Clyde O. DIMMICK Clyde O. Dimmick died on November 27, 2010, at Sunrise Haven, Kent, at the age of 84. Memorial services will be held at Beck’s Funeral Home, 405 Fifth Avenue South, Edmonds, at 9:00AM on Saturday, December 4. Clyde was born in Newport, Washington, to Gerald O. and Alice Hawley Dimmick. He later moved to Similk Beach and Anacortes, where he attended Anacortes High School. In 1944, Clyde left high school to enlist in the U.S. Army, training as a gunner in B-17 and B-29 bombers. Graduating from gunnery school shortly after V-E Day, he was deployed to Germany in 1945 where he served as a procurement and contracting agent for the U.S. Army Air Forces at Erding Air Depot, near Munich. He received his honorable discharge from the Army in 1946, but continued working in the same capacity as a civilian employee until 1949. He then returned to Anacortes, attending Skagit Valley Junior College. During this time, Clyde purchased a commercial fishing boat, working as a salmon gillnetter in the summers, beginning a life-long love of fishing. He attended Principia College, Elsah, Illinois, earning his B.A. in Economics in 1955. In 1955, Clyde began working for Shell Oil Company at the Anacortes Refinery, where he met and then married Evelyn O. Mohr. In 1956, the Northwest Fur Breeders Cooperative, in Edmonds, hired Clyde as their manager. During his nearly 17 years as manager, the Fur Breeders expanded from one plant to six plants in Washington and Oregon, becoming the largest fur-animal food cooperative in the U.S. In addition, Clyde helped the Fur Breeders acquire a supplier, Astoria Fish Factors, for which he served as President. Leaving the Fur Breeders in 1973, Clyde served as a consultant for several fish companies, but soon returned to salmon gillnetting. At first, he fished in the Puget Sound area, but eventually fished exclusively in Alaska (Bristol Bay and southeastern) until his retirement in 1989. Clyde served as President of the Seattle Chapter of the Puget Sound Gillnetters Association, a member of the Edmonds Rotary Club, and participated on numerous civic and political committees. In 1971, the National Council of Cooperatives selected him to represent Washington State in a goodwill tour, meeting agricultural officials and business people in Europe, including the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany. Clyde was an avid hunter and sports fisherman. He was active in the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Edmonds, chairing and serving on committees, and serving as reader and reading room volunteer. Clyde was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Evelyn Mohr Dimmick, in 2006, and their daughter, Melanie Dimmick, in 1963. He is survived by son, Ross A. Dimmick (Minna) of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and granddaughters Sara McIver Dimmick Visser of Norfolk, Virginia, and Deeanna Holman-Mohr Dimmick of Albuquerque. He is also survived by daughter, Nancy Howell McNeal (Gilbert) of Mt. Vernon, and son, John C. Howell (Aleli) of Anacortes; 9 other grandchildren; and 16 great grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Edmonds, WA. Arrangements: Beck’s Funeral Home, Edmonds, 425-771-1234; share memories with the family atwww.becksfuneralhome.com.
Sara’s Grandfather, Clyde Dimmick, RIP
Published in The Seattle Times on December 1, 2010