Kathryn Joan Davis

Kathryn Joan (Hults) Ladd Davis, of Lebanon, died peacefully Saturday, July 24, of complications from a stroke at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House in Albany.  She was 78.  

Kathryn “Kathy” was born in Portland, Oregon, on March 21, 1943, to Edmond Little and Esther Arlene (Mallow) Hults.  Following her father’s death in 1954, the family moved to Albany.  On a blind date in July 1960, she met Donald Louis Ladd, a handsome Airman stationed at Camp Adair.  They had a whirlwind romance and were married September 3.  They started their married life together in Albany but moved to Scio in 1974.  They were married for 54 years and had three children. 

After Donald’s death in 2014, Kathy married Duane Lawrence Davis on April 2, 2017.  They lived in Lebanon, loved to travel, and enjoyed going for drives together, sometimes just to town to buy ice cream cones for themselves and the dogs. 

Kathy worked in retail her entire working career. First at Coronet Drug Store, then Payless Drug Store, and finally for Bi Mart where she retired after 40 years.

Kathy loved dogs and always had at least one. She had several hobbies over the years such as crafting, sewing, sketching, writing poetry, and scrapbooking, but her passion was photography.  Her favorite subjects were coastal and mountain scenes (one earning a blue ribbon at the state fair), flowers, pets, and family.

By the age of 40, Kathy had noticed she was losing her hearing and began wearing hearing aids.  She became an active advocate for educating people about hearing loss.  In 1999, she and Donald started the Salem chapter of Self Help for Hard of Hearing, now known as Hearing Loss Association of America.  Over the years, Kathy’s hearing loss increased to the point where she was unable to hear or understand her young grandchildren and great grandchildren, the singing of the birds, and other sounds.  In 2015, Kathy successfully received two cochlear implants vastly improving her hearing ability.

Kathy always enjoyed the company of her family, especially the grandchildren and great grandchildren, and loved having gatherings at home.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents Edmond and Esther Hults; siblings Claude Donald Hults, Phyllis M. (Hults) Ramey, James Darrell Harrison, and Kenneth Ray Hults.

Kathy is survived by her children, David Ray Bentley, Dawn Marie (Jonathan) Marshall, Owen Neil (Beverly Walton) Ladd, Serge Edmond (Laurie Duran) Ladd; 13 grandchildren, Jessica (Roxy) Parker, Dillon (Kelsey) Marshall, Tyler (Nicole) Marshall, Ethan Ladd, Alli (Travis) Ladd, Eleni (Matt) Collins, Kelsie (Chito) Marin, Logan Ladd, Kalyssa Ladd, Samara Ladd, Braeden Ladd, Ari Ladd, and Rembrandt Ladd; three great grandchildren (plus another on the way), Casey Parker, Lucy Marshall, and Ezran Collins; and sisters Helen Louise (Harrison) Kropp and Barbara Georgine (Harrison) Steele.

The family would like to thank Duane’s daughters, Loraine Sarnacki and Arlene Pavlisick, for welcoming our mother into your family.

A memorial for Kathy will be held Saturday, August 7, at Beverly Beach State Park at noon.  Please bring lawn chairs and a picnic lunch if you so choose.

AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling the arrangements (www.aasum-dufour.com).

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