Gerrald Arlen Wassom passed away from a massive stroke Jan. 3 at St. Charles Hospital in Bend.

Gerrald was born June 23, 1938, in Albany. After working in rye grass fields and in the woods of Northern California, he moved to Yoncalla, where he met Barbara Clark. The two were married in August 1960. Gerrald worked at Wooley Logging Company in Drain before moving to Springfield, where he felled timber for Weyerhaeuser for 24 years, retiring in 1986. While in Springfield, Gerrald and Barbara had their only child, Ron. In 1989, Gerrald and Barbara built their home in Sisters, often working 16 or more hours a day, going from bare land to completion in four months, doing nearly all the work themselves. In 2017, the couple moved to Hines to be closer to the rest of their family.

Gerrald was an avid outdoorsman, feeling much more at home on the steep slopes of Western Oregon and the forests of Eastern Oregon than the areas he often lived. At times, he commercial fished on weekends and vacations, spent entire archery seasons hunting elk outside of Burns, and reminisced about sheep and antelope hunts in his later years.

Gerrald is survived by his wife of 58 years, Barbara; son, Ron and daughter-in-law, Kathy, all of Hines; granddaughter, Natalie and husband, Josh Paul, and great-granddaughter, Zoey of Burns; brother, Clyde of Canby; nephews, David, Gordon, and Kenneth Wassom; and nieces, Janet Lundsten and Nonda Lewis.

Gerrald was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Gary Wassom.

Contributions in Gerrald’s name may be made to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital or St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

The family will hold a private memorial later this spring.