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Elwin Gene Bottorff

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Elwin Gene Bottorff

Birth	:	30 Jul 1928 Ponca, Dixon County, Nebraska, USA
Death	:	24 Mar 2021
Burial	:	Erick Cemetery, Erick, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate	:	35.1878300, -99.8540400
Inscription	:	BOTTORFF ELWIN G. ------------- WILMA I. 1928 DAD [2021] --- 1931 MOM [2021] MARRIED MAR. 2, 1951 BLEST BE THE TIE THAT BINDS
Description	:	Father: Elbert Fayette Bottorff (1904-1986) Mother: Alma Luella (Maynard) Ahrends ================ The Daily News Longview, Washington 7 April 2021 ELWIN GENE BOTTORFF 30 JULY 1928 ~ 24 March 2021 Elwin was born in Ponca, Nebraska on the kitchen table and named after the doctor who brought him into the world. He left school at an early age as a teenager to help out on the family farm. When he was seventeen, his mother signed papers so he could join the Navy. After joining on his seventeenth birthday, he traveled the world on the USS Tuscaloosa and bragged... Read More	Father: Elbert Fayette Bottorff (1904-1986) Mother: Alma Luella (Maynard) Ahrends ================ The Daily News Longview, Washington 7 April 2021 ELWIN GENE BOTTORFF 30 JULY 1928 ~ 24 March 2021 Elwin was born in Ponca, Nebraska on the kitchen table and named after the doctor who brought him into the world. He left school at an early age as a teenager to help out on the family farm. When he was seventeen, his mother signed papers so he could join the Navy. After joining on his seventeenth birthday, he traveled the world on the USS Tuscaloosa and bragged that he spent his eighteenth birthday in China and had the tattoos to prove it. He earned his GED in the Navy. Shortly after leaving the Navy, he met the love of his life Wilma. He proposed on Valentine's Day. Two months after they met, they were married. Their love affair is one for the books. They were married seventy years on March 2, 2021. Two years after the wedding, they had a beautiful little girl they named Jo Ellen. Shortly thereafter, he and Wilma moved to California and had two more children, Randi Sue and Jeffrey Lynn. He started work doing clean up in a plywood mill in Northern California. His intelligence and hard work soon earned him a foreman position. Eventually they worked their way up the coast to Southwest Washington where he was quickly promoted to the superintendent of over 600 workers at the Pope and Talbot Mill in Kalama, Washington. When he did the rounds in the morning, his workers said his walk was a near jog. This jog was noted throughout his life everywhere from the mill to the casino. During this time, he volunteered a great deal within the community, serving as the president of the Kalama Fair, assisting in the high school shop, and mentoring troubled youth by showing them the imperativeness of finding an occupation and directing them toward that goal. Also, while being the superintendent at Pope and Talbot, he got an idea in his head and turned it into a reality by spearheading the patents for panel 44 and cedar strip plywood which became a bestseller, his greatest personal accomplishment over that portion of his career. He and Wilma were very excited years later when they went to Italy and saw his patented plywood in an establishment. As to those of us who had the pleasure of observing his achievements, however, his former boss put it well, stating that he will always remember Elwin's ability to draw people together. This would carry on as a hallmark of his life. After Pope and Talbot, he took on new challenges as a manager of veneer and architectural panels at Weyerhaeuser in Longview. These duties included work on architectural panels in Indianapolis, Indiana (where he and Wilma got in the pits at the race track), and overseas veneer marketing in Japan. Elwin also built his own home on the Kalama River. He made it into a farm, raising chickens, ducks, and hogs, as well as a pigeon with a broken wing that became the family pet. The beauty of the farm on a quarter-mile of the picturesque Kalama River gave it the name of Cloud Nine. In 1973 while building the home, Elwin exchanged gunfire with a burglar who had been robbing cabins on the river. He shot the man in the leg, shooting a hole through his own stolen hip boots. Only then did the sheriff catch the thief and his accomplice. Elwin was known as "The Mayor of the Kalama River", a title lovingly given to him by his neighbors. The plaque on the main street of Kalama is dedicated to him and describes his constant care for anyone in need. If you needed to know how to do a job, use a tool, or just a straight-up shot of moonshine, he was your guy. He was an avid outdoorsman. He trapped on the Missouri, shot a moose on a hunting expedition in British Columbia, and was known for catching his limit of fish before Wilma could make him breakfast. His granddaughter lovingly remembers going to church with Wilma when he was in his early eighties and being waved down by him on the way. He excitedly showed them a bobcat he had trapped. When the granddaughter inquired about the scratch on his leg, he gave her that signature mischievous smile and said, "I got a little close; he didn't like it." In addition to hunting and trapping, Elwin loved gardening, a hobby he would carry throughout his life. He had a library of gardening books. He was a self-taught Master Gardener and beekeeper. He would make sure the neighbors, as well as anybody who came to his home, had more than enough vegetables and flowers when they left. Elwin was known for his quick wit, sense of humor, and unmatched energy. Hard work was not hard work at all for Elwin because he enjoyed staying busy. Most of all, Elwin enjoyed taking charge of things, whether it was a hunting trip, supervising at work, or lastly at the rest home. Elwin is survived by his wife Wilma, brother Ronnie Bottorff, brother Elbert (Junior) Bottorff, daughter Jo Ellen Friberg, daughter Randi Bruley, son Jeffrey Bottorff, seven grandchildren, thirteen great-grandchildren, multiple nieces, nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, cousins, and spouses to several of the above. Most of all though, he leaves an infallible legacy; a life lived out as an example that with determination, passion, and hard work, success is possible in spite of nearly any obstacle.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Elwin Gene Bottorff's memorial?
Elwin Gene Bottorff's memorial is located at: Erick Cemetery, Erick, Beckham County, USA.
When did Elwin Gene Bottorff death?
Elwin Gene Bottorff death on 24 Mar 2021 in
Where are the coordinates of the Elwin Gene Bottorff's memorial?
Latitude: 35.1878300
Longitude: -99.8540400

