Ralph (Dan) Kirkland's Obituary
Ralph Daniel Kirkland
Was born on Lopez Island, Washington October 10, 1922. Lopez Island is rather remote even today. His parents had a hard time deciding on a name for him so eventually the state of Washington issued a birth certificate naming him Ralph Kirkland, which was his father’s name.
His family named him Daniel, from the Bible. And that was how he was known for the first 18 years of his life.
His family moved to Shelton, Washington where they made a living of selling firewood back in the days when that would’ve been the primary source of heat for most homes. My father worked with his brothers and his father in the family business. When he completed 8th grade, his father wanted him to quit school and dedicate his time to the family business.
His beloved sister, Eunice, proposed that he move to Everett with her and complete his high school education. She was in the Coast Guard and World War II had started. She was transferred to Washington DC. So she found him a job at the Everett Weyerhaeuser wood mill where he worked the graveyard shift and went to high school when the shift was over. She also arranged for him to live in a boarding house in Everett with the family that was very kind to him.
He told a story that his 1st period High school class was French. He said he was getting poor grades in the class. However, once he started working the graveyard shift he would come to the class in the morning, sit in the back of the room, put his head down on the desk, and sleep for the entire period. Apparently out of pity the teacher upgraded his grade from about a D to an A. He appreciated her kindness.
While in high school he saw a presentation from a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He was very impressed with military aviators and aspired to be one himself someday. When he graduated from high school World War II was in full force and he enrolled in the Navy to become a pilot. It took about 2 years of training for him to be prepared to go to war and fly Corsair aircraft off of aircraft carriers and to defend the United States. He joined the war in the Pacific theater and flew many missions that contributed to the end of that war. If you want to know more about that service I recommend the Wikipedia article about the USS Shangri-La.
When the war ended he spent a few weeks flying over Japan to ensure that no additional uprisings would occur.
Because he joined the war effort late, he still had time to serve. He was given an assignment to be in charge of a place called Johnston Island. It is approximately halfway between California and Australia. It’s a very small island that looks a lot like an aircraft carrier. There’s a long runway, taxiways and a few buildings. He liked to tell stories about that job. They gave him a floatplane which he never landed on the water but he used to frighten a few of the WSO ladies that came to visit. He also had access to a boat and some fishing equipment. This was pretty tough duty for a man that loved to fish.
After this grueling assignment he returned home to the Seattle area and enrolled at University of Washington, taking advantage of the G.I. Bill to get a degree in business administration. While attending school he also entered the Naval reserves. He would fly high powered airplanes once a month with many of the closest friends that he would ever have. He did manage to crash 2 of them over the course of the years. As a Naval aviator, he and his comrades were granted the privileges of the officers club at Naval Air Station, Sandpoint, Seattle. Again, it was tough duty, but the drinks every Saturday night were about $.05 and he, Shriley and and their friends enjoyed many nights of music and dancing.
After completing his degree from the University of Washington he took his 1st job with Bekins Moving and Storage. He married his beloved wife, Shirley, and he took a job working for US Royal and entered the tire business. That took them to Yakima Washington where their beloved son, Mark, was born in 1954. US Royal assigned him to the territory of Western Washington where their son, Carey, was born in Lakewood in 1957.
He transitioned to become a realtor in 1974 and he continued that career into his 70s. It was a very successful career because of his dedication to his clients.
He leaves behind his devoted son, Carey, his beloved daughter in law, Rita, his grandson Danny, his granddaughter Melissa and his daughter in law D’Ann.
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