Longtime Eastern WA dairyman turned kettle corn king dies at 89

Lorin “Dennis” Killian Sr., who co-founded the Killian Korn snack business with his wife 36 years ago, died Saturday at home in Othello.

He was just three days away from turning 90.

Killian was born in 1934 in Goshen, Idaho, and volunteered for the draft in 1955, serving in the U.S. Army at Fort Lewis.

He married Donna Raylance in the Idaho Falls Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1960 and moved to Othello to operate a dairy with her family.

The couple had 11 children and called Othello home for 65 years, remaining active members of the LDS church.

They were inspired to make a business out of their annual Christmas tradition of making flavored popcorn for family and friends.

Killian tried a bite, looked at his wife and speculated that people would pay for something so good, according to a company history on Amazon.com.

The Tri-City Herald once reported that they started small, but made Killian Korn a year-round business in 1991 at the request of customers.

They turned a pizza kitchen in what had been the Dairyland Dairy building in Pasco into a commercial kitchen and put their children to work, cranking out Killian Korn in 15-gallon batches.

They mixed it with pecans, walnuts, coconut shavings and a vanilla-butter syrup, selling the largest bags for $4.

Killian, chief cook, once stressed that Killian Korn was not caramel corn in an interview with a Herald reporter.

The trick is in heating the syrup to a temperature below that which would cause the sugar to caramelize, Killian said.

At the time, the Killians were testing their product around the region and enjoying inquiries from distributors.

Today, generations of Killians are employed by the regional juggernaut, which produces popcorn snacks blended with a dazzling array of flavors, such as almond and coconut to black licorice, blue raspberry, caramel apple, snickerdoodle, huckleberry, sweet jalapeno and honey cashew.

Holiday specials add cocoa, marshmallows, peppermint and more to the lineup.

Killian Korn is widely sold in the region at local groceries and beyond Washington state online.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by numerous children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Hillcrest Funerals and Cremation in Kennewick is in charge of arrangements.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 6:06 PM.