Chester "Chet" W. Cusic

Chester W Cusic... nicknamed and forever after "Chet" by his wife Elaine of 57 years on their first date...was born "on the 80" on the farm in Jewel County, Kansas, about 4 miles from the nearest town of Montrose, on May 21, 1941, to Hugh and Agnes Cusic.

His childhood was full of stories he loved to tell of him and his older brother Fred: the neighbor who FINALLY got revenge on local kids…who annually pushed over his outhouse every Halloween when he hung it slightly over the hole...that year’s push turned into a step into the hole, and they never did it again; the jumping snake; purple Fred hill; and catching farm geese, tucking their heads and rocking them to sleep.

He would walk country roads to Monroe Methodist Church where his parents actively attended. At a camp retreat, he "acknowledged Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior." From 1982, he made Arlington Assembly of God his home church where he loved to worship and served many terms as deacon and ushered until last year.

Chet was one of the first from his farming community to go to university and graduated from Kansas State University planning to be a university math professor, but having taken an elective class in computer sciences, he instead launched into a 43-year career with Boeing in 1964, as a systems analyst. He wrote computer languages as a creative for Boeing job systems and even worked on secret stuff when Boeing had a Defense Division for the military involving submarines and short-range attack missiles. He started when The Computer took up an entire room, and until he retired in 2007, people still stopped by his desk to check out the keycard to The Computer.

Only once did Chet receive a Boeing pink slip in his early years at Boeing Wichita. Two weeks before it became official, his boss asked if he would consider moving to Boeing Seattle on temporary loan out. He never moved back.

He married his sweetheart, Elaine K Waun, in Snover, Michigan on August 10, 1968. Beginning in Seattle, they raised two daughters, Kara and Krista, and moved to Arlington, WA in 1982, where they put down roots and built a home and small farm with horses, cows, ducks, dogs, and cats on 5 acres in the foothills, in view of Three Fingers.

Chet loved God, his family, puzzles, to create and build with his hands...solving most carpenter challenges with a trip to Habitat for Humanity and Skagit Salvage where his puzzle/detail mind would go to work. He was faithful, consistent, and a servant behind the scenes . . . visiting people, mowing their lawns, doing yardwork, fixing things, sitting with them. If he knew how he could help, he was all in. And he joined too many international mission trips to list.

After "retirement," he and mom helped Krista start Krista's petSpaw and ran the books for years...where he also doubled as handyman . . . and showed up as Grandpa and Great Grandpa to her kids and grands. He had the best yard around with the best berry bushes and fruit trees. He traveled to Siberia to “problem solve” Kara's mouse problem and other remodel needs . . . and even preached in a couple Siberian churches when asked because, in Slavic churches, deacons preach. He visited and served everywhere Kara lived from Latvia, Siberia, and SE Asia; except Finland.

For their 50th anniversary in 2018, he fulfilled a lifelong dream to see Israel.

Chet is preceded in passing by his parents and his brother, Fred Cusic, and he is very much loved still by his surviving family - his wife and daughters, three granddaughters - Brianna, Danielle and Samantha, as well as four great granddaughters and finally one great grandson!

Kara writes:

“At 8.31 am on Thursday, January 15th, my dad saw the face of God for the first time. His breath again settled, and he went peacefully to these incredible words ...

‘I breathe You in,

I breathe You in

Come fill me, Holy Spirit

with Your mighty rushing wind;

I breathe You in,

I breathe You in;

When You come all of a sudden, I am strong again’

(from ‘All of a Sudden’ by Elevation Music)

And suddenly he is strong again in the presence of Jesus with an entire cloud of witnesses. It was beautiful and peaceful to witness. I am amazed. Dad, you did good!”

Krista writes:

"...our dad drifted up to God this morning.. and his first sunset in heaven was beyond my expectation. Black outline of the Olympics. Bright peach just above fading to pale green and then blue, darker and darker.. and I just know he's bursting with _LIFE_I feel peace."

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Mission Aviation Training Academy Scholarship Fund in Arlington https://mata.kindful.com/?campaign=283260