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.

Duane Pepiot

Inie Pepiot

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 so pleased. It keeps their legacy going. It keeps their names in people’s mouths.”

Pep died in June 2013 at age 82. Inie followed a few years later, in 2018.

The couple – Pep was a physical therapist and Inie a nurse – spent decades giving back to the community, through their work, their church and in other ways. They separately were named Kennewick Man of the Year and Kennewick Woman of the Year, among numerous other honors.

“Pep was delightful. He always had a smile on his face. You just loved Pep, and Inie, too. She was very funny. She supported everything that Pep did. They meant a lot to the church,” said Phyllis Koschik of Kennewick, a longtime friend and fellow First United Methodist Church member.

Like so many others, Koschik loves the 11 ½ bean soup – and so does her family.

“I’ll make a pot and I’ll tell my son and grandkids, ‘I’ve got bean soup, do you want to come over or...’ and before I can finish, they’ll say, ‘We’ll be over,’” Koschik said.

Susan Sandmeier, one of the Holly Daze coordinators, also is a big fan.

“I especially like it with extra ham,” she said, noting people add their own flourishes to the soup.

One thing no one has been able to do is crack the secret recipe. While “you can maybe figure out the beans, they will not divulge the spices,” Sandmeier said with a chuckle.

That’s part of the fun. Suitonu said she and her father, Bob Norman, are the only two who know the spice blend. Come soup assembly time, Norman’s job is to mix the spices. Suitonu’s husband, Roland, mixes the beans, and their kids and other family members help out as well.

It’s a family affair – just as it’s always been.

“In the past, we were doing 1,000 to 1,500 (bags of soup mix). We’d do that in a weekend with my grandma and grandpa – and watch football (while we were doing it). It was a serious assembly line. Now it’s a little bit smaller,” Suitonu said, noting the crew churns out around 300 bags, give or take.

While it’s a lot of work, it’s rewarding. Suitonu knows Pep and Inie would be proud.

She’s proud right back – to be their granddaughter, to be carrying on their soup legacy, and to be sharing it with the next generation of her family. “(My grandparents) were the most wonderful humans I have ever known or ever will know. They could make anybody feel like the most important person in the world,” she said. “I see them, still, in my children. I see their kindness. I see their big hearts.”