October 17, 1930 – April 15, 2024
On April 15, 2024 Dee Gray Meek died peacefully in his home in Kalispell, MT. A man of many interests and with an enthusiasm for life, he bore a variety of titles to reflect his talents and accomplishments. Known by some as “Dr. Dee”, by others as “The Captain” or “The Pilot”, he was also a beloved husband, father and friend. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 17th, 1930, Dee was the only child of Dorothy Myers and Claude L. Luke, a local pioneer in the early Aviation industry. His family moved briefly to Boise, ID, returning to Salt Lake City upon his parents’ early divorce. Called “Bud”, or “Buddy” in his early years, he spent his childhood in the foothills of the Wasatch range with his mother and grandmother, Ethel Gray Myers. A second marriage followed for Dorothy Myers, and at the age of six Dee was adopted by his step-father, David C. Meek. A captain in the U.S. Navy, David Meek was later briefly transferred to Maryland, where Dee had fond memories of rides on the naval boats with his father. The family eventually returned to Salt Lake City where, always a versatile and accomplished athlete, Dee rode horses, played softball, basketball, and was an avid snow and water skier. In 1946 the family relocated to Boise, ID and finally to Chico, CA in 1947, where Dee attended Woodland High School. While there he became a celebrated member of the varsity football team (end), playing with the Woodland Wolves. A true renaissance man from a young age, in High School Dee was also a member of the National Thespian Society, winning awards for “outstanding participation in dramatics”. An excellent marksman, he competed in the rifle society, learned sailing and outdoor survival skills as a Sea Scout, and showed early leadership in a variety of other clubs and organizations. An ‘underachieving’ academic student in his early years, he was “an excellent cadet” in the California Cadet Corps – an experience that began a life-long interest in military service. He graduated in 1948.
In 1949 Dee graduated from Sacramento, CA Junior College on a football scholarship, later transferring to Stockton College at the College of the Pacific, where his many activities included participating as stage manager and actor for Pacific Studio theatre. While there he joined the California National Guard, and in 1950 was recommended by his commanding officer for the “Outstanding Soldier Award”. After his time at College of the Pacific, Dee transferred to the California State Technical College (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo) graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree in Animal Husbandry in June, 1954. During his years at Cal Poly he continued his interest in the arts in the department of Music, performing and touring as both member and one of the student directors of the Men’s Glee Club Collegium. Dee was always handy with machines. He loved cars and motorcycles (the first car of his youth was a Ford Model T but he quickly shifted to a Harley Davidson) and in later years he collected vintage cars. He loved boats (motor or sailing) and among other jobs in his youth worked as an airplane mechanic to pay for his studies. He learned to fly the planes he serviced – a passion he maintained in later life after attaining a commercial, multi-engine instrument rated pilot’s license, owning and flying his own plane extensively throughout the US.
In his love for the outdoors and horses, Dee spent several summers working as guide and “dude” for mountain camps and ranches in California and Montana, including memorable summers on the E Bar L Ranch in Greenough, MT in the Blackfoot Valley. After graduating from Cal Poly, this love took him to the Sierra Nevada mountains for another summer. An accident while riding resulted in a broken back, requiring a year of recuperation and a change of future plans. In the fall of 1955 Dee drove to the Pacific Northwest, where he talked his way into the Washington State College’s Animal Husbandry Graduate School.
Healed of his injury, in 1956 Dee entered the Army as an army veterinary technician and served on the base of Fort Lewis in Washington State. After two years he was discharged and given reserve commission as 2nd Lt. He continued his interest in military service in the Veterinary Corps of the United States Army Reserve through the rest of his working life. In 1991 he was awarded The Meritorious Service Medal for “outstanding meritorious service over a long and distinguished military career as a Citizen Soldier, “proudly retiring in 1995 as a full Colonel.
After his early Military Service, Dee returned to Pullman and to what had become Washington State University, entering the College of Veterinary Medicine and joining the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity (TKE). Ever accompanied by his beloved dog, the Boxer “Duffy”, Dee and Dog became a popular pair in classes and around campus throughout his time in Pullman. Dee had loving relationships with animals throughout his life, and was rarely seen without the companionship of a dog at his side, a cat in his lap, or both.
