Businessman Senske remembered as a pioneer

Businessman William (Bill) Senske loved Spokane and was able to make the city more beautiful in his lifetime, said his daughter, Susan Senske O’Neill.

Senske and his wife, Elizabeth, started a lawn-spraying business after he returned from service in the Army Chemical Corps in World War II. His experience in the war gave him knowledge of the chemicals he would use in his future company, Senske Lawn and Tree Care.

O’Neill said it was the first business of its kind in the city.

Senske died on May 25.

Bill Senske’s first employee, Ken Gibson, 78, said he remembered Senske as being tough but fair. Gibson was hired in 1948 while the business was still growing.

“He taught me how to work,” Gibson said.

The business is now run by Bill’s son, Chris Senske, and offers services including lawn care, pest control and holiday lighting.Another son, Mike Senske, said his father was proud to have relieved the city of roughly 6,000 pigeons and a rodent infestation in the mid- to late 1950s. The elder Senske approached the extermination methodically, using his skills as an engineer to effectively rid the city of the pigeons and rats.

“Spokane was literally pigeon-free at that point,” Mike Senske said. “Now, almost 50 years later, the pigeon population is starting to develop, but the project that he did would never be allowed today.”

The project involved Bill Senske enlisting the help of the police to notify transients not to eat pigeons during that time because of the strength of the chemicals he used in the pigeon bait. Senske also hired off-duty health officers to pick up the remains.

Mike Senske said he believes his father’s one regret was not having his pest-control methods patented.

Although early competitors to the business had worked for Bill Senske directly, Mike Senske said in the last 20 years new competitors have sprouted.

“We look to them as a company we would one day be in the same ballpark as,” said Jesse Sonneland, owner of J&T’s Lawn Care.

Chris Senske took over the business in the early 1980s, a few years after his father had surgery.

“He was anxious (about retiring), and I was ready,” Chris Senske said.

Bill Senske, who family members said enjoyed working, kept busy in retirement with various activities, including a new business that sold dollhouses and miniatures. He worked there with his wife, Elizabeth Senske, for several years. Elizabeth Senske died last August.Bill Senske was also active with the East Spokane Kiwanis, the National Pest Control Association and more recently the Southside Senior Activity Center.

“I feel fortunate he lived to be 93,” said Mike Senske.Bill Senske is survived by his five adult children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.