Reservation Offices Close Friday In Memory Of Tribal Councilman

Offices on the Colville Indian Reservation will be closed Friday in memory of longtime tribal councilman Dale Kohler.

“He was an inspiration to his fellow council members and a devoted servant to the members of the Colville Tribes,” said Council Chairman Joe Pakootas.

Kohler, 59, died Monday. He represented the Omak district on the council for almost 22 years. Although he suffered a lengthy illness, Kohler participated in council meetings by telephone as recently as last month. He planned to step down in July when his current term ends.

He practiced law in Omak, where he lived.

“There’s a lot of knowledge that went with him,” said Mathew Dick Jr., a colleague on the 14-member council.

Dick said Kohler spent the past few years working on a history book about the various Colville tribal bands.

“It’s something he will be remembered for for a long time,” Dick said.

Kohler was born in Colville in 1938 and grew up on a ranch at Inchelium, on the eastern edge of the reservation. His brother, Gary, a Ferry County commissioner, still raises cattle at the family homestead.

Dale Kohler was a member of the federal, state and tribal bar associations. He earned his law degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane after graduating from Whitworth College.

Survivors include his wife, Betty, and three children: Autumn, Perry and Jackie.

A rosary will be recited tonight at 7 at the East Omak Community Center in Omak. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the St. Mary’s Mission, on the campus of the tribes’ Paschal Sherman Indian School near Omak.

Burial will follow at the Hall Creek Cemetery in Inchelium.

The family said memorial contributions may be made to the Ronald McDonald House in Seattle.

, DataTimes MEMO: Cut in Spokane edition