Joseph Donald Coombs

Jan. 27, 1937 – Feb. 9, 2022

Joseph Donald Coombs was born Jan. 27, 1937, to Donald and Evelyn (Talkington) Coombs. He and his younger sister Susan (Els) became the fourth generation to be raised on the family wheat farm near Harrington, Wash. Joseph passed away Feb. 9, 2022 at the Palouse Country Assisted Living in Fairfield, Wash.

Joe graduated from Harrington High School in 1955 where he played basketball and football before going on to Washington State University (WSC at that time). While there, one of Joe’s Delta Chi fraternity brothers introduced Joe to Ann Faulkner. Joe and Ann married in 1959.

Joe graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture.

Joe served in the Air Force after graduating. He was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force base in Calif. and became a launch officer for the Minuteman ICBM missile program. That meant during a time of national alert, like during the Cuban missile crisis, Joe and the rest of his crew were locked underground into the launch command center to await their launch orders. Because of their isolation, and the military’s sense of “need-to-know”, he later commented that his wife, Ann, knew more about what was going on than he did during the crisis. During his Air Force years, Joe’s son, Craig, was born in 1960 and his daughter, Cheryl, was born in 1963. Joe was honorably discharged from the Air Force as a first Lieutenant and a Vietnam veteran after 4 years of service.

Joe joined the Trust Department at the Seattle First National Bank, administering bank-held farmland. His adept management of those farms, along with his savviness for knowing how to get the best price for a crop, allowed Joe to quickly rise through the ranks and became one of the youngest assistant vice-presidents of the bank.

After a 15-year career as a Trust Agronomist at the bank, he started his own business as an agronomist specializing in rural appraisal, typically working as an insurance claims adjustor.

For nine years during his retirement, Joe was a representative of the northeast tier of Washington on the State Noxious Weed Control Board. He was also a member of the Spokane County NWCB.

Joe and Ann divorced in 1989. But later, Joe found love again with Marlene Peters. They settled in Spangle, Wash. where Joe enjoyed growing a huge garden of vegetables and fruit which he proudly shared.

Shortly after Marlene’s death in 2018, Joe moved to Palouse Country Assisted Living in Fairfield. Joe died on Feb. 9, 2022, after a year’s

long fight against cancer.

Joe is survived by his son and daughter, three grandsons: Nathaniel, Nicholas, and Colten and three great-grandchildren: Hudson, Grant, and Tabitha.

A memorial service is scheduled for 1 pm on Friday, Feb. 25th, at the Strate Funeral Home in Davenport, Wash.