Dorothy Kranz

Dorothy Elizabeth Kranz, age 93, died peacefully on November 29th, 2016 at her home at Sun Terrace Assisted Living Community in Sunnyside, WA. Dorothy had been in declining health for the past five months and during all of this time she had been lovingly tended to by her devoted children as well as the incredible staff of Sun Terrace. Dorothy was born at home on April 20, 1923, near Monkton, Maryland to Julia and John Raymond Cochran and was raised in this rural setting north of Baltimore, MD, along with her five brothers and two sisters during the days of the Great Depression. Despite the tough times she and her friends and siblings enjoyed the forest, rolling hills and farms of the area. She often told her children and grandchildren stories of her father or brothers hunting in the woods and bringing home wild game such as rabbit, squirrel or even turtles which would soon be on the table as dinner. They were an Irish family, descendants of Honorah O’Kiefe Corcoran (1788-1888) who emigrated from Ireland just before the Great Famine in 1840. Honora’s grave stone is still in a place of prominence in the graveyard of St. John Church where Dorothy and Charlie were married. Dorothy attended a one room school house for grades one through eight and then attended Bel-Aire High School graduating in 1940. After graduation she moved to the “big city” of Baltimore where she stayed with her uncle and aunt and took her first job working for the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. During the war years she met and fell in love with her future husband, a young soldier named Charles Kranz from Yakima, WA. They married on December 29, 1945 at St. John Catholic Church, Long Green in Hydes, Maryland and soon relocated to the Yakima Valley. Charles was a born salesman and he and Dorothy soon started and operated five 88 Cent Stores in Central Washington. In 1963 they relocated their family of nine children to Sunnyside where they have lived ever since. Charles was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in the early 1980’s and Dorothy took care of him, with great love and patience until his death, at home, in 1994. After Charlie’s death, Dorothy worked in the office of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sunnyside. She also volunteered for many years with the church grief committee arranging and serving meals at funeral receptions. Throughout her life she always managed to properly balance her work, faith and family. She was a great example to all who were privileged to know her. She loved to entertain, never hesitating to pull out the latest photo album for her friends to admire. Dorothy enjoyed traveling. Her last trip was in June 2016, when at the age of 93 she traveled to Baltimore for her family’s reunion. She thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her brothers and sister, and becoming re-acquainted with all the extended family. There were approximately 300 relatives attending, and she glowed in the attention given her as the matriarch. Dorothy is greatly loved by her nine surviving children: Regina Woloszyn (John) of Baltimore, MD; Theresa Lester (Thomas) of Boise, ID; John Kranz (Janie Rodriquez) of Yakima; Daniel Stephen Kranz of Gleed; Irene Brandsma (Karst) of Everett; Eleanor Edwards (Chrys) of Minot, ND; Leon (Karen Cheek); Mary Elaine Campbell (Curtis) of Grandview; Edward Thomas Kranz (Rosie Marie Perez) of Sunnyside, and loved as well by her 33 grandchildren and 52 great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her mother and father, husband Charles, son Thomas Leonard Kranz, granddaughter Christina Woloszyn, grandson John Kranz, sister Mary Margaret and brothers John and Clarence Cochran. She is survived by her nine children, 31 grandchildren and 52 great grandchildren, brothers Francis, Chug and Stanley, and one sister, Julia Neumann. A vigil service will be held on Sunday, Dec. 4th at 6:00 p.m. at Valley Hills Funeral Home’s Sunnyside Chapel, 531 S. 16th St, Sunnyside, WA. Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, December 5th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 904 S. 6th Street, Sunnyside, WA, followed by a reception. After the reception the internment will be at Calvary Cemetery, 1405 S. 24th Ave, Yakima, WA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church food bank in memory of Dorothy Kranz. Condolences can be sent to www.valleyhillsfh.com Valley Hills Funeral Home in Sunnyside is in care of all arrangements. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Dorothy Kranz, please visit our flower store.