Loon Lake Community Activist Biddle Dies

Delwyn Glenn Biddle, who spent a lifetime bringing fish and fishermen to Loon Lake, Wash., died after a long illness Sunday.

Biddle, 79, resided virtually his entire life at Granite Point Park, the Loon Lake resort his father had assumed in 1921.

After piloting Air Force B-17s during World War II, marrying Betty Garke in 1945, and graduating from Gonzaga University’s law school, Biddle settled even deeper into his resort and favorite fishing hole.

He was a pillar of community involvement in Stevens County, especially in matters dealing with issues that affected water quality.

“He developed a sewer system for his resort before many people in this region thought that was necessary around lakes,” said Don Ostlund of Spokane, a part-time Loon Lake resident who knew Biddle for 50 years.

Long before the state of Washington began controlling fish hatcheries, Biddle worked to raise fish for stocking in Loon and Deer lakes during the period when fish were hauled around in 5-gallon milk buckets.

Betty Biddle said, “Glenn would fish in the bathtub if he thought they would come through the drain.”

Ostlund said Biddle was picky when it came to eating fish.

“He released most of them, but when it came to eating, he preferred those from Loon Lake,” Ostlund said. “I couldn’t get him to touch a fish from Long Lake.”

However, during a chemotherapy period of Biddle’s illness, he was having trouble eating, Ostlund said.

“One of the things he could keep down was fish,” he said. “So I went out and caught him some crappie and largemouth bass. When I brought the fillets, the first thing he asked was where I caught them. I said Long Lake and he said, `What the heck, that’s the least of my problems now.”’ Biddle was active in Spokane and Stevens county sportsmen’s associations and was one of the founders of the Eastern Washington Resort Association and Loon Lake Property Owners Association.

His daughters, Nancy Jo Shallbetter Rogg and Linda Fay Biddle Haley along with son-in-law Joe Haley, continue to operate Granite Point Park.

Arrangements for a June 1 memorial service are pending, family members said Tuesday.