June 30, 1942 – March 4, 2022
Allen Ged “Doc” Allen “Doc” Ged Wesselius, 79, of Centralia, Washington, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on the ranch on March 4, 2022. Doc was born June 30, 1942 in Toppenish, Washington, and grew up in Naches, Washington, with parents Alene (maiden name Johnson) and Gerald (Ged) Wesselius and younger brother, Frank.
After high school, Doc attended Washington State University and graduated from the College of Veterinary Medicine in 1967. While attending WSU, he was active in the fraternity Alpha Gamma Rho. In 1967 he was the recipient of a two-year Fulbright-Hays Scholarship for graduate study in the field of veterinary medicine at the University of Queensland in Australia.
In 1968, daughter, Jennifer was born in Australia, while he was working on his specialty of large animal medicine. Two years later, in 1970, son, Jeffrey was born in Centralia where Doc and his former wife settled.
Doc was a partner at the veterinary clinic known today as Cascasde West Veterinary Hospital on South Gold Street, Centralia with Dr. George Duby, Dr. William (Bill) Ritter and Dr. Everett Macomber. He spent more than 30 years practicing medicine in Lewis County, particularly with the dairy farms of the region and at the Twin City & Chehalis Livestock Markets.
In 1991, Doc married his wife to this day, Debra “Deb” Ann (maiden name Keys). They lived in the Big Hanaford Valley raising cattle, horses, mules, and harvesting hay. As a lover of animals and outdoors, Doc spent countless hours tinkering around his ranch and helping others in neighboring farms.
Together, Doc and Deb were longtime members of the Back Country Horsemen of Washington (BCHW), the state and local chapter, Lewis County (BCHW). Being members since 1998, they received a Life Time Achievement award for the extraordinary hours of volunteer work, over 20,000 hours with BCHW. They would pack up their mules with tools and supplies and work on maintenance of forest trails. Doc was also involved in the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, state chapter. He enjoyed studying Lewis and Clark and Native American history exhibited by several published magazine articles that he authored. He was an avid traveler with Deb, photographer, and contributor to many communities. During the football season, you could find Doc watching WSU Cougars and Seahawk games.
As a father, he loved and provided endlessly for his children, not with just necessities, but with the upmost confidence, optimism and belief they could achieve anything they wanted to do. His daughter Jennifer, followed in his footsteps becoming a graduate of WSU College of Pharmacy and resides in Kirkland. Doc’s son, Jeff, is a graduate from Perry Technical Institute and resides in Tumwater. Two nephews are also surviving, Gerald (Ged) and Robert (Rob) Wesselius, residing in Yakima and Renton, respectively.
Doc was a good provider to all who knew him and known for his generous and gentlemanly style. He was down to earth, easy going, and treated all he encountered equally. Doc will be remembered for his quick wit, mentoring, off the cusp jokes, storytelling, and his cowboy hat and boots.
A Cowboy Style Remembrance will be planned at a later date for friends and family. In lieu of flowers, cards or gifts, the Wesselius family requests that donations be made in Doc’s honor to BCHW-Lewis Country Chapter, P.O. BOX 1132, Ellensburg, WA, 98926 or to Ted Kaye, Treasurer, Pacific Northwest Region of LCTHF, 2235 NW Aspen, Portland, OR, 97210.