Donald Richard Gano, 76 passed away October 2, 2015 at his daughter’s home in Montesano, WA.
Don was born December 24, 1938 to Donald (Bud) and Dorothy (Fleming) Gano in Aberdeen, WA. Don’s early years were spent in Oakville and when he was in the 8th grade the family moved to Elma, WA. He graduated in 1957 and joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego, CA. In December of 1957 He married Darlene (Sackrider) Brado. They later divorced. He was honorably discharged from the navy in 1961.
He moved to Seattle and went to work for Boeing Aerospace for a number of years and later went to work at Leckenby Steel as an Iron Worker. When Leckenby went out of business he went back to work for Boeing as a Tooling Coordinator, where he was able to travel the United States in this position. He lived in Puyallup, WA until he retired in 2000.
He then split his time between Sun City West, AZ and Mason Lake, WA. After retirement he always said “I don’t know how I ever found the time to work”. He loved golf and considered that his new job 4 days a week. Don had a love for boats from a very young age. He raced Hydroplanes and Runabouts for many years and had a room dedicated to the trophy’s he won. He later bought his first cruising boat, a Tollycraft where he fished and cruised Puget Sound and the inside passage to Alaska. With the move to Arizona brought new hobbies for Don to pursue. He bought his first Harley Davidson at age 63. When he went to visit his daughter and grandkids at the Oregon sand dunes he decided to buy his first YFZ 450 Quad at age 68. He rode the Oregon Dunes, Idaho Dunes and his favorite was Buttercup outside of Glamis, CA. At age 74 he gave up his quad and bought a Razor 1000 to continue to ride the dunes, he said “with the age comes the cage”.
Don is survived by his daughter Kim Pollard,( Mike Simmons) of Montesano, WA and a son Kelly Gano. Four grandchildren: Riley and Brenner Pollard, Jamie and Kasey Gano; and two great grandchildren. Don loved life and was like the energizer bunny, (hard to keep up with). We would like to especially thank Dr. Julie Erickson and our Hospice Nurse Sara. Don loved a good party.
Please come help us celebrate his life on October 23, 2015 at the Elma Eagles at 1 p.m.
A message of condolence or of a memory can be sent to the family at www.fernhillfuneral.com
Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen.

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