Rosemary Frances Kemper-Riddock, 73, a long-time resident of Banks, Oregon and a resident of the Seaside community over the last ten years, passed away peacefully on Monday evening, October 19, 2015 at St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 24, 2014 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 120 Oceanway in Seaside, OR.

Family and friends are invited to attend a reception following the Mass held at the parish hall.

The Rite of Christian Burial will take place following the reception at 3:45 p.m. at Visitation Catholic Cemetery in Verboort, OR.

Rosemary was born on December 1, 1941 in Long Beach, CA. She was one of three children born to Charles and Frances (Amerata) Smith, and moved with her family to Portland, Oregon as a young girl. She attended St Mary of the Valley through High School, graduating with the Class of 1959. She earned her bachelor’s from Marylhurst University and a Masters Degree from Portland State University.

She met her husband, Nolan Kemper, while attending a baseball game he was playing in at East Moreland Park in Portland. After a dance-filled courtship they were married on August 10, 1963. After getting married they were both hired as schoolteachers by the Defense Department, and for over a decade they taught school on US military bases all over the world, including Midway, France, Turkey, Germany and the Philippines. After traversing the globe they returned home in 1974 and together built their family home in Banks.

Rosemary worked in the home raising her kids, and as a substitute teacher in the Banks’ school district, until Nolan passed away suddenly in 1983. After Nolan’s death she returned to teaching full-time at Dilley Elementary School, and later became the curriculum director for Forest Grove School District. She finished her educational career in 2010 after serving as the principal of Cannon Beach Elementary for three years.

In 1986 she met Michael Riddock through mutual friends and they were married a year later, living in Banks until 2007 before moving to Seaside. Michael passed away in July 2012.

Rosemary loved the beach, enjoyed hiking with friends and set new standards for Grandmother excellence, showering her six grandchildren with love, books and her hand-made quilts. She volunteered at her church, Our Lady of Victory, and sang in the church choir. She lived to help others, and was integral in the founding and success of Seaside’s Food 4 Kids, an organization that provides food-filled backpacks every Friday during the school year to kids who request assistance. More than anything, she loved helping others, and devoted her life to making everyone she encountered feel like they mattered.

She is preceded by her first husband of twenty years; Nolan Kemper, her second husband of 25 years, Michael Riddock, her parents, and her sister, Nicki Ard

Survivors include her four children and a daughter-in-law: Karl Kemper of Ashland, Chris and Jill Kemper of Portland, Katrina Kemper of Yokosuka, Japan, Kerry Kemper of Portland. She is also survived by her brother Pat Smith, and his wife Pam, of Gladstone, Oregon, and six grandchildren: Jordan, Jackson, Alexis, Nola, Cade and Luke.

The family suggest donations in Rosemary's name to Food 4 Kids Seaside Oregon; PO Box 2611 Gearhart, OR 97138