Gailen Lee Carothers

Gailen Lee Carothers was born in Pullman, Washington, on June 23, 1944, to Frank and Edna (Barr) Carothers. He passed away at Holy Family Hospital in Spokane, Washington on January 21, 2024, after a short battle with his illness. He grew up outside of Pullman on his family's homestead with his brother Roger and sister Kay. He attended Pullman High School and was active in FFA. He graduated Pullman High in 1962. He attended EWC in Cheney, Washington, graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration.

Gailen met his wife Katherine Bush at Eastern, and they married in 1964 in Colfax, Washington.

Gailen was called from Army Reserved Status in 1967 and was a First Lieutenant and Combat Engineer Unit Commander, stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado, where he received numerous commendations and was honorably discharged in 1969.

Gailen and Katherine later moved to Sunnyside, Washington, and Walla Walla, Washington, before returning to the Pullman area to farm his family's homestead on the breaks of the Snake River. He also owned and operated Wheatland Marina in Colfax in the 1970's.

Upon his retirement, Gailen and Katherine moved outside of Garfield, Washington, where they lived together until his passing. He took great pride in the property and appreciated when people would stop by to comment on how nice the property, garden and flowers looked.

He was an avid upland bird hunter, fisherman, golfer, photographer, and enjoyed traveling, including to New Zealand, Hawaii and Arizona.

He is survived by wife Katherine, daughters Kristina Oswald and Andrea Sue Doyle (Keith), and granddaughter Neelima Paulson..

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.