Richard 'Rick' G. Ames

February 8, 1952 - May 4, 2015

Richard "Rick" G. Ames, 63, of Moses Lake passed away May 4, 2015 at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Wash. surrounded by his loving family.

Rick was born Feb. 8, 1952 in Yakima, Wash. to Eugene and Jean Ames of Wapato, Wash. before moving to Moses Lake, Wash. in 1957. His father moved the family to Moses Lake to farm the Columbia Basin project, which opened up land for veterans. Rick was very involved in 4-H from the age of 9. His primary projects were swine, gardening, and large exhibits in horticulture.

Rick attended school in Moses Lake through high school and graduated from Big Bend Community College, went on to pursue and obtain his BS degree in Agronomy at Washington State University where he graduated magna cum laude in 1974. His first fieldman job was at Pure Grow in Moses Lake, from there he went to work at Green Acres in Warden. His next job was working for WL Research in the alfalfa seed industry. He moved onto Kapa Seed in Quincy, Wash. working with several different kinds of vegetable seeds. The last six years of his career he spent working for Betaseed a sugar beet seed company with production in the Columbia Basin. He was very well known among the farming community.

He enjoyed spending time with his wife, Ruthie and twin sons, Wesley, Stephen (Christa) and his only grandchild, Elijah Stone Ames. In the last several years any free time was spent hiking in Alpine Lakes wilderness area. Rick was a child of God and loved the Lord with all of his heart. His biggest desire was to see his entire family brought to salvation through Jesus Christ.

He married his wife, Ruthie (Emmans), on Aug. 11, 1984 after a very short courtship. The ceremony was performed in his backyard on Potato Hill Road. They describe their relationship as two ordinary people with an extraordinary love and respect for one another. Their profound love for each other was obvious to anyone who knew them.

Rick is survived by his loving wife, Ruthie, his sons Wesley Ames and Stephen (Christa) Ames, grandson Elijah Stone Ames, mother Jean Ames, siblings; Sharon (Dick) Douglas, Randy (Ina) Ames, Jeff (Jana) Ames; uncle Delmar Olson; nieces and nephews; Johanna Douglas, Shep (Cassie) Douglas, Carmen Bachelder, Crista Ames, Jessica Huntley, Jeffrey Ames; cousin Kenny (Alice) Ames.

He is preceded in death by his father, Eugene Ames.

Services will be held at the Bethlehem Chapel in Ephrata, Wash. on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 11 a.m, followed by a light lunch. There is a guestbook available to leave a message for the family at www.kayserschapel.com.