Dorothy Kittell, 78

Dorothy Kittell, 78, passed away at her home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, on Jan. 7, 2013, after an extended illness.

Services were held on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2012, at 1 p.m. in the Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.

Dorothy Lee Chess was born May 2, 1934, in Yakima, Wash., to Dan and Wanda Chess.

She was raised by her maternal grandparents, William “Bill” and Gladys Quinn.

She was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, brother Bill Chess, bother-in- law Bob Mackey, sister Colleen Wenger, son Alvin Queener and grandson Spc. Ethan Martin.

Dorothy was born at the height of the Great Depression and the family moved often in order to earn a living.

Growing up, Dorothy was never in one place very long, in fact she lived in many of the towns and cities that dot the Pacific Northwest.

It was in Palouse, Wash., where she met and married Ken Queener, who was the father of two boys, Alvin and Ed. Dorothy went on to marry Kenneth Edwards and with him had a daughter, Linda, and two additional sons, Ron and Don Edwards. They made their home in Spokane, Wash.

It was in 1966 that Dorothy received her son Bob from the Tallman. Due to difficult circumstances, she set out with Bob to raise him on her own.

The single mother worked hard as a waitress to support her young son independently.

It is at the restaurant where she met Ralph Surprenant and together they had Susan, Michelle and Michael. Dorothy and Ralph raised these four children here in Bonners Ferry until their divorce in 1986.

She met and then married Gerald “Jerry” Kittell in February 1987 whom she lived with until her passing on Jan. 7, 2013.

As a homemaker most of her life, Dorothy was a great cook and an even better baker.

Over her life, she enjoyed traveling, camping, snowmobiling, sewing and gardening.

She spent hours canning and preserving the fruits and vegetables from her gardens in preparation for the Idaho winters. She was known to have a green thumb and was meticulous in planning and caring for her gardens.

She prided herself on being able to grow roses no matter what climate she was living in and on a sunny afternoon could be found tinkering in her garden.

She and Jerry moved many times, spending their years not only in Idaho, but also in Montana and Arizona. They returned to Bonners Ferry in 2012 where she continued to spend her time planting flowers and caring for the other loves of her life, Toby and Mork, her Pekineses.

She doted over her dogs, making them homemade meals daily, and was recently saddened by the loss of Toby.

Her final days were spent sitting with Mork and watching her favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys, with Jerry at her side.

She is survived by her husband of 25 years, Gerald “Jerry” Kittell; sisters Joan Mackey and Corrine Davis; a brother, David “Joe” Chess; niece Wanda Mackey; sons Ed Queener, Don Edwards, Ron Edwards, Bob (Kristie) Surprenant and Michael (Christy) Surprenant; daughters Linda (Victor) Edwards-Raatz, Susan (Matt) Surprenant-Kirsch and Michelle (Colin) Surprenant- Huffman.

Surviving grandchildren include Billie Jo Queener, Theresa Queener, Britney Edwards, David Queener, Todd Queener, Christopher Wiebold, Tyler Edwards, Chad Edwards, Kae1en Edwards, Kristin (Kevin) Surprenant-James, Matt (Val) Surprenant, Tara Surprenant, Nichelle (Jeremey) Martin-Gau, Chantal (Shannon) Hughes-Gardner, Kiera Phipps, Kade Kirsch, Garrett, Gracie and Gabriel Huffman as well as numerous great-grandchildren.

Family and friends are invited to sign Dorothy ’s book at http://www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com/ Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.