Dale Rutledge

Dale Rutledge Dale Rutledge, beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, cousin to many, and friend to many more, left this world on June 14th, 2013, to start eternity with his Savior, and with the many friends and relatives who preceded him. One of five children, Dale was born in Olympia, WA, on September 5th, 1920, to Albert and Ollie Rutledge, going home to the family dairy farm in Littlerock, WA, a couple of days later. While growing up through the depression and war years, he discovered he loved to work the land, and that he had a natural ability to convince plants to grow. Combinations of circumstances and personal decisions would ultimately result in him remaining on that farm his entire 92 plus years. He was enrolled in the Littlerock grade school in 1927, and in due course moved on to attend high school in Rochester. While in high school he was active in its music program, demonstrating a natural ability to sing and play the piano. After graduating in 1938 he maintained contact with many of his fellow graduates, regularly attending yearly reunions until time and a dwindling alumni participation finally made such meetings impractical. On March 2nd, 1946 he married Mary Wagner, a young lady he had met earlier through their mutual association with the Grange organization, purchased some land abutting the family dairy, built a house, and settled down to raise a family of three boys and three girls. As their life progressed, he expanded the farm's operation by adding turkeys and chickens, and finally in the 1960's converted the whole operation to beef, its current configuration. Mary preceded him in death in 1983, and for the next 30 years he kept her memory close until they were finally joined once again. She was the one constant in his life and repeatedly stated she was the best part of his life. As caretaker and owner of the 1860 homestead farm, and as a descendant of one of the original families in the Littlerock area, he eagerly accepted the burden of continuing local and family traditions, and maintained a life-long passion with family history. His marked ability to remember dates, occurrences, relationships and anecdotes firmly established him as not only the family historian, but also the go-to guy if anyone needed information about local historical events or past residents. He was active in the Grange for many years, maintaining membership for more than 65 years, serving as a local officer, and working within the association as an advocate for other farmers and ranchers. He also took advantage of the organization's social life to square dance, play the piano and participate in many smorgasbords and get-togethers. Serving as a representative of local farmers and ranchers on the Thurston County ASC Committee for several years, he worked to improve agricultural methods, as well as coordinate related efforts with governmental agencies. He was a member of the Faith Baptist Church in Chehalis, WA, for more than 15 years, during many of which he was the church pianist, stepping down only when age diminished his ability to play at the level he felt was needed. He often said playing the piano at church was his greatest joy. Dale is survived by three sons, Tom (Wendy), Tim and Phil (Tammie) Rutledge; three daughters, Nancy (Ron) Fowler, Nora (Don) Bergstrom and Beth (Cody) Miller; a sister, Louise Jensen; a niece, Olive (Rex) Jordan; eleven grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren, as well as numerous 'in-law' nieces and nephews. He will be remembered as a Christian gentleman who cherished his family, loved his music, valued his faith, cared for his land, and held a deep pride in his heritage. Funeral services will be at Mills and Mills in Tumwater on Friday, June 21st, at 10 AM. Interment will follow at the family plot in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Tumwater at 11:30. Those wishing to leave remembrances are encouraged to do so with a contribution to the missionary fund at Faith Baptist Church on Coal Creek Rd. in Chehalis (fbc-wa.org).