Lewis Warren Ehlers

Lewis Warren Ehlers went home to be with the Lord on July 25, 2019, at Cottage in the Meadow in Yakima, surrounded by his wife and family. Louie was born October 13, 1925 to Walter D. and Bessie G. (Carmack) Ehlers. He is survived by his wife of 21 years, Pat Ehlers of Yakima; his twin brother Leonard Ehlers of Ellensburg; stepchildren Mark Cleary (Leasia), Kelley Kinzel, and David Cleary (Jennifer); 8 step grandchildren and 3 step great-grandchildren.

Louie was preceded in death by his father Walter D. Ehlers; mother Bessie G. Ehlers and wife Catherine J. (Kay) Ehlers.

He was drafted into the Army while in his late 20s, served a tour of duty in Germany, came home and went back to work at Lynch Motor Co. where he became their transmission specialist, working there for nearly 40 years until he retired. He and his brother Len were known as the Ehlers twins who loved cars, particularly fast ones; Louie drove their race cars and Len was the mechanic.

They raced at the Yakima speedway, and on tracks in Seattle and Portland, where they won a few trophies and a little money for their efforts. Eventually racing became too expensive and time-consuming so they moved on to other ventures. For Louie, it was taking the Jeep and motor home to Utah to find new trails to climb in the red rock country.

Pat and Louie married in 1998, and honeymooned in Moab, UT. Louie took his new wife on her first Jeep run and she loved it – many vacations were spent Jeeping in the red rock country.

Louie had a deep abiding love for the Lord, which grew even deeper as time passed and he grew older. He attended Stone Church until he was no longer physically able to leave the house. He had a great attitude, saying he’d had a really good life with no regrets.

As his wife, perhaps I’m prejudiced, but he was a true gentleman from the old school. He kept his word, never showed anger or bragged about anything. He was a humble honorable man who had a wry wit that could show up at any time. He lived by a strong moral code that my family and I so respect. I cannot imagine life without him.

At his request, there will be no formal services for him. A private family gathering will occur in the near future.