Walter Cline

Walter Lemuel Cline died peacefully on December 14, 2006, in Ilwaco, WA, following a stroke. He had celebrated his 99th birthday in November. He was born in a homesteader cabin in Badger Canyon about 12 miles north of the eastern Washington town of Clyde, near Walla Walla. He enjoyed an adventurous childhood growing up with his four sisters on the Cline/Clyde ranch near the Lower Monumental Dam, the Russell Creek ranch, and later, in the town of Touchet WA. He was quite an entrepreneur even as a small child, running a trapping line during World War I to generate extra income. One of his favorite stories was of his attempt to breed narrow-striped skunks for their pelts, an effort that got him sent home from school several times. His skunk breeding career was cut short when they mysteriously escaped, possibly aided by his parents. Walt graduated from Touchet High School in 1925. After a few years working on the ranch, he and a friend headed to California in a Model T Ford to make their fortune, but after a series of odd jobs he instead decided to go to Washington State College (WSU) in Pullman, WA. It proved to be a wise decision, since it not only earned him a B.S. degree in Agriculture in 1932, but also allowed him to meet his future wife, Theon Rosenkranz, literally the girl across the street. He carried on an unconventional courtship which involved trips to the local dump to shoot rats for the 5 cent bounty, but it must have worked, because they were married on May 6, 1933. The Great Depression was in full swing, and Walt struggled to find a job, eventually landing a clerk position with the USDA in 1934. In 1935, he and Theon moved to Portland OR where their son Robert Cline was born in 1940. Walt joined the Navy as a Lieutenant and was stationed with his family in Washington D.C. from 1944-1946. After the war he resumed his career with the USDA, returning to Portland and building the house on Garden Home Road where the family lived until 1986, except from 1963 to 1965, when Walt and Theon moved to Kansas City. Walt retired from the USDA in 1968 after 32 years of service. The family enjoyed deer hunting, fishing on the Columbia River in their boat "Rotheon", and camping trips in their Alaskan camper. They made an annual winter pilgrimage to the Fountain of Youth resort on the Salton Sea in California. Walt and Theon were enthusiastic members of the NW Steelheaders. They also enjoyed trips to their land on the Long Beach peninsula, building a small cabin there in 1952, and in 1986 a house on Loomis Lake near Ocean Park WA. In 1990 they sold the house in Portland and made Loomis Lake their permanent residence. After suffering a stroke, they moved to the Golden Sands assisted living home in 2000. Walt was saddened in 2000 when Theon died, after 67 happy years together. He continued to enjoy daily beach drives in the company of his son Bob, and carried on a regular correspondence with his sisters Ruth, Naomi, Roberta, and Mary and his childhood friend Fern. Ruth passed away in 2004, but he is survived by his other three sisters, his son Robert Cline, and his grandchildren, Michael Cline and Erica Cline. A celebration of Walt's life will be held at Pentilla's Chapel by the Sea in Seaview WA (115 S. Pacific Ave) at 1 pm on December 23 and in Walla Walla on December 26. Walt and Theon received great satisfaction from contributing to their alma mater WSU, and supporting the founding of the Peninsula Senior Activity Center. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation in his memory to the Peninsula Senior Activity Center in Klipsan Beach (21603 Pacific Hwy, Ocean Park 98640).