Lee ""Fuzzy"" Haverstick

Lee was born June 29, 1922, the fourth child of Earl and Fannie (Turner) Haverstick at home on the family ranch at Rhea Creek, Oregon near Heppner.

The family came to Hillsboro when Lee was very young. They lived in a number of locations near Hillsboro including south of town, on Sewell Road and on Helvetia Road. While Lee was in grade school his father raised Shetland ponies. Lee helped his dad take the ponies to Oaks Park, the Oregon State Fair, and even the Puyallup Fair in Washington to provide pony rides to kids for 5 cents each. Lee rode his pony, "Baby", to the two room school house on Shute Road, tied her to the post and helped carry wood inside for the wood stove.

Lee attended Hillsboro High School but did not graduate due to the onset of World War II. He left school and went to work in the Kaiser Shipyards. In 1943 he joined the Army and went to basic training in Texas. Because of his small stature he was assigned to the Army Air Corp and trained on the B17 bomber where he became a top turret engineer's gunner. He trained in England and was stationed in Foggia, Italy where he flew missions over Germany. His plane was hit and Lee took shrapnel in his leg. The crew limped the plane home and Lee was sent home. He was discharged in 1945 and received the Purple Heart.

Lee returned to Hillsboro and met Marjorie Jones who would become his wife in 1946. In 1947, his son Thomas was born joining a half-brother Bob. The family settled on property in West Union. Lee and Marjorie's 27 year marriage ended with Marjorie's death in 1973.

Lee worked as a mechanic for Portland General Electric Company in the Hillsboro Yard from 1951 until 1974. His job was to keep all of the PGE cars, trucks and equipment running and to repair any break downs. Lee often rescued crews broken down on the road.

Lee was an avid motorcycle rider. He was a member and president of Slo Spokes motorcycle club. Slo Spokes was a family oriented club with many outings and summer racing and hill climb events at Cherry Grove near Gaston. Lee also supported his son Tom's motorcycle racing at Sidewinder's Motorcycle track. Lee was the local motorcycle mechanic for many of the kids who raced motorcycles and was able to "spoke" a motorcycle wheel. There were always lots of motorcycles around the old shop at the home place.

Lee was also a member of The Friday Night Gang, a group of friends that gathered every Friday night at Sky Harbor Tavern at the Hillsboro airport. When the airport expanded and Sky Harbor was torn down, the "gang" continued to meet at various taverns around Hillsboro. Lee participated well into the 1990's and always remembered these good friends and good times after he was no longer able to join them. Many of the Friday Night gang friends also spent summers camping up at Timber, and riding dirt bikes on the roads and trails there. Camp would often consist of trailers, friends, children, dogs, motorcycles and a big camp fire. Lee brought his generator and provided lights and electricity for the camp. He charged each family $2.00 to pay for the gas for the generator and we called it the "P, G and Lee" electric company.

In 1975 Lee met Susan "Susie" Arney at Skyline Tavern. She became his girlfriend, partner and wife and moved to the home place in 1976. They remained together until his passing. Lee retired when he met Susie and became the house husband of the couple. He spent his time working on cars and motorcycles, planting a garden and canning food, taking care of the dogs and shopping. Lee loved a bargain and had his favorite stores to go to. If something cost a dollar, Lee thought 10 of them would be a good deal. Being a depression baby, you never knew when you might need an extra. We had 10 paper kites, 10 cheese slicers, 10 flashlights and 10 of many other items.

Lee was a regular at many of the taverns throughout Washington County where he enjoyed an afternoon beer and shooting pool with his buddies. He was a great pool player and hard to beat. He was one of the original customers at Helvetia Tavern and Rock Creek Tavern. When you enter Rock Creek Tavern, turn around and look at the mural over the door. Lee is pictured there. The tavern relates that Lee shot pool in the original tavern in 1936. Lee and Susie spent many evenings in the 1980's at the tavern listening to Danny Smith (a motorcycle racer that Lee knew) and his Beaver Trail boys. The tavern was so popular that the floor rocked and the gas lamps swayed.

Lee developed dementia and had to move to Rosewood Memory Care in 2013. He settled in and was happy there. He loved the community, the residents that he spent time with, and the caregivers. He enjoyed the weekly trips in the activity bus, especially bowling and the World of Speed museum. Susie often took Lee in his wheelchair to Fred Meyer to visit and shop, followed by a dish of strawberry ice cream at the Baskins and Robbins and a visit with the children in the Fred Meyer Playland. These trips were a favorite pastime of his and he delighted in these outings.

Lee passed away on March 3rd, 2017 from complications of advanced dementia. He was preceded in death by his brother, Bruce Haverstick; his sister, Melba Staley; and his first wife Marjorie. He is survived by his second wife Susan Arney, his son and daughter-in-law Thomas and Barbara Haverstick and two grandchildren, Thomas and Samantha; his step-son, Robert Hayes and his wife Lydia and two step grandchildren, Josh and Nick; a nephew, Roy Staley and a niece, Janice Staley.

Lee lived life to the fullest, loved people and always had a smile and a story to share. He was deeply loved and will be forever missed.