Obituary: Poler, Walter O.
His family moved to Otis Orchards when he was a teenager, and he worked with relatives on a dairy farm.
After his father died, he worked for White Pine Sash where he met Alice (Mellem).
Before they married, in June 1943, Walt worked in Newport as a logger.
World War II took him to Japan in September 1943, where he cooked for military personnel in the U.S. Army.
After being discharged, he and Alice moved to Trentwood where they had 4 children.
In 1958, they purchased their farm in Otis Orchards that he had worked on in past years.
Walt was a hard worker on the farm; as well as, at his job with Inland Empire Paper Company where he retired after 32 years.
Being empty nesters, and into their retirement years, they started soaking up the sun in Hawaii during the cold winter months before and after the move in 1990 to the Spokane Valley.
Walt’s passions were family and friends, their land and animals he cared for, and outdoor activities like hunting and fishing.
Walt was preceded in death by all his siblings and his wife (Alice) of 61 years, in 2004.
He is survived by daughter Carolyn Hughes (Dale); son, James Poler; son, Murray Poler (Valaire); and daughter, Luann Poler (Morris Chase); 4 grandchildren and 7 great-grand- children all in the area.
A service for Walt will be held at Pines Mausoleum, 1402 S. Pines Rd., on Saturday, June 1, 2013, at 10:30 am followed by a graveside gathering with military honors.
Arrangements entrusted to Thornhill Valley.