Donald Ervin Voss
Donald Voss was a man who adored his abundant family and enjoyed reading a good western novel. His family and loved ones miss him greatly.
Donald Ervin Voss, 87, passed away March 26, 2025. He was born Sept. 5, 1938, in Lisbon, N.D., to Evelyn Ufer and Ernest Voss.
Growing up on the family farm in the house his grandfather built, he moved with his family to Dryden, Wash., in the fall of 1953. In school, Don excelled in math and physics, often helping his classmates. In his high school years, he enjoyed the ski jump at Leavenworth, mountain climbing, and he had a particular love of hiking up the Icicle. He graduated from Dryden High School in 1956 and ran Pine Flat Dairy full time with his father.
He married his high school girlfriend, Janet Parkins, on April 27, 1957, at the Lutheran Church in Cashmere, Wash. They were named 1962 Washington State Dairy Family of the Year for their innovation and modernized methods. The summer of 1969 they moved the dairy to Block 40, Moses Lake, Wash.
In 1972, Don and Janet were divorced, and on Dec. 9, 1972, he married Alice Cole, adding his five children and her four children together. Three more children were born later, for a total of twelve children. Don continued with his dairy for decades before moving closer to town in 2000. He worked for El Oro Cattle Company for twenty years until 2020, when he fully retired.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Don loved good jokes, open skies and reading Westerns (especially Louis L’Amour, who was also from North Dakota). He enjoyed conversations with the people who came into his life, appreciated his friends, and was deeply interested in the wider world. He is missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest and Evelyn Voss, brother Alvin Voss, and sister Arlene Rigali.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Alice Voss, Moses Lake; his sister, Carol Fisher, Yakima, Wash.; brother Roger Voss, Wenatchee, Wash.; and his children, Michelle (Patrick) Haughton, Moses Lake; Melinda (Kurt) Oakley, Winthrop, Wash.; Wesley (Tammy) Kent, Inkom, Idaho; Kristie (John) Hinnenkamp, Colfax, Wash.; Jill (Steve) Wilcox, Natches, Wash.; David (Kris) Voss, Boise, Idaho; Marie Voss, Spokane, Wash.; Stanley (Korina) DeHerrera, Soap Lake, Wash.; Darrin Voss, Moses Lake; Stacy (David) Watkins, Newport, Wash.; Jeramie (Julie) Voss, Middleton, Idaho; and James (Kris) Voss, Moses Lake. He also leaves behind numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held May 3, 2025, at the O’Sullivan Grange Hall, 14724 Rd 3 SE, Moses Lake, Wash., at 1 p.m.