Pete Orren Hobbs

Orren Garret Hobbs began his journey on April 26, 1960 in El Centro, California as the firstborn child of Joe and Nedra (Smith) Hobbs. His grandmother took one look at him and declared “That’s a Pete” and Pete he remained. The family grew to include sisters Jovon (Hobbs) Taussig, Jeanna (Hobbs) Snell and brother Duncan.

Pete was a graduate of Ellensburg High School and Central Washington University where he earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology. While in college, he began studying Shudokan karate which would ultimately become a driving interest and extreme passion in his life. After college, Pete began working for Sears which required extensive travel. His travels led to celebrating Thanksgivings at Shudokan tournaments in Hawaii and competing at national Shudokan tournaments in Las Vegas. Although Pete loved to travel, he ultimately chose to return to the Pacific Northwest to continue his training at the Yakima School of Karate where it was his honor to train under Morris Lane “Sensei” Mack. It was here that Pete worked as a karate instructor, an activity that was his utmost passion until the day he passed. In addition to his duties at the dojo, Pete began working in the Water Department for the City of Yakima, a career he followed for 25 years.

During his career working for the City of Yakima, Pete welcomed the birth of his first daughter Rhyannonn. It must have been something in the water, because from there Pete’s family grew in short order with the addition of three more daughters, Khygann, Klystia and Alorwrenn. Pete affectionately referred to his girls collectively as the “Hobbettes”, a name that evolved due in part to his fondness of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Each of the Hobbettes followed their father’s interest in Shudokan Karate and began their training at the Yakima School of Karate at the age of 3.

Pete’s training led to travelling to England to compete in a Sword Tournament. During the trip, he was able to spend time at the Tower of London which he often spoke of with fond memories. Pete also traveled to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to spend time training with Dave Drawdy. Pete enjoyed passing on his knowledge of martial arts working as a counselor at Camp Enbukai for many years. He had especially fond memories of fun times when daughters Rhyannonn and Klystia were old enough to join him at camp. Pete also enjoyed many family vacations travelling to Disneyland, Lincoln City and Portland. He loved to read, so Powell’s City of Books was always a must after hitting the food trucks in Portland. Flying kites at the beach and Letterboxing with his daughters were also favorite pastimes.

Pete recently began a new career working for Costco while continuing to work at the Yakima School of Karate. In September 2016, he earned his 6th degree black belt. While many might view this as the highest martial arts honor Pete achieved, those who loved him knew that his most prized possession was a can of coke Sensei Mack awarded him for being the only person able to answer a Shudokan training question.

A memorial will be held on Friday, December 22, 2017. Services will be held at Langevin El Paraiso Funeral Home (1010 W. Yakima Avenue) at 12:00. There will be a graveside service and burial following the service at Tahoma Cemetery (1802 Tahoma Avenue) near the Japanese Garden. There will be a reception and time for remembrance at the Yakima School of Karate (13 N. 7th Avenue) following the burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Lung Association.

To share a memory of Pete visit, www.lepfuneralhome.com.