Roy A. Kayler

Roy A. Kayler, 81, of Anacortes, died on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 at Island Hospital in Anacortes.

He was born on Sept. 25, 1925 in Winchester, Idaho, the son of Roy and Lena (Snyder) Kayler. Roy attended grade school in Winchester until the depression during which time the family moved to Moscow, Idaho where he graduated from High School. After graduation Roy joined the U.S. Navy and served as a sonar operator aboard the USS Smalley during WW II in the Aleutian Chain, the Kurile Islands and the South Pacific. At the end of the war he moved back to Moscow where he and a high school friend started a sawmill and home construction business.

In 1954 he moved to Moses Lake and operated a feedlot named the Short Ranch until 1972. Roy was named Washington Cattle Feeder of the year in 1959 and was also a charter member of the Moses Lake Country Club and the Moses Lake B.P.O.E. The family moved to Anacortes in 1972 and he became a commercial fisherman in Alaska during the fishing season aboard his troller Argo. During the off season he continued to be a builder and built everything from benches to trebuchet in his shop where he enjoyed any company that would gather around him. Over a period of thirty plus years Roy canoed from the 26th parallel in Florida to the 61st parallel in Alaska and the Northwest Territory, including Great Slave Lake, the upper Missouri, Peace and McKenzie rivers. While living in Anacortes, he was a member of the United Methodist Church. At his core was his love for and interest in people, with whom he shared his humor and curiosity. He cherished his family and friends, and was a surrogate grandfather to many in Moses Lake and Anacortes as well as being a purveyor of sage advice to many. Roy used his conversations and questions to make us think beyond conventional wisdom, theory and practice. He is missed, but his legacy of laughter and love survives. Roy is survived by his wife, Audrey, at the family home in Anacortes; three sons and daughters-in-law, Brian and Donna Kayler of Wenatchee, Rex and Deborah Lytle of Naches, and Wayne and Jennifer Lytle of Anacortes; grandchildren, Keith and Jeff Kayler of Wenatchee, Jason and wife Amanda Antijunti and children of Yakima, Patty and husband Jeremy Ramirez and children of Yakima, Jordan, Stuart, Lauren and Matthew Lytle of Anacortes and CPO Luke and wife Karla Cutburth and son of San Francisco, Calif.

Memorials may be given to Friends of the Forest or UMCORE Children's Fund c/o United Methodist Church, 2201 H Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, at the United Methodist Church of Anacortes. Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc. of Anacortes. To share memories of Roy, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel.com.