mr John "Dale" "Dale" Dale Grubb
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John Dale Grubb, passed away suddenly at his Wenatchee Heights home on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. Born on May 9, 1937, to John F. and Dorothy A. (Hampton) Grubb in Wenatchee, Dale, as everyone knew him, was the oldest of four children and John and Dorothy's only son.
From the beginning of his remarkable life, Dale loved his home, his family and working on the family ranch; he would never venture too far from the peace and beauty of the only home he ever knew.
As he grew up, Dale learned the life of farming by working alongside his Dad, driving tractors, welding, spraying and pruning fruit trees. He attended the one-room community school on the Heights and was big brother to Marilyn, Barbara and baby sister, Tammy. Dale was also a rascal, finding creative ways to have fun and get into trouble, often with his lifelong friends, Mike Ogan and Bobby Isenhart. Riding toboggans from the top of Halvorson Canyon all the way down to Squilchuck Creek was just one of the hair-raising escapades that Dale and his friends cooked up.
His love of farming led him to be involved in 4-H and in FFA. In 1952, Dale was a 4-H State Champion tractor driver and competed in the 4-H Club Congress that year in Chicago. He continued to be active in both 4-H and FFA, supporting the programs that he and, in turn his children, found great satisfaction in. At the time of his death, he was still a member of the Wenatchee High School FFA Ag Advisory Board. Dale was also involved in the IFYE program or International Farm Youth Exchange; in 1958, he traveled to Pakistan and India, witnessing first hand the economic struggles of the farming families he stayed with. He brought this perspective back with him and it spurred him to be involved in improving the local agricultural economy. He worked tirelessly for the Wenatchee Heights Irrigation District Water Board, and also served several terms on the Federal Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Board. In the 1970's, along with Tom Mathison, Dale was instrumental in the installation of an emergency water system that permanently linked Stemilt Hill and Wenatchee Heights water systems to the Columbia River, saving the fruit crop from a horrific drought. More recently, he was involved in the development of a new pressurized irrigation system that currently serves the orchards of the Heights.
One of Dale's early jobs led him to the love of his life, Mary Colleen Shaw. He worked often as a bus driver and happened to be driving a bus that transported student nurses from the Deaconess Nursing Dorm out to WVC for classes. Mary was one of the student nurses who rode Dale's bus and, after about two rides, she decided that he was the guy for her; he, though, had picked her out after just one ride. Dale and Mary were married on May 16, 1959, and settled down on the Wenatchee Heights ranch to raise their family. This coming May 16 would have marked their 50th Wedding Anniversary, a milestone that Dale was looking forward to celebrating with his beloved Mary.
As the years passed and the family was growing, Dale found it necessary to work now and again off the ranch; he plowed snow for the State in the winter and, as a Teamster, drove petroleum trucks for his old friend, Mike Ogan, at Wenatchee Petroleum and then, in later years, for Grange Supply/Cenex. Another of his many accomplishments, was the role he played in the initial construction at Mission Ridge. Working for his uncles, Wilmer and Walter Hampton, Dale operated heavy equipment on steep and rocky hillsides. It was wild and dangerous work, made even more so by a bear who was stealing lunches from the work crew; Dale managed to not only battle that bear and save his lunch, but to carve out parking lots, access roads and numerous Chair 1 and 2 ski trails.
Throughout his rich and full life, there was simply not much that Dale didn't take part in. He was in the National Guard, loved to camp and hunt, rode his horse, Ace, in the Chelan County Sheriff's Posse and, like his father before him, was a Freemason in Wenatchee's Wm. Jett Lodge. In recent years, he and Mary had taken several Alaska Cruises and he would talk with awe and wonder of standing on a glacier and seeing icebergs calve into the bay. Friends and family meant everything to him; he was a warm and loving brother, a devoted husband and caring father to his children and simply doted on his grandchildren. His many friends will attest that Dale was a people magnet; the loss of his loyal, honest and generous spirit will leave a tremendous void in the lives of his family and friends. He will be missed forever.
Dale was preceded in death by his parents, John and Dorothy; He is survived by his wife, Mary at home; daughters, Connie (Mark) Hodgson, Cathie (Dave) Massey and Carole (Dave) Reeves and his son, Mike (Cindy) Grubb, all of Wenatchee. Also surviving Dale are his sisters, Marilyn (Phil) Northrup and Tammy Grubb, both of Wenatchee and Barbara (Swede) Blankenship of Chelan. Perhaps his greatest and, no doubt, proudest legacy lives on in his grandchildren, John, Adam and Katie Grubb, Wade and Heather Massey and Madison and Dalton Reeves.
Services for Dale Grubb will be held Monday, April 13, 2009, at 11:00 a.m. in the Free Methodist Church, Fifth Street, Wenatchee. A Reception of Celebration will be held after the service in the church's Fellowship Hall. Interment will be at Evergreen Cemetery, East Wenatchee, WA. Donations, in Dale's name, may be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society, or a charity of your choice. Arrangements by Telford's Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.
