DEE MOLENAAR

1918 - 2020

June 21, 1918 -
January 19, 2020

Dee Molenaar reached his final summit after 101 years and seven months. He died on Sunday, January 19, surrounded in love, at Cedar Grove Adult Family Home in Burlington, Washington.

Dee is an icon in the Pacific Northwest climbing community. He was presented with the Mountaineers' Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2019. He was a writer, penning three books: "The Challenge of Rainier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and Tragedies, on the Northwest's Greatest Mountain"; "The Mountains Don't Care, But We Do"; and "Memoirs of a Dinosaur Mountaineer". He also was a painter and a cartographer.

Dee was born in Los Angeles on June 21, 1918. His parents, Pete and Marina Molenaar, immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands. He was the middle child of three.

Dee and his younger brother, Cornelius "K" took to hiking and climbing by exploring the mountains in Southern California before traveling to the Pacific Northwest. During World War II, Dee served with the U.S. Coast Guard, and was dispatched to the Pacific Theater. After the war, Dee went to the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Science in geology and a minor in art. He lettered while competing on the UW track team, clearing 13 feet using a bamboo pole.

The sight of Mount Rainier drew Dee to its slopes, and he spent several years there with the National Park Service as a summit guide and ranger. He climbed the mountain more than 50 times.

Dee followed his stint on Rainier to pursue a career as a geologist. He retired in 1983 from the National Geological Survey's Water Resources Division in Tacoma.

In 1954, Dee married the love of his life, Colleen Haag. They spent their honeymoon scaling a rocky spire in the southwestern United States. They had three children: Karen, Peter and David.

Dee's mountaineering travels took him around the world. He took part in memorable and historic climbs, including the second ascent of Mount St. Elias (18,008 feet) in 1946, the third American attempt of K2 in 1953 (where he painted at 25,000 feet the highest known locale for a watercolor rendering) and Mount Kennedy in 1965 (where he joined an expedition that took Bobby Kennedy to the summit of the mountain named after his late brother, President John F. Kennedy).

Dee helped found the Seattle Mountain Rescue Council in 1948, and was involved with the Mountaineers, The American Alpine Club and The Appalachian Mountain Club.

Dee was a devoted family man. He helped raise his three children with his wife, Colleen first in Lacey, Washington, then in Port Orchard, where the family lived on seven acres on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Their home was a welcoming place for friends who visited from all over the world. It was also the place where Dee created his pictorial landform maps, painstakingly rendered by hand using colored pencil and ink; and his realistic watercolor paintings, often depicting the mountains he visited and loved.

Dee was preceded in death by his brother K Molenaar, sister Jo (Davidson), and his wife Colleen.

He is survived by his children: Karen Terrell (Scott), Peter (and partner, Sheila), and David as well as grandchildren Claire Croft (Michael) of Missoula, Montana; Casey Molenaar of Olympia, Andrew Terrell of Bellingham and Alexander Terrell of Seattle.

The family wishes to thank Gwen, Amanda, Megan and Dietrich at Cedar Grove for their loving care of Dee these past three years. And another round of thanks goes to Hospice of the Northwest for its care and professionalism.

Dee requested well in advance of his passing that any memorials or donations made in his name should go to one's charity of choice.