Estep was born in Iola, KS, April 18, 1920, to Harvey P. Estep and Mabel Mae Sheffield, Oklahoma farmers who later settled in Ustick, ID.
Estep served as a lieutenant aboard the USS Metcalf, a destroyer, in the Pacific in the latter years of World War II. He self-published his shipmates' stories in "Memories of the Metcalf" in 2002.
He graduated from Meridian High School in Idaho in 1939. He completed his bachelor of science degree in dairy husbandry at the University of Idaho in 1943 and earned a master's degree in adult education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1958.
He worked from 1946 to 1949 in public relations for Washington Water Power then joined the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving in Waterville and Pomeroy in Eastern Washington, then Everett, moving to Vancouver in 1962. He retired in 1980.
Much of his early work was with beef cattle and improving dryland wheat yields, but his real love was dairy. He owned a dairy near Vancouver Lake. He earned the Certificate of Distinguished Service from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in 1964 and was inducted into the Washington Purebred Cattle Association Hall of Fame in 1981.
He had a second career as a real estate agent for Caldwell Banker, in Vancouver, retiring in his mid-80s.
He married Blanche Gourley of Colville in 1947 and had one son; they divorced. He married Kathleen "Kathy" Shoultes in 1954, and they had four children. She was Washington state president of the General Federated Women's Clubs, president of the auxiliary at Vancouver Memorial Hospital, and a Washington State Fair Commissioner. She died in 1993.
Survivors include five children, Jon Estep of Colville, WA, Debbie Webb of Long Beach, WA, Ron Estep of Coral Springs, FL, Jan Estep of Pullman, WA, and Linda Wilson of Pullman, WA; three grandchildren, Ann Estep of Spokane, WA, Jessie Wilson of Pullman, WA, and Allen Wilson of Pullman, WA; and one sister, Opal Coulson, in Meridian, ID.
He was preceded in death by his wife, three sisters and two brothers. At his request, no service was held. Estep donated his body to medical science and requested that his ashes be buried at sea by the U.S. Navy.
Estep was born in Iola, KS, April 18, 1920, to Harvey P. Estep and Mabel Mae Sheffield, Oklahoma farmers who later settled in Ustick, ID.
Estep served as a lieutenant aboard the USS Metcalf, a destroyer, in the Pacific in the latter years of World War II. He self-published his shipmates' stories in "Memories of the Metcalf" in 2002.
He graduated from Meridian High School in Idaho in 1939. He completed his bachelor of science degree in dairy husbandry at the University of Idaho in 1943 and earned a master's degree in adult education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1958.
He worked from 1946 to 1949 in public relations for Washington Water Power then joined the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service, serving in Waterville and Pomeroy in Eastern Washington, then Everett, moving to Vancouver in 1962. He retired in 1980.
Much of his early work was with beef cattle and improving dryland wheat yields, but his real love was dairy. He owned a dairy near Vancouver Lake. He earned the Certificate of Distinguished Service from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in 1964 and was inducted into the Washington Purebred Cattle Association Hall of Fame in 1981.
He had a second career as a real estate agent for Caldwell Banker, in Vancouver, retiring in his mid-80s.
He married Blanche Gourley of Colville in 1947 and had one son; they divorced. He married Kathleen "Kathy" Shoultes in 1954, and they had four children. She was Washington state president of the General Federated Women's Clubs, president of the auxiliary at Vancouver Memorial Hospital, and a Washington State Fair Commissioner. She died in 1993.
Survivors include five children, Jon Estep of Colville, WA, Debbie Webb of Long Beach, WA, Ron Estep of Coral Springs, FL, Jan Estep of Pullman, WA, and Linda Wilson of Pullman, WA; three grandchildren, Ann Estep of Spokane, WA, Jessie Wilson of Pullman, WA, and Allen Wilson of Pullman, WA; and one sister, Opal Coulson, in Meridian, ID.
He was preceded in death by his wife, three sisters and two brothers. At his request, no service was held. Estep donated his body to medical science and requested that his ashes be buried at sea by the U.S. Navy.
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