Bothell, Washington, US
United States Navy
PO, USS Momsen
Seattle, US, 07/14/2007
Kelly James Markham, son of James Howard Karkham and Susan Kelly [Mckeon-Horan], was born January 4th, 1984, in Seattle, Washington. His birth was welcomed by grandparents, Howard and Lois Markham, and Kenneth and Laura Horan-Yata along with many aunts, uncles and cousins. He developed into a lovable, tow-headed bundle of energy and by the age of two, already showed a kind heart and great sense of humor.
He grew up in the small town of Graham, rather a quiet young man, spending much of his time by himself. He attended Auburn schools and graduated in 2002. During that time, he participated in many sports but found that he excelled in wrestling, once taking first place in his weight class.
When Kelly joined the Navy, he seemed to blossom and became more out-going, traveled the world and developed a circle of friends that enjoyed challenges. He started to truly see that there was more to life than what he had known while growing up. He served aboard the USS Momsen at death.
In 1988, he was joined by a sister, Akiko Rose Trinidad. Kelly welcomed the new addition to his life and remained a loyal, loving and supportive brother throughout his life. Through that relationship, he developed a strong, protective demeanor towards little children…always patient and kind with them.
Kelly had a fractured childhood and because of that, spent a great deal of time with his grandparents. This resulted in a special bond between he and his “Grampa Yata” who was of Japanese decent. Kelly embraced the culture and language of that country and as an adult, climbed Mount Fuji, continued to learn the language and was able to spend much of his military time there. The bond that was forged between Kelly and his grandfather, resulted in a command of ethics and mathematics that served him well in his military life as an assistant to the admiral that he served under. He loved his position and embraced it with the same commitment that he addressed everything in his life. The ring that he wears in the portrait done by Michael Reagan, is the college class ring that belonged to Grampa Yata and Kelly wore it with pride.
He was a dedicated sailor, son, brother, grandson and friend…a gentle soul tragically, his life ended on July 14th, 2007. He was only 23 years old and is resting next to his grandfather in Bothell, Washington…together even in death.
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