Levy Sanford Covey Obituary (1922

Levy (Lev) Sanford Covey, 92, died at Good Samaritan Healthcare Center on October 28, 2014. He was born July 28, 1922, in Yellville, Arkansas, the ninth of 10 children to Thomas and Martha Covey. He spent most of his childhood in Yellville, Arkansas. His family moved to the Yakima Valley his senior year and he attended high school in Cowiche, Washington. Lev joined the Navy for two years after high school. He made six trips across the Pacific Ocean and served aboard the Pondera during the invasion of Okinawa, working in the radio department. Lev was discharged in 1945. After the war, Lev married Karen Ericksen from Naches, Washington. He attended Perry Institute in 1947-1948, majoring in carpentry. During the Korean War, Lev worked as a mechanic at Boeing, in Seattle, but returned to the Yakima Valley in 1951. He then worked as a patrolman in security at Hanford and was with the Yakima Fire Department for six years, before buying his orchard on Naches Heights in November 1957. The orchard was 26 acres on 40 acres of land. He wanted to build a new house on the hill overlooking his property. As the years passed however, Lev and Karen decided they wanted to live where the trees were, so he continued to remodel the house. The house remodeling was slow because he could only work on it after he worked a full day in the orchard. The original house was about 900 sq. feet. Today there is close to 2700 sq. feet. This was an amazing accomplishment and Lev was very proud of his home. He put out a sign and named it "Covey Country." Lev stopped farming in 2001. He lived in his home for 57 years. His favorite holiday was Christmas and he always enjoyed decorating the house both inside and outside. Family was very important to Lev. Throughout the years, wonderful memories were created. These range from sledding on the hills in the orchard, family croquet tournaments on the big yard, Easter egg hunts, picnics, and family gatherings. Lev was a life member of the VFW. He enjoyed fishing early in his life as well as bowling and playing cards. Later in his life he enjoyed golf. With his wife Karen, they organized a family golf tournament for over thirty years. In 1997 he got a "hole in one" during the family tournament. This was truly something he would never forget and was a very special highlight in his life. Lev also enjoyed watching the Mariners and the Seahawks on TV and was able to attend some of the games. Karen passed away in 1999 after fighting cancer for 10 years. They were married 52 years. Lev continued to stay busy with his 2 acres of land, his garden and visiting Vickie's Restaurant in Tieton to meet with his coffee group. His passion was his shop and he spent many hours working on building tables. Years earlier when his grandchildren were growing up, he made desks for them. These desks have been handed down to his great-grandchildren today and are still being used. What wonderful treasures the family has and precious memories that will live on. During a class reunion, Lev reconnected with his classmate, Lorraine White. They saw each other for several years and got married in July 2009. Lev was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Karen, and his nine siblings. Lev will be greatly missed by his wife, Lorraine of Yakima; son and daughter-in-law Mike and Marilyn Covey of Yakima; and his daughter and son-in-law, Linda and John Sutton of Lake Stevens; grandchildren: Heather (Ruben) Martinez, Steve (Tanya) Coram, Bryce (Karen) Covey, Marci (Adam) Raymond, Khirranne Covey and Sean Covey; his 10 great-grandchildren: Andrew, Austin, Katie, Sabrina, Charlie, Amber, Tanner, Ashley, Trent and Jayde, as well as extended family and friends. Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at Shaw & Sons Funeral Directors at 201 N. 2nd Street, Yakima, WA 98901. Military honors will be held at Tahoma Cemetery following memorial service.