Duward Raymond Massie

Duward Raymond Massie was born March 25, 1928 in Grand Forks, BC, Canada. He was raised on the 2000-acre Cliffdale family farm in Curlew, WA, five miles south of the Canadian border. Situated between Little and Big Goosemas Creeks, the farm functioned as a diversified property consisting of livestock, hay and grain crops. Duward’s mother, Beulah, was a primary caretaker of the farm, and helped foster Duward’s love of botany at an early age. In addition to farming his father, Robert, was a Ferry County Commissioner, who also served in World War I in the US Allied Expeditionary Force Corps of Engineers, which assisted in supplying lumber used to construct trenches at the front lines.

During his upbringing, Duward participated in seasonal duties on the farm. In winter, he distributed hay to livestock and cut blocks of ice on the Kettle River for summer refrigeration. In spring, he assisted in calving and planting crops. In summer, he mowed hay, moved cattle to range land and irrigated crops. In fall, he wrangled cattle and harvested crops. At the ripe age of sixteen, he worked solo at the Vulcan Mountain Lookout for the US Forest Service. Later, on the day of his high school graduation, he left to complete his US Army basic training at Fort Lewis, afterwards serving at Hanford Nuclear Reservation with the Manhattan Project, and further at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque as a military policeman. Thanks to the GI Bill, he attended Washington State College, graduating with a degree in Agronomy—the Massie Family Endowed Fellowship now exists in his honor. After graduation, he moved to Dishman, WA to work for the Jacklin Seed Company.

While in Dishman, he met future wife Carolyn, whom he was introduced to by his sister. Duward and Carolyn were married in May 1954 at Liberty Park Methodist Church in Spokane. After moving to Selah to establish a new agronomy business office, they purchased a home with acreage on McGonagle Road where they raised their five children: Jennifer, Jill, Jeff, Jessica and Jody. Later he started an agronomy business which sold crop wheat seed to customers both domestic and abroad, including parts of Asia and the Middle East. He finished his career working as a botanist for the US Forest Service in Naches, WA.

Duward loved to travel; throughout his lifetime he acquired a pilot’s license and went on innumerable train rides, one of his most favored being through Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Other passions of his included volunteering at the Yakima Area Arboretum, presenting and judging agricultural exhibits at the Central Washington Fair, playing trumpet for the community band, and singing in the church choir. He also enjoyed mountaineering beginning in the 1960’s, which included serving as a leader for church-sponsored backcountry hikes. Duward was able to celebrate his 90th birthday at a large gathering in Yakima.

Duward passed away of old age in 2025, one month shy of his 97th birthday at Bishop Place in Pullman. He will be inurned adjacent to Carolyn, who preceded him in death, at Fairmount Memorial Park in Spokane on his 97th birthday. In lieu of flowers, remembrance donations can be directed to the Yakima Area Arboretum.