David Leon Molesh

David Leon Molesh passed away on January 10, 2026, after a long and courageous battle with ALS. He was born the first of four children on November 16, 1943, in Grand Rapids, Michigan to parents Dorothy and George Molesh. He and his sisters, Sherry and April, grew up in the nearby small town of Greenville, Michigan.

He often spoke of an idyllic 40s and 50s childhood of neighborhood playmates and friends, Saturday matinees, sledding, snow forts, and snowball fights in winter, a paper route, mowing lawns, and generally just being a kid. He spent summers with the family, vacationing at the beloved Big Blue Lake.

Every other year, the family traveled west to Ferndale, Washington, to visit his grandparents with stops in Glacier and Yellowstone NPs along the way. In high school, he received decent grades, participated in choir and jazz choir, and competed in three sports - baseball, football, and track.

Upon his graduation in 1961, he attended Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington and later at Skagit Valley Community College. At Western and Skagit, he pursued an English degree while also playing baseball and football. He spent a summer working at Glacier National Park, where he started out washing dishes at Many Glaciers Lodge, but when a singer didn't show up in the lounge, he stepped in and enjoyed that job throughout that summer.

In 1964, he joined the Forest Service Job Corps in Randle, Washington, as a youth leader, where he led trail crews in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. It was here in 1966 that he met an office worker who became the love of his life, Donna Blakley. A whirlwind courtship and a short engagement later, they were married in Packwood, Washington, on April 22, 1967. In 1968, they welcomed son David to the family, and in 1976, they welcomed daughter Melissa as well.

Dave loved sports, family, and the great outdoors. He was an avid golfer, fisherman, and hunter who had many an adventure with family and friends pursuing fish and game throughout Washington State. He also loved camping and took the family on an almost yearly trip to the Chewuck River outside of Winthrop, Washington. There they enjoyed the warm and rain free weather, fishing, and campfires full of storytelling and watching shooting stars.

Dave and Donna loved to garden together and took pride in maintaining extensive vegetable and flower gardens in every house they lived in. They enjoyed travelling and had many adventures, road tripping, and camping throughout the US. They also took trips to Mexico, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and Fiji.

Dave spent his working years logging countless miles as a traveling sales rep in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. He applied his gift of gab and charm to being a sales representative for about everything - medical equipment/supplies, veterinary equipment/supplies, toys, puzzles, games, wine, and baseball cards.

In 2010, they retired to Dayton, Washington. It was in Dayton that, when not gardening, keeping deer out of his garden, reading, or taking extensive daily walks around town, he became involved with the Liberty Theater. The theater rekindled his passion to perform for an audience. Dave performed in many musicals, plays, and variety shows, and involved Donna as well behind the scenes, modifying or sewing full costumes. The connection and love of this extended theater family and community rounded out a full retirement.

Dave leaves behind his beloved wife Donna, brother Jeff, daughter Melissa, son David (Kathy), and grandsons Kale, Bryce, Blake, Dakota, and Patrick, and many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, George and Dorothy, his sister, Sherry, and his nephew, TJ.

The family asks that all remembrances be donated to the Liberty Theater in Dayton, Washington.

Corbeill Funeral Home of Dayton, Washington, has been entrusted with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to http://www.corbeillfuneralhomes.com