Cecil 'Dick' McNeese

Cecil R. McNeese, affectionately known as Dick, was born Nov. 16, 1934.

Following his birth, he was placed in an orphanage located in Seattle. When he was just three weeks old, he was adopted by Cecil B. and Florence Norling McNeese. The couple welcomed Dick into their home in Pasco, Wash., where they began their life together as a family.

After some time in Pasco, the McNeese family relocated to Lewiston, Idaho. As Dick approached high school age, his family returned to Pasco. His father became the owner and manager of a Goodyear Tires store on Lewis Street. Throughout his high school years and during the summer months, Dick worked alongside his father at the tire shop. In 1953, Dick graduated from Pasco High School.

Following his graduation, Dick attended Washington State University for a year. He then joined the Army Reserves. During this time, he married Dorothy Fox in Pasco, and together they had two children: a son, David, and a daughter, Debbi. They later divorced in 1972.

Dick enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve on April 22, 1953, where he served as a Communications Specialist. He was called to active duty Oct. 7, 1955, and served at Camp Hanford, Wash. On Oct. 5, 1957, he returned to the US Army Reserves and continued his military obligation. Dick was Honorably Discharged from service Aug. 14, 1961. Among his awards were the Army Good Conduct medal, Sharpshooter rifle badge and Sharpshooter carbine badge. During his military service, Dick also worked as the assistant manager at his father’s tire store until the business was sold.

After the sale of the family tire business, Dick began working in the irrigation industry, where he was responsible for erecting and servicing circle irrigation systems. He later joined the Prior Land Company, now known as Agri Northwest, in the Horse Heaven Hills, south of Kennewick, Wash. At that time, the company was developing farmland, and Dick was hired to install the first 44 irrigation circles.

While working at Prior Land Company, Dick met LaRee Illg, who was employed in the office. The two began dating and enjoyed spending time together. Dick and LaRee were married in March 1973 and had their marriage sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on Nov. 29, 1974.

Following his time at Prior Land Company, Dick was hired as Regional Service Manager at Pierce Corporation, where he serviced irrigation circles throughout the Pacific Northwest. This new role required Dick and LaRee to relocate to Moses Lake in August 1976.

Dick and his family became actively involved in the Big Bend College Community Theater, with Dick, Melanie and Kim participating in several productions. Dick also enjoyed refereeing church basketball games, further immersing himself in the community and church activities.

Dick was a very dedicated hard worker and continued to work in circle irrigation. He switched from Pierce Irrigation to Zimmatic and sold and erected circles throughout the Columbia Basin Project. He loved driving through the farmlands and pointing out the circles he had sold and serviced.

Dick took a lot of pride in working in his yard and garden. He was highly focused on service. He cared for neighborhood lawns, volunteered at the city library’s used book sales, and assisted at the food bank for many years. He loved to serve whenever he saw a need. He was friendly and always had a pocketful of candy to pass out to everyone he met.  

He went to work for Brose Chemicals which was looking for someone to monitor the chemicals for the potato processing plants in our area. This was a job that would not require an eight-hour day, so it was a perfect post-retirement job.

He continued working for Brose Chemicals until 2004, when he and LaRee decided to prepare to serve a mission for the church. Dick and LaRee received their mission call to serve in Lagos, Nigeria. They left in December of 2004 and returned in 2006.

They also served a local mission in LDS Church Facilities for two years. Later, Dick had another post-retirement job of picking up soil samples for Best Test until he was 90 years old.

He was so excited when the Moses Lake Temple was completed and made a commitment to attend every week, which he did until his fall in September.  

He passed away Dec. 21, 2025. He was preceded in death by his parents, Cecil and Florence McNeese.  

He is survived by his wife, LaRee McNeese, and his daughters, Brenda Wright (Roger), Paula Illg, Kimberly Loera (Juan), Melanie Moody (Jason) and Debbi, and his son, David McNeese. He also has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Services will be Tuesday Dec. 30, 2025, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 351 E. Yonezawa Blvd. in Moses Lake, Wash., at 10:30 am. Viewing will be at 9:30 a.m.  

We want to thank Columbia Basin Hospital, Assured Hospice, and Helping Hands Care Center for the wonderful care they gave Dick. 

Please express your thoughts and memories for the family at https://bit.ly/DMCNEESE. Arrangements are under the care of Kayser's Chapel of Memories.