Lynda Pheasant

One word is rarely sufficient to describe a person but many who have shared a chapter of life with Lynda T. Pheasant might offer vivacious, mentor, discoverer, creative, inquisitive, learner, tenacious, connector, storyteller, advocate, philanthropist, or memory-holder. Our family would additionally honor her with wife, mother, grandmother, supporter, and cheerleader. A resident of East Wenatchee for the past 52 years, Lynda and her husband Jack raised 3 children in the valley while advocating for the agriculture industry, encouraging life-long learning, and providing influential leadership within a breadth of community programs. She loved being Gramie to granddaughters Audrey and Samantha as they shared a love of reading, puzzles, and going on long dog walks. Born in southern California, the daughter of a schoolteacher and an architect/inventor, Lynda grew up in the Pacific Palisades house designed and built by her father. She utilized those inherited design skills in designing the house that she and Jack had built in Lynden WA in 1967, the remodel of the East Wenatchee home they purchased in 1972, and again with their dream house in the same location in 2021. Lynda excelled in playing the clarinet and bassoon in secondary school and college bands/orchestra ensembles; her University High’s connection with UCLA enabled access to perform intricately choreographed marching band numbers for football games in the Rose Bowl Stadium. Many of her classmates had parents involved in the movie industry so orchestral musical productions (King and I, South Pacific, etc.) were accessorized with real props from the Hollywood sets. She also shared a love of camp songs acquired through extensive involvement in Girl Scouts (Mariner Scout as a youth, camp counselor, troop leader even before her kids were of age, and then with her kids in Brownie, Junior, and Cadet troop activities). Lynda always held a special bond with animals – growing up, she took in and cared for more pets than her parents realized! She fondly recalled riding her horse Flash on the beach and through Topanga Canyon in the years when it was still considered the rural outskirts. She supported kids in raising sheep, cats, and dogs (and even pheasant chicks one year). She was the Doggonits 4-H club leader for many years and traveled the state supporting daughter Jean’s 4-H and AKC efforts. During the past 20 years, Lynda teamed with her two Australian shepherds to earn numerous titles in Agility, Rally, Scentwork, Tricks, and Barn Hunt. Lynda and Awesome Annie were the first team in NCW to achieve the MACH (Master Agility Champion) title. Most recently, Lynda leveraged her love of dogs with her experience/advocacy in the tree fruit industry to develop an Ag Detection Dog program whereby orchardists/community members team with their dogs to detect Little Cherry Disease; the research component being grant funded by the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission (perhaps their first project awarded to an octogenarian!). A Taylor family college scouting trip throughout the west coast for her older brother led Lynda to subsequently transfer from Santa Monica City College to Washington State University. She was there when the “C” tipped to become a “U” for WSU. Simultaneously, what started as a blind date with a handsome guy from Tonasket turned into a 61-year marriage with Jack - her best friend and partner. She graduated with a degree in Psychology and Jack fondly claims he “has been paying the price ever since.” Her Taylor roots also instilled in Lynda a commitment of service to community and country through sharing time, treasure, and talent. Once she decided to be part of an initiative, she also took on leadership roles: Farm Bureau board member (and sharing the Tom Van Well service award with Jack); Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society president (leading recognition efforts of civil war veterans in NCW including the Wallace Memorial presentation); Wenatchee Kennel Club building committee, instructor; Chelan-Douglas Republican Women positions at caucus, county, and state levels; Girl Scouts leader; 4-H leader; Washington Apple Commission apple ambassador. Lynda was instrumental in launching efforts for WKC to finance and obtain the East Wenatchee building site and offering obedience, agility, and canine citizenship training. Lynda was a proud Military Spouse (Army with Jack) and Military Mom (Army, Space Force with David). She supported troops locally and world-wide and was especially thrilled to have pinned her son at his recent promotion to Colonel in the U.S. Space Force. Lynda cultivated a love for the written word; she enjoyed wordsmithing write-ups, presentations, grant proposals, etc. Her kids are thankful for such an excellent writing teacher as she guided each from their first written story through college essays & employment resumes. She maintained a faithful correspondence with long-time friends, an annual Christmas letter, and contributed to the >100 year tradition of the Farrar Family Letter. Lynda not only authored stories (a children’s tale involving her Australian Shepherd Jett and a biography of her childhood friend’s experiences living with polio) but she also researched the genealogical stories of family, many friends, and sometimes interesting acquaintances; she made connections with fellow researchers and librarians throughout North America in her quest to fit pieces together. Lynda was herself a life-long learner (recently completing a Creative Writing course through WVC and she strived to provide learning opportunities and connections to others. She taught 6th grade enrichment classes at Kenroy Elementary School. She helped her girls’ summer softball teammates to acquire their first jobs as part of the nursery budwood crew. So many Wenatchee Valley youth remember the positive influence that Mrs. Pheasant had on their growing up years, and she maintained connections with several throughout the years. She enrolled in a computer programming class at Wenatchee Valley College in order for son David to take the class as a 7th grader (way before Running Start existed). She returned to WSU to work on an advanced degree while daughter Susan was an undergrad. She was a Class 16 graduate of Ag Forestry Leadership. When her kids attended Eastmont schools, Lynda was known district-wide as one of the most creative writers of excused absence notes -- firmly believing that not all education takes place in the classroom! Her children fondly remember many a family field trip and adventure. Although she didn’t grow up farming, Lynda immersed herself in the importance of agriculture. Often, she would ask new acquaintances how far removed they were from production agriculture so that she could tailor her conversation to their experiences. Lynda served on a citizen task force Partnership for Rural Improvement which helped launch the tree fruit program for Wenatchee Valley College; she served as Jack’s research assistant in conducting industry changing research on the use of crabapples as pollinizers. Agriculture also facilitated travels to North and Central America, Europe, China, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. Lynda cultivated an entrepreneurial spirit that emerged in diverse forms: picking, packing, and marketing nectarines from the home orchard to help finance college educations; sourcing and selling canning jar lids amidst a west coast shortage; partnering with neighbor Ilona Ringler to direct market fruit in western Washington; co-owning with Jack a 160 acre apple orchard; keeping the tree fruit nursery sales office functioning while Jack was making horticultural consulting/sales visits; designing exhibits for horticultural shows; and hosting tree fruit industry folks from around the world. Lynda canned fruits, vegetables, and apple sauce grown from the family garden. Her kids appreciate her passing on award-winning pie baking skills. Some people say life is the dash between dates. For Lynda, life was the connections and relationships she cultivated with family, friends, and community over a lifetime. Family includes, her husband Jack Pheasant; children, Dr. Susan Pheasant, Jean & Brian Stearns, and Col. David & Kristin Pheasant; and granddaughters Audrey Stearns & Samantha Stearns. Lynda was preceded in death by her parents, Allan & Audrey Taylor, and her brother Keith. Lynda celebrated life every day. In lieu of flowers or a service, please consider donating to one of Lynda’s favorite activities: The Wenatchee Kennel Club (WKC) designated to building the north wing classroom extension of the Training Center (mailing address: WKC, PO Box805, Wenatchee, WA 98807) or the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) (mailing address: WAGS, 127 S. Mission St., Wenatchee, WA 98801). Arrangements by Chapel of the Valley, East Wenatchee.

Lynda Pheasant

April 29, 1940 - February 9, 2023