GERALD LYLE ‘Jerry’ OSIER 89, a resident of Clear Lake passed away on Sunday, July 6, 2003 in Mount Vernon. He finished his work here and moved on to a better job. Jerry was born on May 29, 1914 in Deming, Washington, the son of Charles and Pearl Grimes Oiser. Jerry went to school in most of the logging camps and towns of Eastern Whatcom County. He attended Mount Baker High but left early to go to work. Logger, coal and hardrock miner, powder monkey, mill hand, teamster, carpenter and roustabout were some of his early employments. He ended a machinist apprenticeship to enlist in the Navy early in WWII, serving with the 55th Naval Construction Battalion Seabees as a Gunner’s Mate First Class. His service of more than two years in the South Pacific, included the New Guinea campaigns. Jerry and Leola Helena Wass of Westport, Maine were married in Brookline, Massachusetts on January 12, 1943. After the war, they resided in the Boston area a few years and then moved to his county. For most of the next 17 years he was a dairyman there and in this county. In his years of retirement, he worked for Skagit Corporation and Bendix as a millwright where he was a member of Teamsters Local 231.
He is survived by his sisters Avis Clement of California and Dorothy Mogush Mrs. Joe Mogush of Tucson, Arizona: Daughters Elissa and her husband Aviation Machinist’s Mate First Class, USNRet Mickey McCoy of Oak Harbor, their son Stephen and great grandsons Jacob and Ethan Wiersema and Preston Ray and Dominique Cavender and great granddaughter Zada Abraham ; and Susan Basel, her husband Orin A. ‘Alvin’ Basel, their son Jason and and his wife Kelly and their son Sabastian, along with his siblings Samantha and Orin’Orrie’ Basel, all of Franklin, Tennessee. Sons David Osier and his companion Mark Leigh of Sedro-Woolley and Chief Machinist’s Mate USNR, Stephen Osier of Clear Lake and his companion Rhodora Lynch and her children, Vicky and Brian. Preceding him in death were his wife, Leola in 1998, a brother Bill and daughter-in-law Builder Second Class USNR Elthea Richards Osier, numerous nieces, nephews, fellow workplace friends and Union bothers and sisters are also left behind.
Cremation and inurnment is under the direction of Lemley Chapel, Sedro-Woolley. At Jerry’s request there will be no services. A celebration of his life will take place on Saturday, July 12, 2003 from 1:00 to 5:00 at 12948 Cedar Street, Clear Lake. Family, friends and co-workers are invited to attend and share their memories. His family wish to thank the staff at Mira Vista Care Center of Mount Vernon. Memorials are suggested to the Clear Lake Historical Society or a favorite charity.