JoDee Irene Kalama, age 64, died suddenly at her home in Oak Harbor on April 21, 2015. She was born July 24, 1950, in Renton, Wash., to Richard and Helen Cutts. JoDee was raised in West Seattle and Normandy Park.

Following high school, JoDee was married to a young sailor and the couple was assigned to Whidbey Island NAS.

JoDee was divorced, and she moved to Yakima and then to Kennewick. She worked for a meat packing plant and then for the Ore-Ida Potato plant. In 1973, she returned to Oak Harbor, and she was living in the Greentree Apartments on Oak Harbor Road when she met Sam Kalama. Sam had also come to Whidbey as a sailor and then was hired as a fire fighter for Whidbey Island NAS.

JoDee and Sam became a couple. On Friday, Feb. 13, 1979, JoDee and Sam Kalama Jr. were married in Oak Harbor.

JoDee was a hard worker. She was employed by A&H Hardware, Oak Harbor; “D” Avenue Nursery, Anacortes; and Best Road Nursery, LaConner. She was responsible for grounds maintenance for Harrington, Fick and Chapman Realty, Oak Harbor; worked for Sebo’s Hardware in Anacortes; operated her own landscaping service; worked as a retail sales clerk for Albertson’s; and, finally, was a cook at Whidbey Golf and Country Club. JoDee enjoyed making carousel horses, gardening, macramé, crocheting and fishing. She loved to fly fish.

JoDee is survived by her husband, Sam, of Oak Harbor; her mother, Helen Moroni, of Renton; one brother, Richard Cutts, of Hilo, Hawaii; and by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

A celebration of life for JoDee Kalama will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 16, 2015, at Wallin Funeral Home & Cremation, LLC, Oak Harbor, with Gary Wallin, certified life celebrant, officiating.

A reception will follow for family and friends at Jumbo Burrito, Oak Harbor.

To share thoughts and memories, please visit JoDee’s page in the Book of Memories hosted at www.wallinfuneralhome.com