COLT MEMORIAL

EMMA JULIA LARSEN KLEINKNECHT ~ Class of 1936
February 2, 1918 - September 2, 2015



Emma was born to Knute and Blanch Larsen on February 2, 1918, in what is now north Richland. She passed away on September 2, 2015, at Riverton Retirement and Assisted Living in South Richland.

Emma was intensely proud of her upbringing on a pioneer farm near what is now the Battelle complex. She often spoke of learning to milk the family cows when she was just eight years old and of cutting asparagus in the field before school. She also used to relate stories of Native Americans from Horn Rapids Dam trading fish for cherries from her family’s farm.

Mom graduated from the old Richland High School in 1936 when RHS was the Colts. She played on the girls' state champion basketball team in that same year and cherished that team photograph for the rest of her life.



She was honored by the modern Richland High girls basketball team in 2008.

On May 22, 1938, she married the love of her life, Bill Kleinknecht. Bill and Emma lived on West Hood Avenue in the West Kennewick Highlands, raising three sons. There the family raised cherries on a small farm.

Emma worked at the Tri-City Herald as a "hot metal and ink" printer beginning in 1957. She retired in 1978 so that she and Bill could travel to Arizona as Snowbirds.

Among Emma’s favorite travel memories was the 1964 trip that she and Bill took to Alaska. The trip north was by Alaska Ferry Boat and the return trip was down the Al-Can Highway in their Chevy pickup and camper. In 1997 she and Bill retraced part of that trip via cruise ship from Vancouver, B.C.

Emma was a charter member of the Tri-City Cancer Center Guild. She loved attending the guild meetings and spending time with her many friends there. She took great pride in volunteering to help others.

Shortly after retirement Emma took up the game of golf and regularly played until the age of 90. She loved to golf with the Ladies Nine-Hole Club at Canyon Lakes. The score wasn’t the issue. Good weather and good friends was what it was all about to her.

Mom will always be remembered for her love of family and a really big heart. In her world serving others is what was important.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Knute and Blanche Larsen; husband, Bill; and siblings: Alberta DeBoard, Cora Ward, Carl Larsen, and Eugene Larsen..

Emma is survived by her brother, Frank Larsen (Naomi); sons: Richard (Dale), Ron (Sharon) and Gary (Debbie); six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held on September 10, 2015, at the Kennewick First Lutheran Church. Graveside service followed at Riverview Heights Cemetery in Kennewick.

Emma’s family wishes to express a warm thank you to the staff at Riverton Retirement and Assisted Living and to her many friends there, especially those who spent so much time around her table at meals.

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"And that's the way the cookie crumbles."