Lawrence James Literal

January 12, 1925 - September 11, 2012

Lawrence was born in the farm country of Dayton, Washington to Lester and Cecelia Hanson Literal. His mother died when he was just 5 years old, so his paternal grandparents and two uncles, who were immigrants from Sweden, helped raise him. As expected, Lawrence was given the nickname of "Swede", and was known by that for many years. As a young man, he worked on the family farm, and enjoyed hunting and exploring the hills of Eastern Washington. He attended school in Dayton, and graduated with the class of 1943.

Soon after graduation, he was inducted into the US Army, and after basic training in Camp Roberts, California, he was shipped out to England in preparation for D-Day. While in England, "Swede" (as he was known in his army days), borrowed his Sergeant's bicycle for a trip into town, but forgot that "The Limies drove on the wrong side of the road!" and collided with another bicycle, breaking his shoulder. After it healed, he served as a forward observer radio operator with the 945th Field Artillery of the 3rd Army under General Patton. Later, while in Paris, he was in a Jeep accident and broke his shoulder again. After being transported to the hospital, much to his surprise, he ended up having the same "mean nurse" that had previously treated him in England! He then served throughout the European theater during and after WWII, and returned home to Dayton in 1946.

After returning home, he married Elveta Bushong on August 18, 1948 at the Church of Christ in Walla Walla. They recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary. They welcomed a daughter, Laneta, in 1949.

Lawrence was employed at the Columbia County Farm Bureau in Dayton, and also was a Deputy Tax Assessor for Columbia County. In 1958, he moved to Sequim to assume the General Manager position at the Clallam County Cooperative Association. Over the next 25 years, he brought the Clallam Co-op out of debt and into profitability, while supporting many local farms on the Olympic Peninsula. He also earned trips to Japan and Hawaii for accomplishing farm equipment sales records.

After retiring in 1983, Lawrence and Elveta enjoyed traveling to New Zealand and spending many winters in Arizona. He also enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing, clam digging, huckleberry picking, and traveling to many destinations in the RV.

He is survived by his wife Elveta; daughter Laneta Jean Dafoe (Dan) of Port Angeles; grandsons Chris (Lori) Dafoe of Port Orchard, Cary (Jamie) Dafoe of Boise, ID, and Mike (Delania) Dafoe of Poulsbo; great-granddaughters Natalie, Phoebe, and Maizie; a great-grandson due in 4 weeks; a sister, Lorraine (Harry) Rainwater of Longview, WA; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother Kennard Literal; and sisters Helen Kinder, Bernice McCauley, and Marjorie Budig.

He was a member of the Port Angeles Church of Christ and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

A graveside service was held at Mount Angeles Memorial Park on Monday September 17th. Donations may be made to the Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.