Kenneth
Dale Gee passed away peacefully in his sleep on
Sunday, November 27, 2016, at his daughter
Shannon’s home in Spokane. He was 63. At Ken’s
request, there will be no service or memorial.
Friends and family are encouraged to gather
informally and share a memory or two of Ken.Born to William (Bill) and Lois Gee on December 17, 1952, in Whitefish, Montana, Ken became little brother to Bill, who was two at the time. The happy family created many memories living in Summit, Montana, and in Bonners Ferry as Dad worked on the Great Northern Railroad and Mom worked hard in the home.
The family moved to Sandpoint in 1960, where Dad continued his railroad career and another brother, Russ, was born in 1962. Ken enjoyed growing up in Sandpoint as well as camping and fishing and hunting in the Selkirks. He loved outdoor activities.
Ken wrestled for the Sandpoint Bulldogs and graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1971. After high school he worked at the Selkirk Cedar Mill in Naples, where his right arm was crushed in an accident and eventually had to be amputated. Ken recuperated and resumed hunting soon afterward, using a right-handed bolt action to harvest a deer.
Ken could do anything with one arm, including hunt, fish, drive a stick shift, and shark-up at pool without using a bridge. He had a real “can-do” spirit and devised his own ways to cope, shunning the use of a prosthetic arm, saying, “the damn thing just gets in my way.”
He married Beverly Walkley in 1974, and they had two daughters, Shannon and Breanna. They later divorced, but Ken always supported and stayed close with his daughters and his grandkids.
Ken was always a great cook. After his accident he attended Culinary School at Idaho State University in Pocatello, where he graduated in 1975. Ken worked for a short time in the food service industry, but his love of the outdoors eventually led him back to North Idaho, where he began a career as a log-scaler. Over the years Ken scaled logs for several mills in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
All who knew Ken have multiple memories and colorful stories of camping, hunting, fishing and just hanging out with him, maybe even over an adult beverage or three. These memories keep him close to our hearts. He could be stubborn but had a kind heart and was a generous man who thought of the needs of others.
Ken was preceded in death by his parents and by Bev, the mother of his children.
He is survived by his brothers Bill (Peggy) of Newport, Washington, and Russ (Jian) of Lewiston, daughters Shannon Gee and Breanna Ramsey, both of Spokane, and grandchildren Alyssa Capato, Jaedan Gee, Mikayla Ramsey, Bryson Ramsey and Aubrey Lofton, niece Katie (Derek) Bynagle of Homer, Alaska, and their children Johannes, Etta, and Mathilde, and nephew Jeramy Gee of Tacoma, Washington.