JOHN 'JACK' WILLIAM GILBERT

John W. “Jack” Gilbert, of Potlatch

John W. Gilbert, 73, of Potlatch, died Thursday, Dec. 17, 2020, at Miss Dorothy Adult Family Home, of vascular dementia. His memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 15, 2021 at the Princeton Church of the Nazarene. He’s been buried at the Rock Creek Cemetery. 

If you knew my Dad, you can appreciate two of his “Did you know that today in history ….” for May 15: In 1933, all military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military's air arm, the Luftwaffe. And, fittingly, in 1942 in the United States, a bill creating the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was signed into law.

Dad knew many points of trivia about firearms, history, air power, or military actions.

From Dad’s own personal history, he was born with twin brother James “Jim” L. Gilbert on Sept. 9, 1947 in Moscow, to William E. “Bill” and Josephine (Kayler). The family moved to Orofino in 1949 and his parents owned the Gilbert Mortuary in Orofino. 

Many stories of the twin boys playing together -- usually ending up in Jim getting hurt, including a cracked elbow and a concussion -- were shared in Joie’s 80th birthday messages. Jim wrote, “Mom wasn’t too hot on the idea of having her sons buzzing around on a motorcycle, but Grandpa Jim convinced her that having us driving instead of hanging on behind another demented kid was the lesser of evils. So along about June of 1964 Jack and I bought a pair of Yamaha 55 trail bikes with step-through frames, change over rear sprockets, electric starters and bright red paint.” Dad’s own note in the 80th birthday tale shared about his appreciation for Joie’s patience with two teenage drivers of her own more so after he had two adult drivers of his own. 

Speaking of cars, Dad and Jim’s first joint antique car was one they bought with their Dad in 1962, which is a 1931 Model A coupe they restored with help from his mom, Lyle Strottman and friends from Shelley Steiner's Auto Body and the Ford Garage in Orofino. Later he joined Jim and Dixie on their classic car tours in the Model A around the area. The car moved from Idaho to Richland, Wash., in 1975 and still remains in our family with Jim’s son, Richard.

After Grandpa Bill had died, the twins got out of school a few days early their senior year in 1965. They and Grandma Joie flew to the Midwest to bring a brand new hearse back from Blytheville, Arkansas on a memorable road trip. “After all, Mom would be there to slap Jack and me around if we got out of hand,” was how Jim remembered the decision to transport it themselves instead of paying a “drug crazed hired driver.” They all stopped in Columbia, Mo., to visit their cousins Jerry Conley and Janet Kayler Conley, plus stopped the hearse at the Grand Canyon (imagine that for a minute). “We brought cholla cactus, wine, moccasins and assorted other treasures in the back -- hey with a station wagon that big, you don’t have to watch the accumulated volume at all!” They also got to see Jesse James revolvers at the state house in Jefferson City, Mo. If you knew Dad well, you knew the guns were probably a sentimental aspect of that trip.

Dad graduated from Orofino High School in 1965. He participated in the marching band at OHS and in college receiving recognition for his performance.

He attended the University of Idaho and got bachelor degrees in business and later forestry colleges. He worked at Bennett’s Lumber in Princeton for a short while, as a used car salesman in Lewiston, and as a smokejumper for the US Forest Service at Bertha Hill Lookout in the summers of 1966 through 1968. So camping was never a recreational activity for him and the closest we ever came to camping was a cabin in Montana in the early 1990s.

When Dad graduated from school, he then taught school and taught English and Spanish, led a drum beat for the drill team, and drove the bus in Shoshone, Idaho, from 1971 to 1973. Apparently he got a taste of dealing with lively and frustrating girls there as several of his former students recollected. However, it was also there where he gave his life to Jesus Christ with the help of fellow teacher Ed Anderson. So Ed and Dad are now singing hymns, drumming and praising the Lord in first person. You may have heard his preference for old-time hymns out of a printed hymnal, and has requested absolutely no contemporary music for his services. Dad once posted, “I Googled up some of my favorite hymns this morning.  The traditional Hymns, like The Hallelujah Chorus, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, and then. Yes, it's "And Can It Be That I Should Gain."  Click it up, and listen. Believe me, this will bless your heart like few others do. Christ has risen indeed!”

Dad met Patricia L. “Patty” (Headrick) in 1978 and they married on July 14, 1979, making their home in Moscow first and later buying their home in Potlatch. They held a celebration in 2017 with family and friends and had been married for 41 years this summer.

Dad also played the drum for the Border Highlanders in Moscow around the 1980s. 

He enjoyed World War II history, especially related to the B-17s and anything related to my Grandpa Bill’s service. Westerns were some of Dad’s favorite TV shows and movies. He once shared a quote from Sterling Hayden in the western movie “Johnny Guitar” that some men seek power, some riches, but what most men want is a good cup of coffee. Dad had a love for plain, black good coffee. Last but not least, firearms and reloading were definitely Dad’s lifelong passion. He appreciated being a member of the Troy-Deary Gun Club and competing in their shoots. 

He later worked in the UI landscaping maintenance office before he transferred to Washington State University. He moved into Parking and Transportation Services where he could take good care of college vehicles, share great stories about helping students with their vehicle maintenance or on-road snow skiing efforts in between writing tickets as desired.

Dad was preceded in death by his father, William E. Gilbert, and his mother, Josephine Kayler Duff, and stepfather Gene Duff; twin brother James L. “Jim” Gilbert; stepsister Nancy Blewett; brother-in-law John Sweeney; grandparents James and Harriet Benscoter Kayler; and Effie Bundy and Leslie Gilbert; uncles Marion Kayler, John Kayler, Ray Gilbert and aunts Marvell Gilbert Walker and Helen Kayler; nephew Vincent Gilbert.

He is survived by his wife Patty, of their home; daughters Stephanie Herbert (husband Tim) of Lewiston; Carol Clay (husband Eddie) of Woodstock, Ga.; Kellie Atkinson (husband Rob) and and granddaughter Bethany Atkinson of Moscow; mother-in-law Dortha Headrick of Moscow; aunt Beverly Kayler of Orofino; sister in law Dixie Gilbert of Richland, WA; sister-in-law Ruth Headrick Sweeney; brother-in-law Ken Headrick and wife Linda of Newport, Wash.; brother-in-law Jim Headrick of Garfield, Wash.; nieces Christine Green (husband Joel) of Spokane, WA; Judie Walker, of Moscow; Machelle Harris (husband Troy), of Mead, WA; Kendra Mendoza, of Newport, Wash; and nephew Richard Gilbert (wife Charlette), of Kennewick, WA; step-sisters Connie Kneale (husband Rob), Moscow; stepbrother Tom (wife Linda) Blewett, Genesee; and their families. 

Kramer Funeral Home of Palouse, Washington is caring for the family.  Online condolences may be left at www.kramercares.com

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