Marquette University. While in his final year of medical school, 1952, he married Florence Komhyr, who had just completed her education at Marquette.
While living in San Francisco, they visited Sonoma during Vintage Festival and decided that it had pretty much everything they were looking for: small town, rural atmosphere, access to the city for post-graduate education and entertainment, beautiful scenery and idyllic weather.
He served two terms as Chief of Staff at Sonoma Valley Hospital; was president of Sonoma County chapter of American Academy of Family Physicians, as well as delegate; and a board member of Blood Bank. He was an active member of the Sonoma Garden Club and was honored by becoming a life member. His love of nature led to his love of gardening, hiking, camping and traveling. He still used a tent and slept on the ground during his last camping trip in 2007.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Florence; his daughters, Margaret [Peggy] Peil and Carolyn Pierce; his son, Christopher, all of Sonoma, and son Gregory of Santa Barbara; his sons-in-law, Gene Peil and Dan Pierce; his sisters, Phyllis Browne and Barbara Sherman of Milwaukee, Wisc.; and brother, Thomas of Ft. Dodge, Iowa. He is also survived by five grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Friends are invited to a memorial Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church at noon on Saturday, Nov. 15. A vigil will be held at Duggan’s Mission Chapel at 7 p.m. on Friday evening, Nov. 14. Private inurnment will take place at Valley Cemetery, Sonoma.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice by the Bay, 190 W. Napa St., Sonoma, CA 95476 or Gary and Marcia Nelson Emergency Care Endowment Fund for Sonoma Valley, 250 D St., Suite 205, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Arrangements under the directions of Duggan’s Mission Chapel.
