John "Jack" L. Asher

Entiat, WA

John "Jack" L. Asher, a longtime resident of Entiat, WA, died May 20, 2018, after an extended illness. He was born February 9, 1930, to Bessie L. Asher and Alvin W. Asher in Wenatchee, WA, at The Deaconess Hospital on a cold blusterous morning, with close to a foot of snow piled high on the window sill. He grew up on the ranch homesteaded by some of his ancestors. When his parents bought the ranch, Jack helped his father until he graduated from high school. He was the only boy in the Asher family for many years, and was spoiled by aunts, uncles, and cousins. His uncles delighted in letting him drive the tractor and old "puddle jumper” in the orchard when he was just a boy, so he grew up loving to operate many different pieces of equipment.

Jack graduated from Entiat High School and attended junior college. He fell in love and soon married his high school sweetheart, Rowena King. They bought the ranch from his parents, and Jack was an orchardist until he felt the love of operating heavy equipment, and taught several summers at a training school for heavy equipment operators. He could operate anything from cranes to the largest earth movers, and because of his knowledge and expertise, he was in demand, which took him to jobs as far away as New York and Hawaii. Jack never met a stranger, and when a person would ask how he was, many times he would say “terrible, I like to be consistent”. That was a conversation starter and he could converse on most any subject. Jack loved sports, and refereed basketball and football for many years, and later in life, it was not uncommon to hear "Hi Mr. Asher, I remember you refereeing a game I played in when I was in high school". He was always complimented for being fair. One of Jack's hobbies was woodworking, and he crafted several beautiful pieces of furniture from the wood of a black walnut tree he felled on the ranch, then seasoned and planed it using a portable mill. He also trimmed the open stairway and living room with the black walnut while remodeling the old farm house. Jack enjoyed the outdoors and was always making improvements to things.

Jack, with George Small and Merlin Harris as Commissioners, organized the first fire department in the Entiat Valley. Jack was fortunate to have been born into a musical family and had a beautiful voice. He and his friend, Conard Petersen, joined the Wenatchee Apollo Club and traveled together for almost 40 years, singing in concerts all over Washington State and Canada, also including Missoula, MT, and the "Worlds Fair“ in Seattle, WA, in 1962. There was nothing Jack enjoyed more than going to church on Sunday morning, and he nearly always had something to say during "share time", which made Rowena feel uneasy sometimes, because she never knew what he was going to say!! His favorite part of the Bible was "The Sermon on the Mount” and he tried to live by it. Jack and his cousin, Darrell Hanan, were baptized in the Entiat River, while attending a revival at the church campground up the Entiat Valley, when they were young boys. Jack's favorite color was blue, and he thought everything should be blue. One day while in Wenatchee, he saw a blue Monte Carlo displayed on the sidewalk in front of North Central Chevrolet. Jack absolutely could not resist that car; Rowena did not like it because it only had two doors, but it was BLUE, and he ended up owning it!!

Survivors include his wife, Rowena of 67 years; son, Michael (Roxie) Asher of Entiat, WA; grandsons: Brandon Asher, and Brian Asher, both of Entiat, WA; sisters: Clarice Koontz of Camano Island, WA, Joan Zanol of Wenatchee, WA, and Kay Asher of Boise, ID; a brother, Charles (Lena) Asher of Wenatchee, WA; many cousins, nieces, nephews, and cherished friends. Jack was preceded in death by his parents, Alvin and Bessie Asher; one son, Charles Asher; and one sister, Janice Wilson of Wenatchee, WA.

Services will be held Friday, June 8, 2018, at 1:00 p.m., at the Entiat Warehouse Church, 14916 Hwy. 97A, Entiat, WA. Everyone is invited to a luncheon following the service. Memorials may be made to Chelan County Fire District #8 (the Entiat Fire Department), P.O. Box 517. Entiat, WA, 98822.

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