Emily Virginia Knapman Dilling

With joy and thanksgiving on February 9, 2023 Emily Knapman Dilling was peacefully put to rest with her Lord and promoted to glory at age 102. Born to pioneering families in Sequim April 27,1920 her parents were Charles Knapman and Katherine Rhodefer. Her grandparents Samuel and Mary Tiller Rhodefer arrived in 1897 from Oklahoma. Her mother Katherine remembered Great Grandpa Tiller (Confederate soldier in the Army of Virginia) waving from the long dock near the site that would become Three Crabs Restaurant. Through her maternal grandmother she is related to John Clay who arrived in Virginia from Wales in 1614 and remotely to noted statesman and presidential candidate Henry Clay of Kentucky. In 1868, her paternal grandfather Jack Knapman jumped ship from an English Man-O-War(Amphiln) anchored at Esquimalt, British Columbia and rowed across in a leaky boat landing on Ediz Hook. Native Americans pointed him toward Dungeness saying "King George people". It was there he met Emily Lawrence who had arrived with her family from London in 1872. They were married in 1875. Meeting in a home in Sequim in 1893, with a few other couples, they helped to establish St Lukes Episcopal Church. Grandpa Jack built the altar for the church.The Knapmans homesteaded in Happy Valley.

Also, she was a member of a Gold Star family as her uncle Clyde Rhodefer was killed in France during WWI and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Her brother Neil Knapman died in 1948 after contracting tuberculosis during WWII while serving in Australia.

At age six she won the Cartwheel Contest at the Sequim Irrigation Festival for which she was forever proud. That accomplishment was revisited on many an occasion! In 1933, Emily moved from Happy Valley to Port Angeles where she attended schools and attended St Andrew's Episcopal Church. In high school she won the lead part in several school plays and participated in Rainbow Girls. After graduating in 1938 she was an usherette in a braided uniform with a little blue flashlight at the Elwha and Olympian theaters. Later she was employed at Union Drug and eventually started her banking career at the Olympic State Bank.

In 1942, she met and married LE "Dutch" Dilling a member of another pioneering family whose grandparents William and Jennie Clegg and Annie Armstrong Dilling arrived with the Puget Sound Cooperative Colony. While serving in the US Army, Dutch sailed overseas, sleeping on the ship's deck fearing German U boats, to Algeria to mop up after Rommel. Later he served in France for a total of

three and a half years while Emily waited. The war years were long and lonely. And their only way of communication was by mail. All of those tender heartfelt letters were saved and archived until now. After flying from Europe, he finally arrived home in August of 1945 to an awaiting Emily at Fort Lewis, WA.

Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and many other "Big bands" played in New York City where Dutch and Emily were "IN the Mood" dancing their feet off as Dutch was assigned to Fort Dix, NJ. Emily had joined him there, traveling by train from Seattle, to be with him before he was shipped overseas. Their love of dancing formed most of the happiest times of their 31 year loving and beautiful marriage. As members of the the North Olympic Square Dance Counsel, they danced from Neah Bay to Wenatchee, Lake Chelan and Yakima. They once danced on KING TV Channel 5 in Seattle as part of the Saturday night "Sheriff Tex Show".

While leading Blue Birds and Campfire Girls at Jefferson Elementary School during the 1950's Emily was instrumental in forming those girls into productive young women with whom she formed life long bonds.

In 1962, Olympic State Bank opened the first drive in branch in Port Angeles and asked her to return as head teller. Later she moved on to Peoples Bank of Seattle and finally to US Bank from which she retired in 1987.

During her fifty years of widowhood, she served on the Clallam County Election Board many cycles. Twice daily for many years, she cared for her invalid mother at Port Angeles Care Center and was awarded "Volunteer of the Year" several times. As a long term member of St Andrew's Episcopal Church she was active for 90 years. She claimed she served in every position except that of custodian? She was proud of aiding in the establishment of St. Swithin's in Forks, WA. Her love of blossoms, gardening and flower arranging, from childhood, continued all the years of her life especially with big weekly bouquets continuously honoring her beloved church.She was preceded in death by her husband in 1973 and daughter Kathy Jo Dilling Kushman in 2007.She will be missed by daughter Carol Dilling Nicolet(Tucson, Az) Granddaughters: Shannon Caryl Higginbotham (Tucson, Az) Hillary Caryl Bailey ( Sumter, SC) Mary Kushman Avelleno (Huntington Beach, CA) Haley Kushman Reinke (Seattle,WA) and also 5 great grandchildren: Jeremy, Megan, Matthew, Olivia and Costner.

The family will be forever grateful and would like to express appreciation to staff members of St. Michael's Medical Center, Crestwood Health and Rehabilitation Center, Assured Hospice, Park View Village, and friends at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, especially Suzanne Hadley and Joan Morrish for care and compassion. At the church a service of remembrance will be held on Saturday April 1st at 4 o'clock in the afternoon to honor her life, family and God. Contributions may be sent to Saint Andrew's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, 510 East Park Ave. or www.standrewpa.org/