Kent E. Lafferty

Kent E. Lafferty, 72, longtime Ellensburg resident, passed away on Sunday, February 2, 2020 at the Prestige Post Acute Care and Rehab Center in Ellensburg with his family at his side.  A graveside service will be held at 2:15 p.m. on Monday, February 24, 2020 at the Washington State Veteran’s Cemetery in Medical Lake.

Kent was born on May 12, 1947 in Denver, Colorado to Maurice & Mirth (Coulter) Lafferty.  His father was a career Air Force officer, so the family moved frequently during Kent’s childhood, eventually winding up in Washington DC where he graduated high school. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1967 and began basic training in San Diego.  It was there that he met Geraldine Farrell at a social event and they were married on September 27, 1968.  Geraldine had two sons – Jose and David - from a previous marriage and Kent took them under his wing as his own. He and Geraldine were also blessed with a daughter, Ann.

Kent served in Vietnam (for which he earned the Vietnam Service Medal) and had ship and base assignments in Scotland, England, Japan and Hawaii.  He concluded his 20-year naval career in San Diego and retired in 1987 after 20 years of service.  During his career he was also awarded many medals for his service, including battle effectiveness, sea service deployments and good conduct.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Kent and Geraldine moved to Ellensburg where he worked for the Texaco station and in the bicycle repair department at Kmart in Yakima.  He had a very mechanical mind and enjoyed tinkering and fixing all things mechanical.  He especially loved spending time with his grandchildren and learning how to play “Legend of Zelda” on his granddaughters Nintendo Switch.

Kent is survived by his wife, Geraldine, at the family home in Ellensburg; sons Jose (Vickie) Perez of Ellensburg and David (Teresa Hagerman) Lafferty of Bremerton; daughter Ann Lafferty of Ellensburg; brothers Steve Lafferty of Phoenix and Gary (Donna) Lafferty of Petaluma, California; 14 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents and grandson Michael Perez.

Memorial contributions are suggested to the charity that Kent always donated to, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (www.komen.org/donate).  Steward & Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Ellensburg has been entrusted with caring for Kent’s family.  Online condolences may be left at www.steward-williams.com