During his years of veterinary study, Dee met Annette Weissenborn of Spokane, WA (now Gordon). In 1958 the couple married and their first child, Deanne Meek, was born in 1960. Graduating in 1962 as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) with a specialization in equine surgery, the newly accredited “Dr. Meek” brought his family to Kennewick, WA where for ten years he joined Dr. Ivor Evans in private practice at the Highlands Veterinary Clinic. Two more children were born during this time (Charlene in 1962 – now Charlene Collison of Hoathly Hill, England) and Andrew Meek in 1965 (deceased in 1990). A born teacher, in 1973 Dee joined the faculty of WSU as Assistant Professor of Veterinary Medicine, teaching equine surgery. After two years in Pullman, Dee returned to private practice and, after a brief year in Lake Oswego, Or, the family moved to Richland, WA in 1976. A proud small business owner, for the next 24 years Dee served that community in both large and small animal practice while also mentoring veterinary students at his clinic, the Animal Medical Center. He invested deeply in other aspects of the Richland community, furthering his early passion for the arts by performing with and serving on the Board of Directors of the Richland Players and on the Board of the Mid-Columbia Symphony. Dee also assumed Board Presidency for the Richland Rotary Club, for Kadlec Hospital, and in addition to membership in many other clubs and organizations, held the office of President of the Washington State Veterinary Medical Association. He continued to be a proud alumni and supporter of WSU throughout his life and could usually be seen wearing his WSU Cougars hat and jacket. Proud of his Scottish heritage and as an active member of the Desert Thistle Pipe and Drum Band, Dee enjoyed playing the tenor drum while relishing the pageantry and fun of wearing an authentic Scottish Kilt and enjoying good Scottish Ale with his mates. Another source of pageantry and service could be witnessed in his early role as Captain of the Benton-Franklin County Mounted Posse while also managing their rodeo and racetrack grounds for five years.
A kind and patient man and wonderful father, Dee shared his interests with his family in outdoor camping vacations, boating on the Columbia River, teaching them to water ski, ride horses, fish, start a fire, paint a well-prepared wall and encouraging them into music and the arts. He brewed decent beer, made bad wine, carried a sourdough bread starter around for decades, and made the best pancakes around. In his Richland years his children worked with him in his clinic. Loving his profession and the animals he served, he literally whistled (tunelessly) while he worked.
In 1990 Dee and Annette separated, and in 1992 he married Sara Erickson Sako. Looking for an adventure to share, a year later Dee and Sara found “The Elmore”- an 1890, 78-foot wooden tugboat – to restore and explore with. Not a small project and initially moored in Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, “The Elmore” provided opportunities for journeys throughout the Puget Sound, San Juan Islands, Alaska and elsewhere, offering decades of travel, fun, community, history, exploration – as well as weekend commutes from Richland across the state and hard work for the couple and their extended and chosen family. In 2000 Dee and Sara retired and left the Tri-Cities, living aboard “The Elmore” for two years before relocating themselves and the boat to Port Hadlock on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In a beautiful home Dee and Sara renovated and overlooking the Puget Sound, Dee could watch the boats, whales, birds and other travelers on the water, reporting weather and important events via his community in the coastal Ham Radio club. On good days he would take the Elmore out with his co-conspirators in the Auxiliary Coast Guard, supporting customs and water safety surveillance and small craft rescue, generally getting into good trouble. He and Sara were also regular boosters on the Elmore at the WSU Apple cup and opening day boat parades in Seattle, WA. Happy at home on the Peninsula, he enjoyed coffee with his friends (otherwise known as the “GOOFS”, or Grand Order of Old Farts) and serving wine for the Wine Club at the Ajax Restaurant – a favorite spot shared with friends and family. Further travels were facilitated as they visited Dee’s daughter Charlene and family in their home in England, and while joining daughter Deanne throughout North American and Europe in her professional travels as an opera singer.
In 2022 Dee and Sara moved to Kalispell, MT to be near family and the Montana mountains Dee had spent so much joyful time exploring in his youth. He is survived by his wife Sara Meek, daughters Deanne Meek and Charlene Collison, grandchildren Phoebe Chase and Oscar Briault, and his step children Gus Sako (Shari Frazier) and children Mylin and Carly; Tony Sako (Yvonne Sands) and children Joshua and Noah, and Katie Sako (Kendall Flint) and children Miki, Aluna and Charlie. In later life Dee also discovered half siblings on the side of his birth father, Claude Luke, celebrated in a gathering with his half-brother Doug Luke and family in Salt Lake City. Dee Meek was loved and will be missed by many. Celebrations of his life will be held in Port Hadlock, WA; Richland, WA and in Kalispell, MT throughout early August of 2024. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the Dee and Andrew Meek Fund at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, P.O. Box 647010, Pullman, WA 99164.