Huntley will leaves farm land to WSU

Whitman County land in the Thornton area which was farmed by the late Sen. Elmer (Bud) Huntley and wife, Necia, has been donated to Washington State University. Transfer of the land was recorded in a transfer affidavit filed July 12 in the county treasurer's office.

The land was transferred by Patrick Gill and Necia Monroe Leach, a nephew and niece of the Huntleys who are personal representatives of Mrs. Huntley's estate.

Proceeds from the land will go into the Elmer C. and Necia Huntley Endowed Scholarship fund for assistance to deserving athletes.

The land described with the transfer parcels totals 872 acres which are located southwest of Thornton where Elmer Huntley Road is located.

Also donated to the scholarship fund were proceeds from the sale of two condominiums in the Olympia area.

Mrs. Huntley's will also listed other bequeathals, including a sum to her church in Olympia.

Mrs. Huntley died in Sept. 24, 2017, at the age of 104. Raised in Klickitat, she met Elmer Huntley on a blind date when they attended Washington State College. They were married September of 1935 and made their home on the farm in the Thornton area.

They did not have any children.

He served in the legislature as a state representative and then a senator from 1957 until 1973 and then served on the state Transportation Commission.

The Huntleys farmed at the Thornton ranch until 1972. Mr. Huntledy died

at his home in Olympia May 13, 1994, at the age of 78.