Gerrald Arlen Wassom June 23, 1938 - January 3, 2019

Gerrald Arlen Wassom died on January 3 at St. Charles Hospital of a massive stroke. Gerrald was born in Albany, Oregon, on June 23, 1938. After working in rye grass fields and in the woods of northern California, he moved to Yoncalla, where he met Barbara Clark, whom he married in August 1960. He worked at Wooley Logging Company in Drain before moving to Springfield, where he felled timber for Weyerhaeuser for 24 years, retiring in 1986.

While in Springfield, they had their only child, Ron. In 1989, Gerrald and Barbara built their home in Sisters, often working 16 or more hours a day, going from bare land to completion in four months, doing nearly all the work themselves. In 2017, the couple moved to Hines to be closer to the rest of their family.

Gerrald was an avid outdoorsman, feeling much more at home on the steep slopes of western Oregon and the forests of eastern Oregon than the areas he often lived. At times he fished commercially on weekends and vacations, spent entire archery seasons hunting elk outside of Burns, and reminisced about sheep and antelope hunts in his later years.

Gerrald was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Gary Wassom.

Gerrald is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara, son Ron and daughter-in-law Kathy, all of Hines, granddaughter Natalie and husband Josh Paul, and great-granddaughter Zoey of Burns, his brother Clyde of Canby, nephews David, Gordon and Kenneth Wassom, and nieces Janet Lundsten and Nonda Lewis.

Contributions in Gerrald's name may be made to Doernbecher Children's Hospital or St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

The family will hold a private memorial later this spring.