Family Members:

Parent

Elbert Fayette Bottorff

(1904 - 1986)

Alma Maynard Arends

(1906 - 2000)

Spouse

Wilma Joan Wassenaar Bottorff

(1931 - 2021)

Siblings

Vernon L Bottorff

(1935 - 1965)

Children

Matthew Bottorff

(unknow - unknow)

Melissa Bottorff

(unknow - unknow)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Erick Cemetery
Erick, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.1878300, -99.8540400

2. Davis Cemetery
Erick, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.2456017, -99.8814011

3. Pioneer Cemetery
Hext, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.2557983, -99.7699966

4. Vannerson Cemetery
Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.1021996, -99.9225006

5. Texola Cemetery
Texola, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.1991997, -99.9897003

6. Mayfield Cemetery
Mayfield, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3208008, -99.8775024

7. Delhi Cemetery
Delhi, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.1762390, -99.6786880

8. Lone Oak Cemetery
Sayre, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3205200, -99.7377650

9. Plainview Cemetery
Mangum, Greer County, USA
Coordinate: 35.0581017, -99.7266998

10. Salem Cemetery
Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3781013, -99.9024963

11. Buffalo Cemetery
Sayre, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3889008, -99.8416977

12. Hackberry Cemetery
Greer County, USA
Coordinate: 34.9724000, -99.8717000

13. Hackberry Cemetery
Granite, Greer County, USA
Coordinate: 34.9721985, -99.8713989

14. Old Sayre Cemetery
Sayre, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.2907982, -99.6132965

15. Jester Cemetery
Plainview, Greer County, USA
Coordinate: 35.0014000, -99.6992035

16. Spring Creek Cemetery
Delhi, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.1467094, -99.5705032

17. Wayland Cemetery
Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.4082985, -99.7521973

18. Needwood Cemetery
Collingsworth County, USA
Coordinate: 35.0236015, -100.0616989

19. Sayre-Doxey Cemetery
Sayre, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3121986, -99.5952988

20. Brookside Cemetery
Roger Mills County, USA
Coordinate: 35.4442700, -99.8586400

21. Mulberry Cemetery
Roger Mills County, USA
Coordinate: 35.4446983, -99.9291992

22. Old Doxey Cemetery
Sayre, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.3276500, -99.5783400

23. Carter Cemetery
Carter, Beckham County, USA
Coordinate: 35.2324982, -99.5183029

24. Independence Cemetery
Madge, Harmon County, USA
Coordinate: 34.9047012, -99.9411011