1924
John
2013
John Kuoppala
January 13, 1924 — November 6, 2013
01/13/1924 ~ 11/06/2013
John C. Kuoppala, age 89 of Custer, passed away on November 6, 2013. He was born January 13, 1924, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to John and Esther Kuoppala.
The family moved west in 1927, and settled in South Bellingham. Summers during the Depression years were spent fishing from a rowboat with his brother, Don, on Bellingham Bay, helping his mother with her vegetable garden and picking wild blackberries to take into Fairhaven to sell to help support the family. As a teenager, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. Like so many young men after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he found a way to serve his country in World War II. Leaving BHS at 17, he joined the U.S. Merchant Marine, serving on supply ships supplying the Inside Passage to Alaska. He entered the Navy in October of 1942, serving in the Pacific during the remainder of the war.
At the end of the war, John returned to Whatcom County where he made his living driving logging trucks and delivering hay. He enrolled at WWSC in 1949, to begin earning his BA degree and teaching certificate. When the Korean War began, he went back into the Navy and served in Korea.
When he returned from Korea, he completed his BA degree at Western. While there, he met and later married Marilyn Smith on August 1, 1952. They moved from Wiser Lake to Custer in 1956, after John was hired as a stillman by Mobil Oil of Ferndale. He retired from Mobil after 32 years, and began what he called, “his long weekend”.
During his working life, John and Marilyn raised three daughters and grew a large vegetable garden each summer. In addition to vegetables and fruit, they raised chickens, ducks, turkeys and numerous pets. When he could, he enjoyed fishing, square dancing, tying fishing flies and watching football. For many years he served the Custer Fire Department as a volunteer fireman.
After retirement, gardening, fishing and feeding wild birds were his fair weather hobbies. Reading, latch-hooking rugs, watching football and pro rodeo took up the rainy season. He was also a member of the Skagit Men’s Garden Club. Throughout his long life, John would drop whatever he was doing if anyone asked for his help.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Marilyn, and brothers Donald and Matthew Kuoppala. He is survived by daughters Michelle Kuoppala, Patti Kuoppala and Julie (husband Ken) Rose, grandchildren Christopher Rose, Katie Rose (husband Jamie Garza) and Darryl Rose, great-grandchildren Toby and Oscar Rose and many loving family and friends. A Celebration of John’s life with military honors will be held at Westford’s Broadway Hall, 1300 Broadway at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 7, 2013.
John C. Kuoppala, age 89 of Custer, passed away on November 6, 2013. He was born January 13, 1924, in St. Paul, Minnesota, to John and Esther Kuoppala.
The family moved west in 1927, and settled in South Bellingham. Summers during the Depression years were spent fishing from a rowboat with his brother, Don, on Bellingham Bay, helping his mother with her vegetable garden and picking wild blackberries to take into Fairhaven to sell to help support the family. As a teenager, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps. Like so many young men after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he found a way to serve his country in World War II. Leaving BHS at 17, he joined the U.S. Merchant Marine, serving on supply ships supplying the Inside Passage to Alaska. He entered the Navy in October of 1942, serving in the Pacific during the remainder of the war.
At the end of the war, John returned to Whatcom County where he made his living driving logging trucks and delivering hay. He enrolled at WWSC in 1949, to begin earning his BA degree and teaching certificate. When the Korean War began, he went back into the Navy and served in Korea.
When he returned from Korea, he completed his BA degree at Western. While there, he met and later married Marilyn Smith on August 1, 1952. They moved from Wiser Lake to Custer in 1956, after John was hired as a stillman by Mobil Oil of Ferndale. He retired from Mobil after 32 years, and began what he called, “his long weekend”.
During his working life, John and Marilyn raised three daughters and grew a large vegetable garden each summer. In addition to vegetables and fruit, they raised chickens, ducks, turkeys and numerous pets. When he could, he enjoyed fishing, square dancing, tying fishing flies and watching football. For many years he served the Custer Fire Department as a volunteer fireman.
After retirement, gardening, fishing and feeding wild birds were his fair weather hobbies. Reading, latch-hooking rugs, watching football and pro rodeo took up the rainy season. He was also a member of the Skagit Men’s Garden Club. Throughout his long life, John would drop whatever he was doing if anyone asked for his help.
He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Marilyn, and brothers Donald and Matthew Kuoppala. He is survived by daughters Michelle Kuoppala, Patti Kuoppala and Julie (husband Ken) Rose, grandchildren Christopher Rose, Katie Rose (husband Jamie Garza) and Darryl Rose, great-grandchildren Toby and Oscar Rose and many loving family and friends. A Celebration of John’s life with military honors will be held at Westford’s Broadway Hall, 1300 Broadway at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 7, 2013.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Kuoppala, please visit our flower store.
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