KATHLEEN ANN "KATHY" WERSEN ALDER ~ Class of 1964
December 29, 1945 - May 13, 2009

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East County resident Kathleen Ann Alder, 63, died Wednesday, May 13. A private family service will be held.

Kathy was born December 29, 1945, in Renton, WA, to Richard and Patricia Mitchell Wersen. The family moved to Lakeview and later to Portland where work was available. The family lived in Portland for about two years and then moved to Pasco, and later to Richland, where Kathy graduated from Columbia High School in 1964.

In June 1964, she married Don Alder in Richland.

Kathy went to work as a legal secretary for Hanford. After several years, she and Don moved to Carnation, WA, and had a son, Jeff. Kathleen returned to work as a secretary. She and Don divorced in 1971.

Kathleen later held jobs with American Hospital Supplies in Seattle and in Southern California, and then at her son Evan's school. She last worked as a customer claims specialist with a subsidiary of PepsiCo until becoming ill with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). She returned to Oregon in August 2007 to be closer to her family.

Kathy enjoyed hiking, biking and dating. She loved to sew, bake, tie-dye and make hearts, which she sold at local craft markets and fairs. She devoted many hours to quilting, and she was a member of the Science of the Mind Church.

Survivors include her sons, Jeff Alder of Tacoma, WA, and Evan Alder-Alvarez of Aliso Viejo, CA; sisters, Becky Wersen Fletcher ('64) of Gresham, OR and Linda Wersen Hoffman ('66) also of Gresham; brother, Lawrence Wersen ('63) of Salisbury, MD; and one grandson.

Memorial contributions can be made to CurePSP: The Society for PSP, Executive Plaza III, 11350 McCormick Road, Suite 906, Hunt Valley, MD, 21031.

Gresham Memorial Chapel is handling arrangements.