Gerrit "Bud" Neevel

1925 - 2019

Our father, Gerrit “Bud” Neevel, was born to Isaac and Anna Neevel in Bellingham, WA on June 19, 1925, and serenely he passed early Sunday morning September 22, 2019. Bud grew up on Neevel family farms in Whatcom & Island Counties with his sister Fran. He had one true sweetheart in his life, Linda May Noteboom, from Noon Road in Lynden, and he married her on August 16, 1954. Together they settled in Richmond Beach, WA where they raised four children, Edward (wife Liz), Anne (husband Howard, children Scott and Alison), Larry, and Clair (wife Donna, children Ray and Madelyn). In 1962, when the World’s Fair came to Seattle, Bud started his own company, Neevel Trucking & Supply. Early on, he and other entrepreneurial-minded trucking company owners built a large part of Interstate 5 in Washington. Later his long working career was highlighted by contract service to the King County Public Works department, whereby he and his company, with help from his sons, built up the river banks in preparation for the winter rains to come. Bud was a free thinker who had a slogan for nearly everything and also a tireless hard-working, dedicated family man who could be counted on to be found at one of two places: either out on the job site or at home! Bud was a true Northwest pioneer and a product of an early 20th century upbringing, who also had quite a passion for operating a gill net fishing boat on the side.....even his hobbies involved work! After nights fishing out near Point Roberts, WA north of Bellingham, Bud could be seen throughout Whatcom County delivering fresh sockeye salmon to both sides of his family, people he cherished and loved. Bud is preceded in death by his loving wife Linda, his sister Francis Milholland, and his parents Isaac and Anna and several aunts and uncles. He is survived by his immediate family noted above, sister-in-law Dorothy Noteboom, brother-in-law William (Bill) Noteboom, several cousins, and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service to celebrate Bud’s life will be held in Lynden at Gillie’s Funeral Home, 202 Front Street, at 11:30 am on November 2nd, 2019 (family and friends are welcome to attend). Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.