Obituary of Lester Raymond Kiddy

Lester Raymond Kiddy died at home on February 28, 2014, surrounded by family and friends after a ten-year battle with cancer. Lester was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma on September 13, 1939 to Orval Frank and Zora Day Kiddy. He was one of three children. He attended school in Oklahoma and New Mexico. He served in the army in 1963 and received an honorable discharge. In 1968, he began working in the fledgling world of main-frame computers as a Programmer, System Analyst, Manager, and retired as a self-employed Computer Consultant. Les loved God and cherished his wife. children, grandchildren, and friends. Les was the man every woman wishes her husband would be. Les was charismatic and blessed with a wonderfully unique sense of humor. He loved to laugh, to make others laugh, and was an engaging, animated story teller. Time with family and friends was very essential to him. He loved to cook dinners, bake breads and desserts for those he loved. A true Renaissance man with many special talents, he could figure out anything. Les took great pleasure in teaching and others relied on his genius, knowledge and competence. Whatever needed to be done. he could and would do it all! There was not a lazy bone in his body. As a confident, hard worker and successful man of strength, intelligence, integrity, grace and mercy, he had an eagerness to be of service to others. He was passionate about fishing, hunting and camping with his family and buddies. His favorite stories were about those outdoor adventures, most of which occurred in Alaska, Washington and Montana. He liked traveling and going on big adventures, especially driving the car or the motor home. Les had a "heart for the hurting." He was attuned to the needs of others and was generous in giving. He has reached out to others to help them in their struggles and has inspired other men to be generous. He loves his dogs, Wookie and Zena, doing jigsaw puzzles and playing games on the computer; watching television, especially sports of all types and hunting and fishing shows. Les enjoyed multiple hobbies including lapidary, cutting and polishing rocks, reading, growing tomatoes and tending his fuchsias. Most of all, he loved indulging in long naps. Les struggled with serious, life-altering health challenges for the past ten years. As a "brave soldier," he endured a great deal as he fought this battle. He will be deeply missed by his many friends whether they knew him for a short while or a lifetime. In life and in death, Les Did It His Way... Les was preceded in death by his mother and father, Orval and Zora Kiddy; his brother, Orval James "Jimmy" Kiddy; and his daughter, Lanetta Kay Kiddy. Les is survived by his wife of 46 years, Gloria I. Kiddy; sons Walter Daniel Hooker and David Alan Hooker; sister Patricia Parsons; and two children from his first marriage, Lester Raymond Kiddy II and Lynn Rae Oberlander; six (6) grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. A celebration of Lester Kiddy's life will be held on March 15th, 2014 at 11:00am at The Bend on Hood Canal, 253 E. Great Bend Drive, Union, WA 98592. Please R.S.V.P. to (360) 432-8684 for a potluck by March 10th. Please honor the wishes of Gloria and Lester to have a NO ALCOHOL gathering. For further directions and information please visit www.thebend.us.