Lambert C. (Skeek) Gonzales 

                                          Born in Carbonado WA, September 27, 1928 

                                          Passed away in Buckley WA, August 16, 2021 

                                                                   He was 92

Skeek was the second of seven children born to Antonio (Tony) and Jessie (O’Neal) Gonzales. He is survived by his three children, Marcella Ann (Bill), Gaye Lyn, David John (Shannon), his brother Frank (Sheila), 10 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, one great-great  grandchild, and an extensive family of nieces and nephews. In addition to his family, 

he leaves behind two loving and devoted friends, Bonnie Fox and Jayson Schafer, as well as two “daughters” he embraced as his own, Cindy and Lora. 

 

He was a proud WWII Navy veteran, with the majority of his active duty spent in Tsingtao, China. He was honorably discharged January 28, 1948. 

He worked many different jobs in his life, often working two jobs at a time to make a better life for his family, including jobs at the Wilkeson Sandstone Quarry and Safeway Stores. He was also a licensed building contractor, a licensed beautician and a restaurant and coffee shop owner/operator. 

He loved to travel; and traveled extensively in the US and around the world, visiting 12 different countries including Austria, Canada, China (military & privately) England, France, Ireland, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and Spain. 

College football was his favorite sport and he was a staunch, and always boisterous Washington Huskies fan.  As a football season ticket holder for many years, he attended home games and quite often traveled to several away games each season as well. Interestingly, he didn’t start out as a Huskies fan!  When he was discharged from the Navy, he liked the WSU Cougars but was unable to get their football games on the radio, however he was able to get the Huskies games, and the rest is history! 

He was a lover of many types of music, Neal Diamond, The Moody Blues, The Chieftains, all Irish and bag pipe music, and classic country.  The Broadway musical “Phantom of the Opera” was his favorite, which he saw multiple times.  His all-time favorite song(s) were “Amanda” by Don Williams and “Amazing Grace” played on the bag pipes. 

Finally, we remember how Skeek was a storyteller. He often told the same stories over and over; but no matter how many times he told them, they never changed! He always told them to you again, even if you’d heard them a hundred times before! 

 

At his request, his remains will be released privately by his family, and in lieu of a service/memorial we instead will be celebrating what would have been his 93rd Birthday on September 27, 2021 at the Wilkeson Eagles from 4pm-7pm. We will gather in our finest UW Husky gear (or in Purple & Gold if you root for that other team) and will raise a glass and share stories. 

 

If you would like to make a donation in his honor, please visit The Wesley Hospice Services, https://wesleychoice.org/donate/ and put “Skeek: Hospice” so that it is designated a Tribute gift.