Denise Jean Hatley, 46, passed away Saturday, August 27, 2016 surrounded by her family and friends at Deaconess Hospital in Spokane following complications of a stroke she suffered on June 24, 2016.
Denise was born December 31, 1969, in Pasco, Washington where her dad was attending college but she grew up on a farm on Union Flat between Pullman and Colton. She went to grade school in Colton and graduated from Pullman High School in 1988. She attended Spokane Community College and took a course in saddle making. After graduation in 1990, she returned to the Pullman area to work at various jobs until she broke her neck in an automobile accident in 1992. She was supposed to be a quadriplegic following the accident but she was determined to be independent and worked hard at rehabilitation so she could walk out of the hospital.
Following recovery from her accident she wanted to work even though she probably could have applied for disability and she had several different jobs in the Pullman/Moscow area (Thank you Earl Dorsey and Marcus Jacobsen for believing in her). She finally decided that driving 18 wheelers was the career she wanted. She successfully got her CDL and was hired by Richardson Trucking, then Baker Truck Service as a wood chip truck driver running from Kamiah or Grangeville to Lewiston and back. She decided at one point that she would teach truck driving since it meant she didn't have to throw chains in the winter but she missed the privacy of a truck cab and quit Swift after a couple of years and went to work for Excel Transportation where she had worked since early 2014.
She had moved to the Camas Prairie to be closer to the mills she hauled wood chips from and lived in various places there since the early 2000's and was briefly married but was transitioning into living with her dad near Pullman prior to her stroke since she was beginning to drive from Lewiston to Coeur d'Alene and beyond.
Denise loved horses and dogs and almost always had at least one of each since she was very young. She had sheep in 4-H and FFA as well as other livestock projects. She enjoyed riding and was Palouse Empire Rodeo Association Princess in 1990 and competed in horse shows for a number of years. She liked listening to music, especially country and 80's music and knew the names of the artists who sang most of the songs as well as the lyrics of the tunes she heard.
She lived life on her own terms and was the most determined, stubborn, funny, sarcastic, kind and generous person anyone could ever know. The world won't be the same without her infectious smile and her family and extended circle of friends will miss her deeply but she will be in our hearts forever.
She is survived by her parents, Dennis Hatley of Pullman, WA and Vida (Kim) Jones of Onaway, ID, as well as her siblings, Tom (Kim) Hatley of Spokane, WA; Alanna (Evan) Ellis of Pullman, WA; and Patrick Hatley of Pullman, WA. She also leaves behind her maternal grandmother, Shirley Davis of Pullman and two nieces and a nephew that she adored: Morgan (Derrek) Nelson of Quantico, VA; Shania Hatley of Lewiston, ID; and Ethan Ellis of Pullman; along with her forever friend, Karin Johnson of Pullman. She has gone to join her paternal grandparents Harold "Pat" Hatley and Jackie Lyman and her maternal grandfather, Jesse Davis and we know she is riding her horse, Mr. T, and playing with her Bubba dog in heaven now.
Denise will be buried at a private family service in the Hatley Cemetery and the celebration of her life will follow at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, September 1, 2016, at the Community Congregational United Church of Christ, 525 NE Campus Avenue, in Pullman, WA.
The family suggests memorial gifts be made to the Hatley Family Cemetery Association, PO Box 1035, Pullman, WA 99163 or the Whitman County Fire District #12, 912 W. Main Street, Pullman, WA 99163 or any charity of choice.

Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman has been entrusted with arrangements.