Katherine V. Parkins, 97, died 4:30 p.m. Feb. 6, 2016, at Richland Manor, Bluffton. She was born Sept. 3, 1918 in Elk, Wash., to August and Glenna Payne Steegman. On Aug. 4, 1937, she married William H. Parkins who preceded her in death on Dec. 30, 1981.
Katherine graduated from Liberty Benton High School in 1936. In 1939, she and her husband moved to Los Angeles, Calif., where she took a job at a sewing factory, sewing gowns and costumes for the Hollywood stars while her husband worked at Douglas Aircraft.