Gayle Stockdale

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, October 9, 2002

Former Enterprise and Clarkston, Wash., resident, Gayle Stockdale, passed away of natural causes at age 83 on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2002 at St. Peter’s Providence Hospital in Olympia, Wash.

Gayle was born Sept. 25, 1919, in Mt. Vernon to Alva and Anna Stockdale. The family moved to Enterprise in 1932 and purchased the Vista Theater. Gayle attended The New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, N.M., for six years, completing high school and two years of college. He enrolled in pre-vet medicine at OSU in Corvallis in the fall of 1940. His veterinary medicine education was cut short with the onset of WWII.

Gayle reported to Officer Candidate School at Ft. Knox in December of 1940 and on completion of training was assigned to the 752nd Tank Battalion, 3rd Platoon, Co. B as a lieutenant. His company shipped out of Ft. Lewis, Wash., in April of 1942 to England and then to North Africa. The 752nd moved to Italy in April, 1943 and became one of the most highly decorated tank divisions of WWII. Gayle received a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts in service to his country, and earned battlefield commissions to captain and then major by the end of his distinguished military career.

Gayle returned to Enterprise after the war and married Ina Bernice Poulson on May 1, 1947. The couple embarked on a lifelong career of horse training and riding instruction. They moved to Clarkston, Wash., in 1958 and established Stockdale Training. Their work with youth and horses through 4H and riding club programs earned them many honors, including Horseman of the Year by the Washington State Horse Council. The couple semi-retired and move to the Olympia, Wash., in 1985 where they continued to be involved with teaching and training.

Gayle was a patient teacher, an exceptional horseman, a loyal friend, devoted husband, and loving father and grandfather. He will be missed by all who knew him. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Gayle and Ina Stockdale Memorial 4H Scholarship Fund at the Asotin Co. Extension Office in Asotin, Wash.

Gayle was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Ina; son, Dorsey McClellan Stockdale; parents, Alva and Anna Stockdale; brother, Oid Stockdale; and two infant granddaughters, Simone and Jessica Johnson.

He is survived by three daughters, Judy Bothum of Joseph, Gay Stockdale of Canby, Tracey Stockdale, Rochester, Wash.; son, Twain Stockdale, Shandon, Calif.; 10 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Merchant Funeral Home, Clarkston, Wash. Visitation will be held Friday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston. Services will be held Saturday, Oct. 12, at 2 p.m. at the Christian Church in Enterprise, followed by interment at the Enterprise Cemetery.