Donald Allan Day

On Friday evening, March 10, 2017, our beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather passed peacefully with family at his side to ascend to Heaven and into the arms of God, where he is now reunited with Rosie, our beautiful mother and his wife of nearly 58 years.

Don (Dad) was born on May 13, 1933 in Axtell, Kansas to James and Rose Day. Dad was a dust bowl baby, and the family moved west to escape the hard times for the promise of a fertile valley with plentiful fruits and vegetables. They made the Yakima Valley their destination thanks to a relative who traveled before them and wrote back of the natural riches. Dad related the story of how it took years for his mother to stop canning and preserving everything she could find, just in case. One of five siblings, Dad was raised modestly on a small farm that provided for the family’s needs. Inspired by his older brother Del’s service in World War II, Dad enlisted in the army at age 19 and was sent off to Fort Ord, California for boot camp, and then over to Korea, where he bravely served in Company D 14th Infantry Regiment, known as the Golden Dragons, in active duty from 1952 to 1954. He received the Korean Service Medal and a Bronze Service Star. Dad was very proud of his service in the Korean War (he refused the term “Conflict”) and his status as a veteran of a foreign war, yet he was also very reluctant to discuss the details that had obviously left such an impression on him.

Immediately upon returning home from Korea, Dad met the love of his life, a cute gal named Rosalyn (Rosie) Reed. They were on a double date with their respective others, but fate intervened and it was just meant to be. The group remained friends and laughed about it for many years. Don and Rosie were married on September 17, 1954 and made their home in the Ahtanum Valley, first in Wiley City for a few years before establishing their own “Day Ranch” further west on Carson Road along the banks of Bachelor Creek. Dad was a true craftsman and built everything from the ground up with his own hands, along with help from his brothers. It was an idyllic setting to raise their five children. Anybody and everybody was always welcome, and the Day house became a social hub of activity for all the kids and their friends over the years.

Dad was a master at so many things, but his chosen profession was electrician. And a master electrician he was! One that so many others looked up to for guidance and instruction. Dad always sacrificed and worked long hours to provide for his family. His career had many stops, including owning his own shop and culminating as a General Foreman running very large projects at Hanford. Dad was extremely proud to be a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union 112 for over sixty years. Dad’s work ethic carried over into every facet of his life; he always had a project to work on. He was the type of person who could figure out any problem with a creative solution. He was a builder, a carpenter, a metal fabricator, a mechanic, a plumber, a gardener, a great cook…there seemed to be nothing he could not do when he put his mind to it.

Dad had unwavering faith in God and really loved the Lord. His devotion to scripture and application to daily life was evident. He served as Sunday School Superintendent as well as a Deacon at Ahtanum Pioneer Church and was committed to youth coming to know Christ. He was instrumental in planning and building the new Ahtanum Pioneer Church and had the joy and privilege of three of his children being married there. In his last few years of life he would often speak of God’s grace.

We have so many fond memories with Dad: going to church; forming and coaching a little league team because Wiley City did not have one; picking gallons upon gallons of huckleberries; cutting firewood and the hair-raising drives down the steep mountain roads in the old ’54 Chevy wood truck; Sunday BBQ’s with chicken on the rotisserie; fishing up at Tampico and at Dusty Lake; salmon fishing; building and customizing Willys Jeeps; big Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners; sharing good wine and great steaks; teaching us all how to hunt; deer hunting trips to Goldendale; bighorn sheep hunting in the Owyhees of Idaho; planning and planting huge gardens each year; doting on his grandkids and great grandkids (Dad had a very special bond with all of them); and so many many more. Most importantly of all, he taught us all what we needed for life! Don Day was a caring, giving, and a gentle man. All who knew him would describe him as a great person, and he was.

Don is survived by his sons Doug Day (Jennifer), Mark Day (Cindy), Steve Day, and Ted Day (Deborah), and daughter Sandy Smith (Bill); six grandchildren: Sarah Huck (Marcus), Andy Day, Mark Day (Rachel), Rachel Gagnon (Justin), Casey Smith, and Layton Smith; six great-grandchildren: Wyatt, River, and Silas Huck, Atalie Morgan, and Harper, Henley, and Haven Gagnon. He is also survived by his brother Raymond Day (Tola). In addition to his wife Rosalyn, he was preceded in death by his brothers Robert and Delmar, and his sister Betty Woodworth.

A graveside inurnment will be held at 9:00 a.m., Saturday, March 25, 2017 at West Hills Memorial Park. A memorial service will follow at 11:00 a.m., at Grace of Christ Presbyterian Church in Yakima. To share a memory of Don visit www.lepfuneralhome.com.