Edna Lou Kimble Ringen

December 15, 1941–Dec 13, 2023

Edna Lou "Dena" Kimble Ringen died December 13, 2023 in hospice in memory care in Grass Valley, Calif.

Dena was born Edna Lou, daughter of Virgil Lowell Kimble and Louise Emmaline McCoy on December 15, 1941, in Chehalis, Wash., during a WWII blackout. She was raised in Pomeroy, Wash.

A typo in a church program prompted her to switch from Edna Lou to Dena when she went to college. She received a Bachelor's in Theology from Northwest Christian College in 1964. Her life of travel began shortly later with a nine-month trip through Canada, Europe, and the UK; including six weeks staying at a YWCA in London while learning about computers.

After moving to San Francisco, she met Donald Ringen, a fellow Southern Pacific programmer, during a work trip. They married in San Francisco in 1969, honeymooning in Japan and Korea. They began a family in San Francisco, then moved to Menlo Park. Hewlett-Packard moved Don and their family to Switzerland, England, and Switzerland again before allowing them to return to California in 1982.

Dena and Don moved to Penn Valley in 1996, where Don eventually retired as a financial advisor and their trips increased.

Dena loved singing in the church choir, attending performances, genealogy, quilting/sewing, crafting, and traveling.

-Submitted photo

Edna Lou Kimble Ringen

Her last few years were hampered by dementia/Alzheimer's, with caregiver Jodi Andrews coming into their daily life.

Dena is survived by Don; brothers Lowell in Seattle and Larry (Joan) in Pomeroy, Wash; daughters Martina Uhlig (Jerry) in Ak. and Dena Ringen-Sanchez (Diana) in Visalia, Calif; and five grandchildren.

Her memorial service will be at Twin Cities Church, Grass Valley, Calif., Friday, January 26 at 2 p.m. The service will be live-streamed.

A memorial fund is being set up with Music in the Mountains. A burial ceremony will be in Pomeroy, Wash., in the summer. Contact [email protected] for more information.