DELIVERING NEWS TO MID-COLUMBIA SENIORS SINCE 1982
NOVEMBER 2023
Vol. 11 | Issue 11
Kennewick family’s legacy of kindness involves a special soup By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz
The man behind Pep’s Hearty 11 ½ Bean Soup died a little more than 10 years ago. But Duane “Pep” Pepiot’s memory lives on, and so does the beloved soup he created with his wife, Inie – a savory treat that’s the hit of the Holly Daze bazaar at Kennewick First United Methodist Church. Pep and Inie’s granddaughter Katie Suitonu now spearheads assembly of the soup, which is sold as a dry mix for $8 a bag. She promised her papa that she’d take over the soup mantle when he could no longer wield a ladle and keeping that promise for the last decade has been a labor of love. “I do it because I enjoy the memories, the smell of the spices,” Suitonu said. “We know when it’s soup time. We look forward to it. It’s like spending time with (my grandparents). They’re there with us.” The bazaar is put on by the Kennewick church’s United Women in Faith
group as a fundraiser. This year’s event was Oct. 21, but it’s not too late to get a package of the soup. The church sells any leftover bags of the mix at the office until they run out. The 11 ½ bean soup has been a staple of the bazaar for decades. Pep and Inie spent a year perfecting the recipe, and the soup became so popular that at one point they were assembling more than 1,000 bags annually. The church in 2012 held a celebration to honor the Pepiots for their contributions; it coincided with their 60th wedding anniversary. By then, Pep was dealing with some health challenges that prompted him to ensure the soup legacy would be passed on. That’s when Suitonu stepped up. “He said, ‘Katie, are sure you want to do this? This is a big job.’ I was like, ‘Of course I do,’” Suitonu recalled. “‘The first couple of years I thought, ‘Oh gosh, Papa, you were not kidding.’ But I know they would be uPEP’S BEAN SOUP, Page 2
Courtesy Katie Suitonu The Suitonu family assembles packages of Pep’s Hearty 11 ½ Bean Soup ahead of the annual Holly Daze Bazaar at Kennewick First United Methodist Church. Katie Suitonu, wearing an apron, is the granddaughter of Duane “Pep” and Inie Pepiot, who created the beloved soup mix.
Benton County cemetery seeks help before it runs out of space By Kristina Lord
kristina@tcjournal.biz
Headstones bearing the Wallace family name stretch out in a long line at the Evergreen Cemetery outside Benton City. They mark the final resting place of Steve Wallace’s parents, grandparents and other relatives. Wallace, 67, hopes to continue the line but the 2.5-acre cemetery at 7 W. Corral Creek Road will likely be out of room within the next 18 months. “It’s not just my family. Some of
the original settlers of the area – everyone – went there. And this cemetery has been going on for 111 years now, and it’s running out of space. It just happened to fall on my watch,” Wallace said. Wallace is president of the Kiona-Benton Cemetery Association, which manages the Benton County cemetery that opened in 1912, before World War I. He’s been president for about three years, but he grew up around the cemetery. He raked leaves there as a boy and helped dig graves while home on leave from the Air Force.
The cemetery is home to men who served during the first World War and many citizens born in the late 1800s, such as Erva Grace Kelso, a 2-month-old who died in 1898. Wallace’s grandfather, James Orville Wallace, born in 1888, is buried there near his wife, Edith, who was born in 1894. Wallace has already bought plots there for himself and his wife. Wallace wants to ensure the cemetery’s legacy is preserved for generations to come. Bill and Gloria Wolfe do, too. They donated money to buy the
2 acres adjacent to the cemetery for the expansion, but the cemetery association can’t afford to install irrigation or a parking lot. “We really want to see these 2 acres get developed so we can start utilizing it before we go out of business. I mean, to me, it’s critical. This is important to me,” Wallace said. The process to buy the land has been challenging, Wallace said, as the sale is contingent on Benton County approval. uCEMETERY, Page 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Shelby’s Floral to put down roots in building of its own
Page 13
MONTHLY QUIZ
The Emerald of Siam celebrates 40 years of love and acceptance
Page 15
What were the names of two iconic downtown Kennewick drug stores separated by only a few businesses, both of which had names starting with the letter V? ANSWER, PAGE 9
Senior Times 8524 W. Gage Blvd., #A1-300 Kennewick, WA 99336
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PASCO, WA PERMIT NO. 8778