July 03, 1918 - November 19, 2010
Wendell Julian Satre Obituary
Wendell Julian Satre, 92, passed away Friday, November 19. He was born on July 3, 1918, to Julian and Myrtle (Clark) Satre on a small farm near Post Falls, Idaho. Wendell attended grade school in a rural, two-room school. He grew up during the Depression, with his father taking whatever paying work could be found - carpentry, construction, digging wells ? so a lot of the responsibilities and hard work of maintaining the family farm fell on Wendell. Even as a boy of 10, he worked a horse-drawn cultivator, the handles of which were almost as tall as he was. With no electrical service to the farm, Wendell witnessed the effort his mother exerted in doing the household chores. He could also see that electricity could save his mother much effort, and this was his inspiration to become an electrical engineer. Life was not all work; he took advantage of his Norwegian heritage, and created quite a sensation in Post Falls by skiing into town for groceries on Norwegian skis handcrafted by his father. Wendell was valedictorian of his high school class in Post Falls in 1935, and went to the University of Idaho. He left home for college with just $80 earned working in logging camps. During his freshman year at college, he lived with another student in a 7' x 14' shack with only a cook stove for heat and no running water. He worked as many as three jobs at a time while attending school, doing such things as cleaning out the cow barns, working on the grounds crew, and flagging on a road crew. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering, graduating in 1939. In 1941, Wendell married his high school sweetheart, Jessie E. Stewart. With unwavering strength, love, devotion and a sense of humor she was Wendell?s helpmate for more than 69 years. Together they raised four children: Janet Satre Ahrend (Robert) of Spokane; Clark (Debbie) of Yakima; Jeanne Kanikeberg of Olympia; and Glen (Marilyn) of Spokane. Wendell went to work for Washington Water Power Company (now Avista) in Spokane in 1939, starting as a personal application (customer service) representative. He left the company temporarily to serve in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was an officer in the Navy from 1944 to 1946, and studied at Harvard and MIT, developing radar and sonar systems. Upon returning to Washington Water Power after the war, Wendell moved up through a number of positions in engineering and construction & maintenance. He became executive assistant to the president of the company in 1963, executive vice president in 1965, and president in 1971. He went on to add the titles and responsibilities of chief executive officer and chairman of the board to the presidency, and retired in 1985. In 1977, Wendell decided that there ought to be a better way to read electric meters than with paper and pencil. So he assigned a couple of company engineers to a special project to develop an electronic method of reading meters and transferring data, and out of that effort grew the company, Itron, which is now a world leader in electronic meter reading. Wendell was founder of Itron, and served as chairman of the board. Wendell took great pride in the Spokane community, and played a major role in many of the region's civic and business initiatives, including helping Spokane host the Expo 74 World's Fair, Wampum, Spokane Symphony, Musicfest Northwest (formerly Spokane Music Festival), Fairmount Memorial Association Board, Association of Washington Business, Leadership Spokane, Engineering Advisory Boards for both the University of Idaho and Washington State University. Most recently, he was a major proponent of Washington State University's Spokane campus. A man of faith, he was a long time member of Manito Presbyterian Church, serving on the Session and later a member of Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church. After his retirement from Washington Water Power, he served on the board and as president of Key Tronic, as president and chairman of the board of Consolidated Electronics, on the board of Output Technology, and was chairman of Empire Health Services. Wendell was named Rotarian of the Year by his Rotary Club, and in 2006 was inducted into the Business Hall of Fame by Junior Achievement of the Inland Northwest. In 2009, Wendell was honored as a Distinguished Graduate of the University of Idaho for his "lasting contributions to the field of engineering, to the college of engineering, and to the University of Idaho." Wendell was a man of the greatest integrity and moral character. He believed that anything worth doing was worth doing to the very best of one?s ability, a philosophy he lived, and expected from those around him. He also believed that we are all placed on this earth to help one another, and devoted his life to doing so himself. For all of his accomplishments, Wendell never lost sight of his humble beginnings. He took immense pleasure in the simple things of life; spending time with family, listening to music, fishing, a game of golf, caring for his roses, photographing unusual cloud formations, a full moon, and a good joke. Nothing made him happier than to have as many family members gathered around as possible. His last fishing trip was a salmon fishing trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands with his sons, and the weekend before his death was spent with his children, some of his grandchildren, and all of his great-grandchildren. He possessed a sharp wit and an unusually keen mind. Wendell will be remembered for his great generosity and wisdom; as a man whose love for his country could never be questioned, and whose trust in God was unfailing. Wendell is survived by Jessie and their children, along with grandchildren Betsy (Dan) Brogan, Cincinnati, OH; Wendy (Steve) Krostag, Bay City, OR; Lauren Kanikeberg, Portland, OR; Heather Kanikeberg, at University of Washington; Kellie and Kimberly Satre, Spokane, Kevin Satre at University of Washington; six great grandchildren - Ethan, Lilly, Debra, and Aaron Brogan of Cincinnati; Clark and Emily Krostag of Bay City. He is also survived by his brother George (Annette) Satre of Wichita Falls, TX, and brother-in-law Philip Ostergard of Arcadia, CA. Wendell was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Loraine, Eleanor, and Irma; and grandson Clark Wendell Satre, Jr. Viewing will be held Sunday November 28th from 1 pm to 5pm at Heritage Funeral Home. A Celebration of Life will be Monday, November 29, 2010 at 11 AM at Hamblen Park Presbyterian Church, 4102 South Crestline. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the charity of one?s choice.
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