Joan Kaiser Obituary

Joan Guilford Kaiser passed away peacefully in Happy Valley, Oregon on June 29, 2025, at the age of 87.
Joan was born May 14, 1938 in Bellingham, Washington to James Thompson Guilford and Thelma Christine Toft Guilford. The family moved to Silverdale, Washington in 1943 where they established a feed store and farmed turkeys and dairy cows. Joanie attended Central Kitsap High School, where she was active in choir, was a member of Thespian Troupe 326, and received the "Homemaker of Tomorrow" scholarship when she graduated in 1956. She started college at University of Washington that fall, but stepped away in February when her father passed away unexpectedly.
From 1959-1961, Joan worked as an executive secretary for the head of Purchasing for the State of Washington in Olympia; she met her husband, Henry Ralph Kaiser, Jr. there while he was securing contracts for his company, Kaiser Research Products. Joan and Henry married on September 3, 1961 in Bellevue, Washington, and she moved to the Kaiser home in Corvallis, Oregon. Joan became the proud stepmother of Gloria Lea, Nicholas Myles, and John Ralph, and on September 13, 1962, Joan and Henry welcomed their daughter, Kathryn Christine, into the family.
Joan returned to school at Oregon State University, earning her Bachelor of Secretarial Science degree in 1966, and on September 3, 1967, their second daughter, Anne Gail, was born.
The family moved to a sheep and timber ranch in Pedee, Oregon in 1970, and also began building college and low-income apartment complexes in Corvallis and Albany at that time. Joan became active in the Pedee community as a member of the PTA at Pedee Elementary School, where Katy and Annie were students; as a trustee at Pedee Memorial Evangelical Church, which the family regularly attended; and, as an enthusiastic leader of Girl Scout Troop 230. While living in Pedee, Joan continued working in Corvallis and Albany as owner-manager of the housing projects; for the next 45 years, she and Henry devoted themselves to providing clean, safe, subsidized housing for families, the elderly, and the disabled.
In 1987, Joan and Henry purchased a home in Monmouth, and over the next few years, Joan developed a passion for genealogical research. After researching every branch, limb, and twig of her own extended family's trees, she began volunteering with Willamette Valley Genealogical Society at the Oregon State Library in Salem, providing help to the public in researching their family connections. Joan was a Lifetime Member of WVGS, and was selected as Volunteer of the Year in 2005. She was also a Golden Member of the Thor Lodge of Sons of Norway.
Joan took great pride in her home and garden, loved maintaining family traditions and hosting holiday celebrations, and was dedicated to generously supporting her children's, grandchildren's, and great-grandchildren's educations and artistic and professional accomplishments.
Joan was preceded in death by Henry Ralph Kaiser, Jr., her husband of 49 years; her parents, James and Thelma Guilford; her daughter Gloria Kaiser Roper, and her son, John Ralph Kaiser.
Survivors include her son Nick Kaiser and his wife Billie; her daughter Katy Coleman and her husband John; her daughter Annie Kaiser; her son-in-law Richard Roper and her daughter-in-law Cheri Kaiser; her grandchildren and their spouses: Eric and Kelley; Brian and Yoshiko; Michiah and Kyra; Dakota; Kristina and Nathan; and Isaac and Maria; and, her great-grandchildren Alexandra, Megan, Dayton, Elan, and Mary.
A memorial service for Joan will be held at Pedee Memorial Evangelical Church in Pedee, Oregon, at 2:00 pm on Monday, July 21, 2025, and she will be interred at Womer Cemetery following the service.
Bollman's Tribute Center is caring for the family.