WVSD icon Rocky McQueen retires

From his very first day of kindergarten at the old Pasadena Elementary at Upriver and Argonne, Rocky McQueen has been firmly tied to the West Valley School District.

Now, however, after more than 30 years working for the district, the ties have been cut and McQueen is drifting – right down the river into a good fishing hole.

“You always have your ups and downs,” he said. “It was all fun.”

McQueen knows the district like he knows his favorite fishing spot. He knows where the pipes are, where the electrical systems are, all the details a man learns after spending three decades fixing whatever might break.

He grew up in West Valley, graduating from high school in 1976. He got an associate’s degree in diesel heavy-equipment repair at Spokane Community College while working at the Millwood 66 gas station at Argonne Road and Trent Avenue. He tried stints at McCollum Ford and the Sheriff’s Office, but always found himself back at the gas station.

At the time, McQueen’s parents owned a commercial fishing boat. The family had started fishing together in 1968. He had spent summers working on the boat, which his father took out from April to September. “I decided to take a couple months on the boat,” he said.

During one trip back to port, there was a message waiting for him from one of his hunting buddies who was also the son of a West Valley board member. The district’s mechanic had quit in the middle of a bus inspection. “They had a bunch of problems and they needed some help with their buses,” he said. “They were really hurting.”

McQueen slipped back into the district like he’d never left. “I knew all the teachers,” he said. “I was home. It really wasn’t strange at all to go back.”

He was a mechanic for five years before becoming the lead mechanic for 10 years. “In a small school district like that you do all kinds of jobs. I unloaded freight, I drove a school bus. I always wanted to make sure it got done.”

When Dave Smith was hired as superintendent in 1989 he created a grounds department. McQueen moved to the new department to take care of the lawn mowers and trucks. “I just kept doing my thing,” he said.

One of the last large projects he worked on was the new high school. When the building was just lines on paper he went over the design and suggested changes to make pipes and wiring more accessible for repairs. “He did a great job doing that,” said Smith, now director of construction. “He worked with me going through especially the infrastructure – sewer lines, water lines, sprinklers. He made a lot of nice comments that allowed us to save some money and make it better. I think we have a better building for it.”

Over the years Smith and McQueen took several fishing trips together. “One time he was the only one to catch a fish,” Smith said. “He gave it to me and I went to wash it and dropped it in the lake.”

McQueen’s job even helped him connect with his wife, Sandy. Their families had known each other for years, but when she took a job mowing lawns for the district, something just clicked. “I don’t know how,” he said. “Somehow mowing lawns blossomed into a 20-year marriage.”

By the time McQueen retired in February, he was director of maintenance. Only 52, McQueen retired early to take care of his ailing parents. He acknowledges he was under a lot of stress before he made the decision.

“He wasn’t smiling anymore,” said his wife.

His father died only a few weeks ago, but his mother is still doing well. He visits her regularly and helps out with mowing the lawn and doing laundry. “I love it,” he said. “I’m having fun. I’m going fishing. I joined a golf league on Thursdays.”

While McQueen is hitting the lakes looking for the next bite, Smith is missing a hard worker who always made sure the job was done right. “He’s a good man,” Smith said. “He loved West Valley School District and he gave it his all. We miss him.”