Richard “Dick” Satterstrom, 81 of Montesano, Washington died Nov. 20, 2023, at Shelton Health and Rehab Center.

Dick was born in Aberdeen, Washington on March 9, 1942, to Richard and Bertha Satterstrom. He was raised in Montesano, went to school there, and was in the class of 1961. He joined the army in 1963 and spent much of that time stationed in South Korea.

After being discharged, he went to work for Simpson Timber Company in Grisdale. In 1973, he was helping to build roads walking backward directing the bulldozer operator, and the ground gave way at the edge of the cliff above a canyon and he fell about 200 feet over the side. Severely injured, he was airlifted to Tacoma General Hospital where he had surgeries and spent several weeks in a coma. When discharged, he was transferred to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup where he spent several years having therapy, learning to talk, walk, eat, dress, write, comprehend, etc., things most of us take for granted. When he was released, he spent more time at a therapy center.

Once he got back home to Montesano, where he lived with his mother, he spent most days walking the streets of Montesano, rain or shine, carrying a bag and a “grabber” picking up garbage, even though he had a brace on one leg and used a cane. It was estimated he walked about 4 miles a day every day. The Montesano community rewarded him by making him Honorary Grand Marshall in one of their annual Festival of People parades. In 1989 the City Council named May 17th “Dick Satterstrom Day.” He was very proud of that. He also participated on bowling and pool teams and was a lifetime member of the Montesano Eagles and Moose Lodge.

Dick was a very giving man. Some of his generosity was donating all the drapes for the old Senior Center on Marcy Avenue, purchasing a motorized scooter/chair for a young woman in Montesano who needed one, and donating gallons of blood over the years to the Red Cross Blood Bank.

He got his driver’s license again and for several years he took his elderly Mother for a car ride every day. (She died at 97).

Eventually, due to his original injuries and arthritis, it became too hard to walk and live alone, and in 2011, he moved into the Beehive Assisted Living Center in McCleary. He lived there for ten years before moving to Montesano Health and Rehab Center in 2021. When that facility had a fire in 2022, he was transferred to Shelton Health and Rehab, where he received excellent care and loved all the Aides and Nurses.

Even though he’d been through a lot, a devastating house fire, many hospitalizations, and stays in Assisted Living and Nursing Home facilities, he never complained. He always took one day at a time, saying “whatever” to any challenges that came his way. We will miss him.

Dick’s mother Bertha and sister Charlotte Broberg preceded him in death. He is survived by two nieces and one nephew, Sonja Broberg Stoces of Poulsbo, Washington; Annalisa Longlet of Anchorage, Alaska; and Geoffrey Broberg of Anchorage, Alaska and numerous cousins.

There was no public service and his ashes were buried with his Mother at Wynoochee Cemetery in Montesano, per his request.

Arrangements were by Harrison Family Mortuary of Montesano.