Wallowa County Chieftain
wallowa.com
Veterans Day
November 9, 2016
A9
our Veterans
The couple moved to Clarkston,
Wash., in 1957 after the death of
their son Dorsey, 2. Another son,
Allen Twain, was born in 1957, and
daughter Tracey LaVelle in 1961.
The family eventually opened Stock-
dale Training Stables which became
a mecca for horsemanship through-
out the Northwest and even
nationally.
Like most men of the era, Stockdale
did not often discuss his WWII battle
exploits. He worked as a manager
for the Potlatch Corp. in Washing-
ton and kept training his beloved
horses on the side, instilling that love
into the rest of his family as well as
numerous children he led through
years as a 4-H leader, working horse
trainer and giving riding lessons.
Remembering his time lost and alone
before being taken in by the resis-
tance fighters, Stockdale opened his
home to wayward children, reaching
out to them through his horses. “We sheltered more kids
than we could count,” Gay Stockdale said.
Stockdale never lost his Wallowa County roots, and he
certainly left his mark here. He was instrumental in help-
ing to establish the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo and daugh-
ter Judy Bothum became the CJD queen in 1958 and
grand marshal of the parade in 2015.
Gay Stockdale took care of her father the last year
of his life.
“I was very fortunate to be able to do that. We watched
the History Channel together, and I learned more about
Dad and his service in that year than I’d known my whole
life. It was a wonderful time I was able to have with him.”
The Stockdales semi-retired in the ‘90s and spent their
final years in Olympia, Wash. Ina Stockdale passed away
Courtesy Photo/Gay Stockdale
Stockdale photographed in Enterprise while
home on leave before shipping out.
on Sept. 26, 2001 and was buried in Enterprise. Gayle fol-
lowed her a year and a day later. He was buried at the Enter-
prise Cemetery with a military Honor Guard in attendance,
playing “Taps” and presenting the American Flag to the re-
maining family. The churches for their respective services were
filled to overflowing with people who testified to the positive
impact the couple made on their lives.
His daughters hope their father is remembered as a patriotic
man and a hero.
“He was the epitome of a true American hero — not only to
his country, but to his community,” Gay Stockdale said. “He
was a remarkable man.”
“You could live and watch daily the love he had for his coun-
try,” Judy Bothum added.
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Wallowa County
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