Terry was loved by a great many people. He was a loving, gentle, generous and patient man who always looked for the best in people.

He was knowledgeable about a great many things. He graduated from Western Washington University with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in fresh water studies. He was passionate about the natural world around him. He knew the scientific names of plants and insects and had a Bird Life List. He had a life long love of the outdoors, exploring, fishing and hiking. He loved to fly-fish and began making his own flies at 12 years old. He made his own fishing rods. In later years, he took up Spey casting which requires a 12 to 15 ft rod, learning new casting techniques which allowed him to cast longer distances in the sound and large rivers. (Spey casting originated in Scotland in early 1800’s) A fly fishing rod he made for Cynthia with her name on it was as poignant a gift as any. He outfitted her in waders, boots and a collapsible wading stick to wear on her belt, where she could join him in what he loved. They loved fishing the Crooked River, camping, hiking and enjoying the solitude in the high desert of Oregon. Over the years they camped, hiked, fished in many places and canoed in the Puget Sound.

Terry’s parents, Dursom and Bill, were originally from Arkansas. They moved to CleElum where Terry was born joining siblings Billie Dean and Joyce Cheryl. Terry’s father worked in the coal mine there. They moved to Eatonville when Terry was 4 where Terry and his siblings, which now included Doug and Kevin, had a great deal of freedom to explore outdoors. They all have stories of near misses with calamities they all laugh about now and is part of the family lore. My favorite one being: Terry standing on a roof, brother Doug throwing rocks at him and Terry giving Doug coordinates as to how close he was getting, until “thunk.” He hit his target! Ha!

Terry’s father Bill could play multiple musical instruments and the family grew up with him singing the “old-timey” music he learned in his youth. Terry loved his mother, Dursom, who was deeply religious with a strong moral compass in raising her children. Throughout his life, Terry always felt loved by his mother. In contrast to their freedom to roam freely in the great outdoors, Terry was raised in the Pentecostal church which did not allow, dancing, attending movies or card playing. A new fire and brimstone minister led Terry to change to a less restrictive church when he was 16 and the rest of the family followed.

Dursom loved to feed Terry as soon as he came into the door. He loved good food; was a consummate BBQ-er of hamburgers and whole turkeys on the grill.

Terry primarily worked outside, logging, for 12 years at Mt. Rainer National Park (trail crew, road crew: snow plows etc, helping build the solar outhouse on Camp Muir, search and rescue bringing hikers down in a liter. He had a dynamite endorsement.). He also had a short stint of stocking sheetrock with brothers Kevin and Doug.

Terry and Cynthia were set up to meet by their friends Mark and Kathy at their home on Clear Lake in 1981. After 2 years of sharing his world of spectacular and beautiful places, music and building a solid loving relationship, they married in their front yard and Terry took on the responsibilities of husband, home owner and father to Aryn (14), Cara (10) and Ruffles (12) their beloved dog. Terry was blessed to have seven grandchildren who he loved very much and he was able to be a most spectacular PaPa too! His love, wisdom and participation in their lives will be missed deeply.

He was hired by Versteeg construction to build custom homes where he worked for 15 yrs. He was a master carpenter, perfectionist and felt a great sense of accomplishment when finishing a home and made friends with the home owners in the process. The last 14 years he worked at Johnson’s Millwork making many friends and telling stories of his many adventures.