Stephen Forrest Kendall (Steve) was born September 2, 1959 in Port Angeles, Washington. He passed away suddenly following a heart attack on February 12, 2016 in Seattle.
Steve loved his family deeply and his spirit surrounds us.
Steve leaves behind the great love of his life, his wife Dori Shoji. They shared their Elliott Bay condo in Seattle with Cody, their happy beagle.
Steve also leaves behind his devoted parents, Captain Neil Forrest Kendall (U.S. Coast Guard, RET) and Mildred Anne (Schmidtman) Kendall of Marysville, Washington; his brother Bruce William Kendall and his wife Sara (Schreiner) Kendall of University Place, Washington; his sister Katherine Anne (Kendall) Kirkpatrick and her husband Dana Kirkpatrick of Star, Idaho; his nephews and nieces, including Patrick Kendall and his wife Margaux (Faris) Kendall, Jackson Kendall, Casey Kendall, Kendall Anne Kirkpatrick, and Caroline Kirkpatrick; and brother-in-law Todd Shoji.
Steve was a proud graduate of Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, where he made many lifelong friends. He had a long career working for the State of Washington in the Department of Social and Health Services, including Child Support Enforcement.
His favorite place on earth was Seattle and he loved walking the waterfront, grocery shopping with Dori at Pike Place Market, and cheering for the Seahawks and Sonics.
Steve’s love of music was wide-ranging and infectious. Rocking to AC/DC, Heart and Lynyrd Skynrd always made him happy, as did Johnny Cash, Foo Fighters and the Rolling Stones. He would also laugh along with his family to the musings of Tom Lehrer, Stan Boreson and Spike Jones.
He rarely missed a family gathering and his warm smile graces hundreds of family photos from birthdays, graduations, Christmases, Thanksgivings and more. He took great delight in watching his nieces and nephews open their Christmas gifts which were always (always!) the right choice.
His mustache was perfect, his clam dip sublime, and his wit sharp.
As part of a Coast Guard family, Steve’s childhood took him from Alaska to Georgia to Cleveland to Boston to Washington, DC. He attended schools in Ketchikan (AK), Port Angeles (WA), Bellevue (WA), Rockville (MD), and Oxon Hill (MD).
He spent his freshman year at Sammamish High School in Bellevue and completed high school at Friendly Senior High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
As the family moved from post to post, he learned a lot about America and interpersonal dynamics from the backseat of the family sedan he shared with his brother, sister and Casper the Friendly Dog. Steve won most of the trivia games on those long drives and was the first kid to help get the tents set up when the family stopped to camp.
He had a special bond with his aunts, uncles and cousins scattered around the U.S., and with his grandfather Richard Schmidtman (BaBa), and with his grandmothers Mildred Gallup Schmidtman (MaMa) and Helen Gorman Kendall (Grandma Kendall).
Steve Kendall was an original, complex, loving man. We miss him.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at Salty’s on Alki, 1936 Harbor Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126. The family requests that you indicate below whether you plan to attend.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Swedish Medical Center Foundation www.swedishfoundation.org .