Catherine Carol Roper

Catherine Carol Roper of Kettle Falls, Wash., passed away at her home on June 7, 2025, at the age of 86.

She was born on May 21, 1939, at the family ranch in Boyds, Wash. When her mother was in labor, her father rowed across the Columbia River to fetch a doctor. By the time they returned, she had already been born with the help of the hired hand.

Most of her childhood was spent on the family ranch. When she wasn’t yet 12 months old, her mother went to Portland, Ore., where she worked in the shipyards. She was left in the care of her older sisters, Nancy and Jo. Jo remembers carrying her on a long trek over the fields and down a steep hillside to have her cared for by the neighbor while the siblings attended school. After school, they carried her back home and cared for her until bedtime. One time they fed Carol sauerkraut and paid the price when it came time to change her diaper.

Carol attended grades first through sixth in a one-room cabin used as a schoolhouse. She had some wonderful years in that tiny school. She moved into Kettle Falls in her teen years, living with her mother and stepfather. There, she graduated from Kettle Falls High School in the spring of 1957. Progressing in life, Carol married and raised four children. During her adult  years, she enjoyed varied employment that included working as a librarian, bookkeeper, secretary, microfilm manager, and always provided a helping hand to the disadvantaged. The last 20 years of her working life were spent as an optometric technician at the Kettle Falls Vision Clinic.

She was actively involved at the Columbia River Bible Church and Christian Academy. She enjoyed many years of singing with the local Sweet Adelines group. After remarrying, Carol was very involved with her late husband, David Roper, in the Chokes and Spokes Antique Car Club. She loved to camp and even rafted the Salmon River in Idaho. In her final active years, she enjoyed riding ATVs in the backcountry with her friend, Keith Fine (who was also a childhood friend growing up in Boyds). She was a sharp Pinochle player and excelled at many card games. But her favorite and most serious joy in life was sharing Jesus Christ with her family, friends, and acquaintances.

Carol is preceded in death by her parents, A. “Murphy” Hurst and Irene Johnson, her husband, David Roper, her sisters Nancy Anderson, Suzette Tucker, brother Richard Hurst, and two grandchildren, Jessica West and Jonathon Kreft.

She is survived by her sister, Jo Negu, of Kettle Falls, her children, Michael Davis and his wife, Toni, of Dover, Del., daughter Shawn Kreft and her husband David of Kettle Falls, son of Jerry Davis and his wife Daphne of Pierre Lake, daughter Kelly West and her husband, Rick, of Kettle Falls, and Ruth Zembas and her husband, Michael of Shelton, Wash. She is survived by grandchildren Kimberly Davis of Portland, Ore., Paden Davis and his wife, Emma, of Spokane, Wash., Daniel Kreft and his fiance, Terri, of Belgrade, Mont.,Andrew Kreft of Fargo, N.D., and Katie West and her partner, Sarah Moon, of Portland, Ore. She is survived by seven great-grandchildren in Washington, North Dakota, and Minnesota, and several nieces and nephews, and her close friend, Keith Fine of Kettle Falls.

Family and friends are invited to attend a celebration of life in her memory on July 17, at 11 a.m. at Columbia River Bible Church, 1086 HWY 395 N, Kettle Falls, Wash., 99141, west of Sandy’s Drive-In on the north side of the highway. A reception is planned to follow.