LeRoy West, born March 14, 1941, to James Riley and Alma (Butler) West, in Walla Walla, passed away Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, at the age of 83. He was the youngest of nine siblings. He graduated Walla Walla High School in 1959. He married Janice Hamblen in April of 1962. They had three children, Jennifer, Jackie and Jim.

LeRoy worked for the U.S. Forest Service as an engineer, locating roads. He started his career at the Umatilla National Forest, moving later to the Fremont-Winema National Forest and finally to the Clearwater National Forest. Partnering with his brother Zeke at Whitewater Outfitters, he also worked as an outfitter and guide for rafting and fishing trips. He also did taxidermy work and was a talented artist.

LeRoy was a skilled outdoorsman and avid hunter that kept his family supplied with meat. He loved his mules and packed into the mountains. In the 1960s he was a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Trials Association, competing in motorcycle trials across the Northwest. His passion for off-road motorcycles carried on through the years. Singing and playing an assortment of instruments, he was a musician his entire adult life. He had a band and co-hosted area jam sessions.

LeRoy is survived by his wife of 62 years, Janice, at the family home in Kamiah; daughters, Jennifer (Jim) Solberg and Jackie (Brian) Meisner, of Lewiston; grandchildren, Sarah (Andrew) Arneson, of Kodiak Alaska; Sean (Jalee) McGinnis, of Virginia Beach, Va; Katie Prado, Ben (Megan) Prado, Jessica (Tyler Phillips) West, of Lewiston; and Riley (Ashley) West, of Kamiah. And the light of his life, great-grandchildren, Kendall, Kylie, Kaelyn, Bianca, Irelynn, Broden, Brooklynn, James, Audrey, Attley, Case, Cooper and the newest (born on his birthday this year) James Theodore. Also, his sisters Leona Bughi Grassi of Cottage Place, Wash., and Maryann Warren, of Oracle, Ariz., survive.

He is preceded in death by his son Jim West, sisters Alma MacDonald and Alice Bell, brothers George, Howard, Don and Zeke West.

Go rest high on that mountain.

A private family gathering has been held.