- Esther E. Ness #5, brother-in -law to our President, George Maybee Martin and grandfather to Elizabeth Sevy, #51. sent this, " Leif Ness was born October 4, 1901, in Wapaton, North Dakota and almost at once his childhood adventures started. At age one, the family moved to Petersburg, Territory of Alaska. After his Mother's death in 1906, they returned to the States. Leif was taken into the home of Oscar Rindal at Miller Bay for a year. He had his first ice cream cone in Poulsbo, Washington, a tiny village in those days.
At his father's remarriage, he moved to Seattle where he graduated from the 8th grade. His father, Per, bought a farm at Edgecomb, Washington where Leif spent his high school years, graduating from Arlington High School.
The next ten years were an adventurous kaleidoscope. He was a high rigger in the virgin forests of Washington; worked in the apple orchards in Eastern Washington; went fishing on our coastal waters; had his ship go to the bottom during a storm in Grays Harbor; raised blue foxes for a year on an island in Alaska and bought and operated a service station in Port Orchard.
At this time Leif met and married Esther Eileen Martin. They had hardly settled in their first home when they sold the station.
In 1932 Leif and Bjarne, his brother, bought the old feed store in Poulsbo and spent the next 30 years -- during the great depression -- building it up to a big business and raising a family of two daughters, Janet Eileen and Sonya Karen.
Leif was active in the growth of the little town, serving seven years on the City Council, many years on the Port Commission, taught first aid classes all during World War II, and 30 years with his real love -- the Poulsbo Volunteer Fire Department. When he retired, he was assistant Fire Chief. In between, he built about 10 homes in Poulsbo; spent several seasons fishing in Alaskan waters; built a beautiful fishing boat, The High C. When they closed the feed store and retired in 1960, we bought a motor home and started spending the next 20 winters in travel. We covered over 150,000 miles, from the Arctic Circle to Guatemala and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Leif was a fantastic traveling companion, and always ready to explore a strange road or to stop and smell the flowers. We also flew to distant places: Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Hawaii.
At age 85 we found the time had come to give the motor home #2 to the kids and turn our attention to enjoying our grandchildren. Leif enjoyed a close companionship with many of you. I'm sure you all join us in wishing him well in this, his last great adventure.
Internment will be with four generations of Esther's family in Weston, Oregon, at the foot of the lovely Blue Mountains
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1901 - 1992 (90 years)
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