Gordon Morris Neale

Gordon Morris Neale came into this world on August 28, 1937, in Seattle, Washington. He was the second child of Fred and Marjorie Neale. Growing up in West Seattle, Gordon started his walk of faith at West Seattle Presbyterian Church where both of his parents were very active.

Gordon graduated from Highline High School in 1955. He married the love of his life, Virginia Metzenberg, on June 27, 1959. Gordon always said he couldn’t figure out why his high school sweetheart chose him. He figured she thought it was her duty to straighten out the class clown.

Gordon followed in his father’s footsteps and graduated from Whitworth College in 1962. He took his first teaching position at Westminster Junior High in Huntington Beach, California. It would be the beginning of a career that changed the lives of students for more than 30 years.

While living in California, Gordon and Virginia brought two sons into the world, David and Kenneth. Following several years in California, the Evergreen state called them home, only it wasn’t the part of the state Virginia had hoped for.

Instead of Western Washington, the young Neale family found themselves living in the small town of Metaline, Washington, where Gordon taught for the Selkirk School District. The small area was a big change from Seattle, Spokane, and California.

To help make ends meet, Gordon learned to drive semi-trucks and hauled cement for Mitchell Transport from the Lehigh Portland Cement plant in Metaline Falls.

The year 1969 brought two surprises to Gordon. The first, his son Brian came into the world, and for the next 40 years, Gordon enjoyed reminding his youngest son how he had stood on the bridge leading into Metaline Falls and could hear Virginia yelling at him from the nearby hospital while giving birth.

The second surprise was that he was offered a fulltime job with Mitchell Transport in Minneapolis. Always one for adventure, Gordon packed up his family and headed east. The four-year adventure back east led to the family living in upstate New York. But when a phone call from Selkirk came, Gordon knew it was time to go home.

Gordon, Virginia, and the boys returned to Metaline Falls in 1973. Gordon continued to drive cement trucks on nights, weekends, and summers. He drove school bus during the year and of course taught band and choir. He and Virginia were active members of the United Congregational Church in Metaline Falls.

In 1983, Gordon and his family left the river, trees, and mountains of Metaline Falls and Selkirk for Odessa, Washington. The school wanted to restore its music department and felt Gordon was just the person to do it. And was he ever.

Gordon and Virginia quickly embraced life in Odessa, joining the Oompas and Ma’s and the English Congregational Church, and founding the singing group, The Crab Creek Trio.

Gordon spent his life working with and teaching kids. He had perfect pitch but had the patience to work with 5th and 6th graders who had no idea what they were doing when they honked on the clarinets, saxophones, and trombones.

He had a passion for trains, buses and semi-trucks.

Gordon lived a life of faith and always saw the bright side of everything. Virginia was never able to straighten out the class clown and eventually gave up and joined him, kind of.

Gordon’s legacy lives on with his family. He proudly became a grandfather in 1987 with the birth of Courtney, followed by Kylor in 1988. Two daughters were added to the family with Donna marrying Ken in 1993 and Nicole marrying Brian in 1994.

The all-out onslaught of grandchildren really got underway in 1997 with the birth of Hannah, followed by Nicholas (’98), Aaron (’99), Sarah (’99), Josiah (’01), Elizabeth (‘03), Caleb (’03) and Samuel (’05).

Virginia passed in 2005, and a few years later Gordon would leave Odessa for the RV’ing life. He reunited with childhood friend Jeannette Kinnear, and the two split time RV’ing between Renton, Washington, and Bull Head City, Arizona.

Gordon gained a second set of grandkids and another daughter when his son Dave married Michelle Atkins in 2007. At the wedding, he noted that Dave had taken the easy way out, marrying Michelle, who already had two children, Kelly and Raymond, making it so each son had four children.

With the addition of more grandchildren through marriage, Kelsey, Emily, Brandon, Micah, Lasaundra, Emily, Matthew, Reagan and soon to be Sydney, Gordon enjoyed sixteen great-grand children: Carter, Tatum, Remy, Vail, Weston, Kiera, Virginia, Michelle, Evelyn, Elsie, Jolene, Eric, Charlie, Louella, and Ezra, not to mention soon-to-arrive Baby Girl #5 for Nicholas and Lasaundra.

Gordon didn’t leave his family behind. Instead, he is leading the way to Eternity.

A memorial service will be held in Gordon’s honor at Heritage Church, 302 S. First Street in Odessa, Washington, on March 28, 2026, at 1:00 PM. Fond memories and .expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.strate-funeral.com for the Neale family. STRATE FUNERAL HOME, DAVENPORT, WA is caring for the family.