Larry Wayne Easterly, 83

Larry Wayne Easterly was born Feb. 6, 1943, in International Falls, Minn., to William (Bill) Easterly and Grace Giving Easterly. In 1948, he moved to Washington state in a 1930 Model A panel truck, pulling a trailer, with his mother, stepfather Mel Thompson, and four siblings. They later moved to Post Falls. He started first grade in 1949 in Post Falls and graduated in 1961 in Post Falls.

In 1961, he married Joyce Ferger. They had five children — David, Donna, Daniel, Deborah and Denise. They were later divorced. In 2000, he married his best friend, Caren Flinn, and gained four stepchildren — Patricia, David, Annette and Amber.

In his High School years, he worked at a neighbor's dairy farm milking cows and haying. After High School, he worked for the Inland Paper Company in Millwood. He spent a year and a half in California doing roofing, but it didn't take long to come back to Post Falls. He worked for Diamond International Mill, then for the Post Falls Highway District. Finally, in 1971, he became an Equipment Operator working for Hunt Bros Empire Concrete and finally Central Pre-Mix, from which he retired in 2007.

He always had a love for music. He started playing the French horn, baritone and sousaphone in the sixth grade. In 1961, he learned to play the guitar, which led him to play dance music in bars with several bands. In 1971, he started playing with Rolla and MaryAnn Gnagy and Gene Fuson at the Sourdough. They played together for 10 years and then took an 18-year break before starting again in 1999, adding Bill Dennis and giving up the bars. He played mostly country music on lead guitar and bass. In 2008, he started playing stand-up bass in Bluegrass Bands. He was a part of the Buck 99 Bluegrass Band at the time of his death. With money earned from playing music, he would take his family on vacations, boating, skiing and fishing.

He also had a love for classic cars, which started in High School when he bought a 1935 Chevy with suicide front doors. In 1960, he bought a 1934 Chevy Master Deluxe for $10. After that, there was a 1946 Ford Business Coupe, a 1965 Ford Falcon, a 1934 Chevy Master Deluxe, and, in 1992, he bought a '32 Plymouth hot rod. He kept the Chevy and the Plymouth until 2025, when he gave them, along with his boat, to his children. He still had the Ford Business Coupe. He was a member of the Early Ford V8 Car Club and was still a member of the North Idaho Classic Car Club for over 30 years.

He still enjoyed the cars, music, driving his side-by-side in the mountains with friends and spending time with his large, blended family. He had a great sense of humor and would sometimes tell a good joke over and over.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Grace; stepfather Mel; father Bill; brothers Bill and Ronnie; sister Sandy; grandson Jacob and granddaughter Kaylynn. He is survived by his loving wife, Caren Easterly at their home in Post Falls, son David Easterly (Rosa) of Huntsville, Ala., daughter Donna Easterly of Aloha, Ore., son Dan Easterly of Salem, Ore., daughter Deborah Cox (Kim) of Rainier, Ore., and daughter Denise Easterly of Aloha, Ore., stepdaughter Patricia Hindberg (Rob) of Meridian, Idaho, stepson David Hopkins (Raelene) of Spokane Valley, Wash., stepdaughter Annette Wiese (DJ) of Meridian, Idaho, and stepdaughter Amber Chavez ( Eugene) of Post Falls, sister Barbara Davis of Otis Orchards, sister Janice Easterly of Spokane, brother Leonard Thompson ( Marilyn) from Clatskanie, Ore., and sister Chris Houser (Ty) from Spokane Valley, Wash., 17 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. He was well-loved and will be greatly missed!

A memorial service will be held at Calvary Chapel Lighthouse, 650 W. Lancaster Road, Hayden, ID 83835, on Saturday, May 16 at 1 p.m.

Please sign Larry's online memorial at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.