Dale John Ahner

Ahner Party Minus One.

Dale John Ahner was born in Sandpoint, Idaho on July 3,1954, only minutes prior to being a Fourth of July baby. (His most favorite holiday.) Dale was born seventh and last in line to Vernon (Bud) and Emma Jean Ahner. (Willy, Dorothy, Ernie, Cora, Janice, Bruce, and Dale.)

Dale was part of the Dover River Rats Gang which included: John, Chuck, and Dale Warrer, Carl Hansen, Richard Thompson, Larry Verwolf, Rick and Mick Ames, Dennis Karst, Dale and his big brother, Bruce Ahner. Many stories came from this rag-tag bunch of troublemakers and are still shared at firesides these days. (I cannot share them here, to avoid indictments for those still living. Ha!)At 17, Dale married local Christine Brown, bringing to the world Trista Lee (married to Robert Gormley having Zathea and Ronin) of Crescent City, California. Dale’s second marriage, to Rae Ahner, brought him Heath, (Kyle and Rayne) and Treva Rae, (married to Damon Burke having Stella, Iver and Everett) all local to Sandpoint.

Dale loved his children to his core, and even accumulated some foster kids along the way, Tim (married to Amie having Timmy, Mitchel, and Logan) and Merrilee (married to Matt having David and Rachel). Dale had been blessed with three great-grandchildren before his time was up, David gave him Bernie and Rayne gave him Percy and Aro. Dale was preceded in death by both his parents and his sister, his beloved Janice.

Dale worked in logging locally before leaving for "The Coast” in Everett, Washington. He spent most of his adult life in this area. There he worked in sheetmetal fabrication for HVAC installation of high-rise buildings in Seattle. This job gave him the opportunity to travel to and work in Alaska, for which he always kept a special place in his heart. Dale was always an avid hunter and fisher, but his most cherished time was spent on his big ‘ol boat in Puget Sound, crabbing and fishing with his wife, Rae, with weekend stays on the boat, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the quiet time together.

Dale was a music connoisseur, loving every type from AC/DC to Johnny Cash. He lived by the practice that if his music was too loud, you were more than welcome to leave. His kids mostly remember the week-long camping trips to Baker Lake, homemade showers in the woods, the Blazer, and Johnny Cash’s “Look at them Beans” blaring deep into the trees. As the kids grew up and moved out, the camping turned a bit more luxury with a camp trailer set at his property at Grand Coulee, but not much else changed.

When it came time to slow down, he returned to Sandpoint, only to buy a house that sat on his old hunting grounds next to his buddy, Buzz Watts. Quad rides into the mountains were a new cherished time he took to share the woods behind Wrenco with anyone that came to visit. Again, stories I cannot share publicly. This is where Dale’s ashes will remain, high in the mountains, at a spot where he could see his home and look over the entire area he loved so much. Dale spent his last years enjoying his family, kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids still cherishing the Fourth of July and all the explosives he could buy.

Please bring a food item to share and join us to celebrate Dale’s life at his home on Saturday, May 14, at 2 p.m. until whenever it is over. We are celebrating his life with his music and a bonfire. We will be sharing stories, the ones we cannot share here, so bring some of those, too. If you have a great picture of his crazy life, we will be sharing pictures with our stories, as well. And do not forget a chair so you can stay and relax. And do not worry, his dad’s rock remains out of the road for all to come through.

The Ahner home is located at 10 Birch Creek Lane (Wrenco Loop) just past Johnny Long Road.

Any questions? Call Treva at 208-610-8282.