Hallie Herbert Davenport

1939 - 2023

Hallie Herbert Davenport
April 14, 1939 - January 12, 2023
Gig Harbor, Washington - Mid evening, January 12, 2023, Hallie Herbert Davenport passed away at age 83. Herb was born April 14, 1939 in the small town of Osceola, Iowa to Hallie and Wilma Davenport. Most of his childhood was lived in that small town in south central Iowa. The family moved once to Clear Lake and then settled in Des Moines. Herb graduated from North High School in Des Moines and lettered all four years in football, basketball and tennis. And he was a lifeguard. His dream career was to be a forest ranger.
In 1959, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Herb met Barbara Maurine Bagby through their sorority/fraternity parties. The story goes that on a sneak away trip to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena 1959 with friends they had a great time...and then got married February 21, 1959. The birth of Deborah, the first of three children was in October. Herb had various jobs before joining International Harvester, first in Ag equipment and then trucks. He rose up the corporate ladder with IH so Barbara and the kids moved many times throughout the Midwest. They left Chicago and moved to Washington State in 1980. He had two IH dealerships in Spokane and Boise. He left that in 1986 to try the tire game and moved to Gig Harbor. He had nine stores at the height of his ownership all around the Puget Sound. He never really retired. He had a hand in the business until he just couldn't anymore.
Herb was an avid reader of spy and mystery novels. While living in the Midwest he went fishing and bird/duck hunting as much as he could. Once settled in the Pacific Northwest he got a boat and was out on the water whenever he could fit it in. In Spokane he fished the Columbia and Lake Roosevelt. In Gig Harbor the favorite trip was to Sequim. The grand-kids loved to go fishing with Gpa Herb as his idea of a good breakfast was donuts and chocolate milk-as much as they wanted. He liked dogs but once they got Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Jessica, he became a dog lover. He and Barb did a lot of traveling both domestic and abroad, attended the theatre, movies and went out to all the great places in the area to eat and have fun with friends and family.
Herb ran the barbecue for family dinners. He was the kind of guy who was always working on a project around the house or fixing the boat with son-in-law Jon. He would rather try to fix something and break it rather than outright buy a new one. He rarely read directions. He was an elder at Chapel Hill PC and on the building committee responsible for the major additions to the church. At Chapel Hill he was a member of PACH (Performing Arts at Chapel Hill) as an actor and as set design and technical direction.
Herb was preceded in death by his wife Barbara, father Hallie, mother Wilma and sister Carol. He is survived by his three children Debby, Diane and Steve, and his brothers Bradley and Greg, six grand-children and five great-grandchildren. He was loved and will be dearly missed. The family would like to thank the staff at The Lodge at Mallards Landing in Gig Harbor and Franciscan Hospice for the care, support and above and beyond efforts in helping us through this difficult time. Truly wonderful people. If you would like to donate in his name, The American Heart Association or the salmon recovery group Long Live the Kings would be wonderful choices. His memorial is February 5 at 2:30 p.m. in the Memorial Chapel at Chapel Hill PC 7700 Skansie Ave. Gig Harbor WA.