Katherine May King Todd

Kathy Todd was born in Nora, Nebraska, the daughter of Carl and Nettie (Probasco) King. Her family moved to Oregon when she was 12 years old. They settled in Monmouth then Independence. She attended both elementary schools and graduated from Central High School in 1959. In 1960 she married a neighbor boy, Lester Todd. During their 58 years of marriage, they lived in Corvallis, Woodburn, Independence and Wilsonville before returning to Independence for retirement.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Carl and Nettie Probasco King, brother Douglas King and grandson, Jordan Tappert. She is survived by her husband , three children: Glenda Tappert of Hailey, ID; Janet Pugh of Sheridan, OR; and Jeffrey Todd of Independence, OR, , a brother, James King of Yachats, OR as well as 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

Kathy worked for several employers during her secretarial career including Oregon State University, The Oregon State Fair and Wilsonville City Hall. She was an Executive Administrative Assistant for the Oregon State Racing Commission in Portland when she had to take early retirement due to a disability.

Her many hobbies and interests included crocheting, button collecting, genealogy, scrapbooking, camping, travel and music. She delighted in creating and preserving lasting memories for those she loved and the communities she served. The depth of her Christian faith was an inspiration. She was supportive, generous and involved in her children & grandchildren’s lives. She will be dearly missed by them and by so many others who she embraced as family.

Apart from her regular career, Kathy’s accomplishments were many including being a the only female inductee into the Oregon Dairy Industry’s Hall of Fame for her work in organizing, digitizing, indexing and preserving 100 years of artifacts, photographs and records. She was the Manager of the Oregon State Fair Horse Show after being instrumental in running it for many years. One of her final projects was writing a 300+ page book on the rich history of the Buena Vista/Hopville area not far from the city of Independence.

Memorial Service will be held at Farnstrom Mortuary, Independence, OR at 1:00pm on April, 14. Following the service, a Celebration of Life will be held at Monmouth Senior Center with refreshments and food.

In lieu of flowers, family asks those interested to consider a donation to the High School Band programs of Central High School in Independence and/or McKay High School in NE Salem. Kathy was an avid and enthusiastic supporter of music in schools. A donation box will be made available at her service.Farnstrom Mortuary is caring for the family.