Gale Allen Easterday

1941 - 2020

Gale Allen Easterday
March 13, 1941 - December 10, 2020
Basin City, Washington - Gale Allen Easterday, 79, died on December 10 in a tragic car accident. He was born to Ervin and Elsie Easterday on March 13, 1941, in a homesteading shack with a dirt floor near Parma, Idaho. He attended Ten Davis community country school until the 8th grade and graduated from Parma High School.
It's hard to define a man like Gale Easterday.
He was part old-school farmer and part new-school innovator, a man in a cowboy hat who could hold the attention of corporate CEOs, spend hours with a mechanic tinkering with a new piece of equipment to perfect its operation, and be mistaken for a janitor at his own business by an unknowing visitor. Gale enjoyed all those scenarios and more, bringing his keen intellect and sense of humor to each. He knew agriculture – and if your onion rows and talk were not straight, he would call you out.
He was an adventurous man, jumping on a plane at a moment's notice to travel to Japan to meet with customers and trying any food they put in front of him. If his family was doing something, he wanted to join - whether meeting for a beer or lunch at his daughter's restaurant or helping with a pig roast at the WSU tailgate parties. Material things did not hold any value for Gale, he just needed a pickup, a loaded gun and little cash in his pocket to take on the day.
The two loves of his life were family and farming. Partnering with his family he grew a 300 acre farm started by his father in 1958 to a large diversified farming operation in three states that in addition to crops include produce packing houses, feedlots and a dairy.
Taking risks came naturally as Gale's dad Ervin took his own chance on a sandy piece of land in 1958 that would be part of the Columbia Basin Project, transforming a desert into some of the most productive and valuable farmland in the world. As a young man he spent countless hours as a cat skinner leveling and preparing fields for the incoming irrigation on farms in Basin City and Othello. He also worked as a heavy equipment operator building roads in Alaska – returning to the farm after convincing Karen, the beautiful blonde that caught his eye changing irrigation pipe in the Basin, to marry him in North Pole, Alaska, in 1963.
Gale was the king of one-liners and wise-cracks, a wealth of wisdom and got a real kick out of funny people. If you spent any time with Gale, you learned something from him. Being a mentor was one of his greatest joys.
Gale and Karen raised five children on the family farm, teaching them the value of hard work from an early age. As adults, he partnered with his children in business ventures, always willing to take a risk and never second-guessing the decisions. To him, it was all an adventure.
When grandkids came, Gale developed a special relationship with each one, often having one of them in the pickup with him while he made his rounds to the farms and packinghouses. He affectionately dubbed the five grandsons "The Weiner Club" and was a fixture on the sidelines of all his grandchildren's activities, from sports of all kinds to fairs and livestock shows.
Gale is survived by his wife of 57 years Karen Easterday, daughter Jody and her husband Andrew Wills, daughter Kim and her husband Scott English, daughter Cindy and her husband Brian Goulet, son Cully and wife Shani Easterday, son Cody and wife Debby Easterday, 11 grandkids, 2 brothers and 2 sisters and numerous nieces and nephews.
His most enjoyable time was spent on the farms, feedlots and in the packinghouses. He loved the dirt, the equipment and joy of working with others that shared his enthusiasm. You would often find him on Sundays driving the John Deere 770A road grader on the farms – so Dad get on that piece of iron and get to work – because we are all going to need smoother roads ahead. You have been clearing the path for us our whole life and you can't stop now.
His legacy will live on in a fund being created to provide under-served youth the opportunity to participate in livestock projects at area fairs and other ag-related activities.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Gale Easterday Fund at any Numerica Credit Union branch or by calling (800) 433-1837 or mailed to c/o Gale Easterday Fund, 1970 Keene Road, Richland, WA 99352.