David Dave G. Rapelje

David Gerald Rapelje(Age 62)Born February 28, 1948 in Toppenish, WA. After a very short and brave battle with lung cancer, Dave went peacefully to be with his Lord and Savior. Dave is survived by his wife of 40 ½ years, Lyla; parents, Duane and Edna Rapelje; two children, Adam & wife Amy, daughter, Diana & husband Nathan Beach; grandchildren, Ella, Rosie, Hallie, Hazel, & Westin; brothers, Don & wife Susie, Pete & wife Michele, nieces & nephews, Matt, Isaac, Rachel, Jenny, Jonathon, Ashley, Connor, numerous relatives & friends.Dave grew up on many military bases throughout the U.S. as his adoptive dad proudly served the Air Force. His family lived in California, Florida, Washington, South Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, & Idaho. Because of the constant transfers, Dave learned how to make friends quickly & be the entertainer. He and his brothers, Don & Pete, were very competitive with their fishing skills. Dave learned quickly where the best spots were for fishing & what bait to use. He thrived in the outdoors & in the mountains where he became a proficient fisherman & hunter. Graduating from Widefield H. S. in Colorado Springs, CO, he joined the U.S. Navy at 18 and was assigned to the U.S.S. Princeton, LPH 5, during the Vietnam War. He attained the rank of E5 in record speed. Dave, his two brothers and Dad served in the Navy, Air Force, Army, & Marines at the same time. Dave was a talented artist whose logo was chosen for the Apollo 10. In 1968, he met his wife, Lyla & married on June 27, 1970. Dave attended colleges in Santa Monica & Sacramento, CA. He started his working career as a salesman and continued in sales because of his wit & gift of gab. He became partners in the sporting goods store, Wild Sports, in Sacramento. In 1983, the Lord found Dave and encouraged him to move his family to Spokane, WA. He then purchased a wholesale bait business, naming it “Mr. Bait”, from Greg McCowan who later became his best friend & hunting buddy. Buying Mr. Bait allowed Dave to develop strong relationships with family & friends. Because of his leadership & people skills, Dave entertained his fishing & hunting buddies constantly. He was actively involved in the Spokane Bird Dog Association & NAHRA. Learning how to train his hunting dogs Teak & Sage was a real challenge but rewarding as he hunted pheasants, ducks, geese, grouse, turkeys, deer, wild boar, & elk. He was a co-owner of a house in Hecela, SD where he went annually to hunt, cook, guide, & entertain his buddies. He was sorely missed this year during the pheasant hunt but was kept up-to-date with the hunting expeditions by phone. Dave was especially proud of his two children, Adam & Diana. Both graduated from Northwest Christian where he supported their pursuits in basketball & cheerleading. One of the proudest moments was when Adam was part of the winning State B Basketball Tournament in 1994. Dave was also proud of his children’s diplomas from WSU & their chosen mates Amy & Nate. His 5 grandbabies will always love their dear PAPA! Dave was the ultimate family man-------both as dad, uncle, & grandpa. He was the family Patriarch who arranged reunions & documented family weddings & events with wonderful videos & pictures put to music. The family would like to send a special thank you to the ENTIRE staff of Holy Family Hospital who was so supportive and caring. Words of gratitude especially go to Dr. Tommy Le of Group Health & Dr. Tiffany Hanf of Holy Family. A celebration of Dave’s life will be held at Ball and Dodd this Friday at 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, www.give.ccci.org, account #0513323 ( This is a corrected web address).