In Memoriam: Cecilia Runkle, PhD, MPH (March 5, 1950 - February 12, 2026)
It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Martha Cecilia Runkle, PhD, MPH, on February 12, 2026. Born in Amarillo, Texas, Cecilia and her family moved to El Paso, Texas, where she graduated from high school, already a shining star as a member of the National Junior Honor and Honor Societies, Choir and Who's Who.
While Cecilia was originally born and raised in Texas, after her early college years she moved to Berkeley, California, where she met the love of her life, Mel Mordaunt. Together they eventually moved to the Pacific Northwest and made a home in Hansville, Washington, directly overlooking scenic Puget Sound, a home they shared together for over 15 years. After the passing of her beloved partner, Mel, Cecilia remained in their home for many years. Cecilia was also preceded in death by her parents, James Wesley and Martha Mae Runkle, sister Jamie Leigh Runkle Ratzlaff, and is survived by her brother John Wesley Runkle, his wife Gretchen Runkle, and their son Adam Runkle and daughter-in-law Jeanine Pekkarinen.
Cecilia, as most people knew her, embarked in a career of social work early on. She attended the University of Texas at El Paso and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, major in psychology and minor in sociology. After working at a credit union, she graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington Graduate school of Social Work with a Masters of Science, and then worked as a medical social worker at St. Paul Hospital in Dallas, as the primary social worker for the orthopedic and cardiology services.
Working on her PhD, Cecilia moved to Berkeley, California and began working at Kaiser Permanente’s Regional Health Education department as a Health Educator, working and traveling throughout Northern California. Highly regarded as a health educator, she was offered a position with the newly-formed Physician Education and Development department. There she developed and implemented training seminars for physicians to improve their skills in communicating with patients.
In 2005, Cecilia and her partner, Mel moved to Hansville, Washington and she began working for the Kaiser Permanente’s Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative. There she continued developing and implementing training seminars for physicians and healthcare providers, traveling and offering seminars nationwide. She also worked one-on-one with many physicians and nursing staff that may have experienced difficulty communicating with patients in an effort to improve their skills.
Cecilia became passionately involved with the healthcare provider education specialties of hospice, end-of-life care and advanced directives. These endeavors Cecilia had held close to her heart as her greatest professional legacy.
Most dear to Cecilia were her many close friends, many of whom had been co-workers and healthcare associates that had remained as close as family through the years. Adventurous and fiercely independent, Cecilia and her beloved mother, Martha, whom she lovingly referred to as “Mutti,” had together embarked on many walking tours in Europe.
Cecilia enjoyed traveling, speed and marathon walking, hiking, nature, teaching, reading, meditation, science fiction, classical music, writing haiku and poetry. Several of Cecilia’s articles and poetry are available online at Kaiser Permanente Journal, with some listed at this site of remembrance.
Throughout life, Cecilia was beloved by many. She was loving, supportive, kind and understanding with a wonderful sense of humor, great optimism and zest for life. She also had the rare gift of astute listening with a deep desire to connect and understand a person’s heart.
We extend an invitation to those who knew and loved Cecilia to share memories and upload photos to her memorial page. Your stories and pictures will serve as a comforting reminder of the indomitable spirit that Cecilia Runkle embodied. These shared memories will help all of us to remember not just that Cecilia was here, but that she lived her life with vivacious enthusiasm to explore, patience, grace, love, and a deep commitment to the service of others.
Cecilia’s Obituary can be found here
