Kathleen "Babe" Loise Ritter Christman

Our loving Mom, Kathleen L. Christman "BABE" entered Heaven to be with our Dad on the evening of January 10, 2011. Babe was the youngest of four siblings born to Claude Ritter and Mamie Lawrence Ritter on March 17, 1928 in Laidlaw, British Columbia. She moved with her family to Shelton Washington at a young age and grew up in the outdoors loving the logging community and the opportunity to visit the ocean. It was here she loved to fish. In the summers the family would come to the Yakima Valley to pick hops. Her lifelong friend Lillian and she continued to take their families even after they moved apart every summer to the ocean to fish, clam and crab. She especially loved to salmon fish at Ilwaco.

When she was 15, she moved with her family to Yakima once again to work in the logging industry. It was in Yakima she met our Dad, Philip J. Christman and married on December 29, 1946.

She worked at Brown's Pharmacy for a while and told us girls as we got older, that's probably not what we would want to do, so continue your education. She then worked at the cannery. However she found what she liked at the fruit warehouses packing apples. She started at Nordberg's in Selah Washington and then when the company started in Gleed, she went to work there and made many friends in her forty two years of apple packing at Northwestern/Apple King. She and Dad moved from Yakima to the Lower Naches area to be in the country and closer to her work in 1965.

She loved to ride horses with her girlfriends as a young women. Once she started her family, she loved to go traveling around the state, camping and boating with the family and friends. She loved to go dancing, play cards, summers at the ocean and once she found the casinos, she loved to go with her daughters every time anyone mentioned casino. Of course she always wore her lucky shamrock shirt. She always welcomed us kids once we left home, on Sunday afternoons for dinner and a game of pinochle. She made the best potato salad and pumpkin pie around.

Babe loved animals and always had a menagerie of cats, dogs, horses, pigs, sheep; there was always room at the inn for another pet.

Babe was a member of the Eagles and Grace Lutheran Church. Mom was never one to ask for help, but when she did you were going to do it her way!

Babe is survived by her loving family, Chris Ennis and son-in-law Stuart of Naches, Wa, Jodie Dibert and son-in- law Bruce of Yakima, Wa, Renee Blankenship and son-in-law DJ of Moxee Wa, Dan Christman and daughter-in-law Alison of Antioch Ca; Six grandchildren, Ryan Ennis and Denise of Bozeman, Mt, Hcather Ennis and Lion of Portland Or, Justen Christman, Jeremy Christman, Nicky Christman, Chris Christman of Antioch Ca, two great grandaughters, Jayden and Jessica Ennis and one great grandson, Ethan Ennis of Bozeman, Mt. She also leaves many loving nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband of 37 years, Philip J. Christman her parents, her two sisters Nettie French, Ida Loos and their husbands, and her brother Carl Ritter. We will all miss this quiet but tough little woman, she was always there if you needed her.. ... we love you Mom, say hi to Dad!

In lieu of flowers the family request memorials be sent in Kathleen’s name to the Humane Society of Yakima or charity of their choice.

A Memorial Service will be Monday, January 17, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. at the Keith & Keith Terrace Heights Chapel. Inurnment will be at Noon, Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at Tahoma Cemetery. To share a memory of Kathleen visit, www.keithandkeith.com