Wallowa County native Glen E. Musty, 92, died peacefully at his home in Milton-Freewater after a battle with cancer.

He was born to Nick and Cora Musty on the family homestead in Imnaha, the youngest of eight children.

His early years and education were spent in eastern Oregon, during which time he developed a lifelong love of the Imnaha area, the Snake River, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and all of Wallowa County. He came to know every backroad, ridge, and trail and was a proud Wallowa County native and the grandson of Oregon Trail pioneers who settled in Wallowa County.

The family moved to Santa Clara, Calif., in the 1930s to find work.

Mr. Musty ultimately returned to Wallowa County with his family and started a sheep ranch with three of his brothers in the Paradise area. He later entertained his children and grandchildren with stories of his and his brothers adventures during the time they operated the ranch out North.

When World War II came, he and two of his brothers enlisted in the Army while one brother stayed home to mind the ranch. Mr. Musty was trained as a mechanic and was stationed in England and France.

After the war, Mr. Musty returned home to Enterprise on Christmas Day.

The ranch had been sold during the war and Mr. Musty left Wallowa County to work in road construction in southern Idaho and Nevada. This is where he met his wife of 34 years, Audrey Lamb. The couple wasd married Dec. 13, 1948.

Tthe couple returned to Enterprise to raise four daughters. During this time, he worked for Wallowa County Grain Growers.

Mr. Musty and his family left Enterprise in 1959 and settled in the Willamette Valley, where he worked for Wah-Chang as a mechanic and welder until his retirement in 1979.

The family then returned to Enterprise and lived on the family property on Fish Hatchery Lane, where he enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, taking long drives exploring the countryside, cutting firewood and woodworking in his shop.

Family members recall that there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fix or that he wasn’t able to fabricate. Mr. Musty enjoyed having a homestead in Enterprise with enough acreage to plant a garden and have a few animals, and loved being back in his beloved Wallowa Valley.

In 1985, he started the first of his traveling adventures, going to Australia and New Zealand every winter for seven years. He drove the Alaska Highway twice and traveled all over Alaska.

He began wintering in Arizona and made many friends and acquaintances in the parks where he would camp. He explored the entire state, but especially enjoyed rock-hounding in the desert. In summer 2009, he moved back to eastern Oregon and spent his final summer in the mountains he loved, going for drives and cutting firewood with a friend.

Family members recall Mr. Musty as a wonderful person and testify that they have never met anyone who didn’t like him.

Mr. Musty was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Frances, James, Clifford and Ray; sisters Molly, Milly and Margaret; wife Audrey; daughters Patty Guthrie and Linda Huckaby; and granddaughter Amanda Jones.

He is survived by daughters Nikki Burlile of Spokane, Anne Jones of Milwaukee and Jamaille Noto of Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho; 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and four great-great grandchildren.

At Mr. Musty’s request, there will be no services. His final wish was to have his ashes spread in a special place on the Imnaha River, an area he loved.

Memorial gifts may be made to Walla Walla Hospice.