We received the bad news that Manley passed away in January. He had been battling spinal cancer for several years. I was surprised he lasted this long because that kind of cancer is brutal. That man is tough! We checked in with Janet and other family members on how he was doing during the duration after his diagnosis. The last time I physically saw Manley, Ben and I were floating the river during our heat dome back in June 2021. We floated by the Goodwin property along the Deschutes River and saw many of my extended family members enjoying their day. I waved and asked how everyone was doing. He and Janet were sitting at the picnic table watching the grand kids and great grand kids playing in the water. He looked like he was enjoying himself.
He was a life-long resident of Rainier even though he was born in Centralia, and most, if not all, of the people who lived in Rainier has either known Manley, knew Manley or was related to Manley in some way. Some of those people might be living in one of his many houses he moved with the Rainier House Movers, some may have had some valuable advice given to them by Manley or had a conversation with him. Some might remember going over to their house to trick or treat and receiving a can of pop in their Halloween bags as a kid. Either way, they were blessed to have some part of Manley in their life, whether it was brief or for many years.
I spent a lot of time with Manley and Janet as a kid. We would go over to their house at different times of the year to visit, play on the swing set, ride bikes around their dirt road loop and see what kinds of things they were up to. Manley was usually tinkering with something inside of one of his many shops and outbuildings or tending to his large garden or working on one of his various vehicles. Occasionally, our cousins would be over there, and we'd spend time playing out in the yard with them.
Grandma Karen's husband, Pat, worked with Manley moving houses. As a kid, it was fascinating watching him and Manley move their house onto the property they purchased back in the late 1980's. I could not believe that house it onto those trucks and that they didn't fall off. How in the world did he do that? Expertise, skill and the knowledge...but most importantly, he loved doing it.
We got the opportunity to pay our respects and reminisce about Manley's incredible life that February afternoon inside the Sportsman's Club. That man lived 97 and a half years, can you imagine all the things he's seen, done and experienced? A lot. His brother-in-law Paul gave his eulogy both at the graveside ceremony and at his celebration of life. Parts of his eulogy were the same and some were a little different. We got a demonstration of what 97 and a half years looks like on a measuring tape (my mom's side of the family were construction workers) and there was a song that was sung by Debbie Sullivan (one they sang together as kids at the church).
Paul set aside time for people to stand up and share their stories about Manley and how he impacted their life. Most of them had the same theme, Manley would go out of his way to help people because he wanted to help them, he cared about people. He indeed was one of a kind and will be missed by many people. It was followed up with a long picture slideshow and food provided by the family.
I helped take tables and chairs down, put away decorations, chatted with a bunch of people that I haven't seen in a long time. It's sad that people passing away brings people together. We need to have more happy moments rather than sad ones. It was nice to see that many people, besides family, came to his memorial. We all were honored to hear his stories, see photos of his life, talk to family members and keeping Manley's legacy living on for more generations.
Next Adventure: Ben's Birthday Weekend
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