Gary Jay Arata
March 3, 1948 – March 5, 2016

Gary Jay Arata passed on March 5, 2016 at Whitman Hospital in Colfax, Washington, two days after his 68th birthday, following a nearly decade of battling cancer. Gary was a lifelong farmer and grew up on his family's ranch and dairy on the central California coast. He began recording the daily weather for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a school project in the eighth grade, and continued to do so for more than fifty years. He graduated from Pescadero High School in 1966, and in 1970 earned a bachelor's degree in Agricultural Mechanics and Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He began work on a Master's degree in the same field, but decided to return to the family farm instead the following year. He married Marie Mason on Valentine's Day, 1977, and spent the next several decades raising a family, farming, and repairing and collecting Caterpillar tractors. He took great pride in his two children, and was an involved member and treasurer of the Church in the Redwoods in La Honda, California, for many years. Gary was an avid lover of all things Caterpillar, well-known for his expert repair work and mechanical abilities, and never turned down an opportunity to help others when his skills could be of use. He could drive a tractor long before he could (legally) drive a car, and collected well over one hundred antique Caterpillar crawler tractors throughout his life. If it had yellow paint (and most times even if it didn't) he could probably tell you as much or more about it than any manual or parts catalogue. In 2005 he purchased the Willson Tractor property on Green Hollow Road and soon after relocated to the Palouse. Though he fought cancer during the entire decade that he lived in Washington, he considered them among the happiest years of his life. He took great pride in joining the ranks of the region's wheat farmers and deeply treasured the friendships he formed here. He was an active member of the Antique Caterpillar Machinery Club and Lewis-Clark Antique Power Club, and took great joy in sharing his love of antique tractors at plowing bees. He was loved for his generous heart, gentle nature, and kind smile. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Grace Arata. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Marie Arata, and son Lawrence Arata of Colfax, Washington, daughter Laura Arata, of Stillwater, Oklahoma, and a brother, Louis Arata, of Yerington, Nevada. Funeral services will be held at Onecho Bible Church on Friday, March 11, 2016 beginning with a visitation period at 10:00 am and service at 11:00, followed by a potluck luncheon to which all friends are invited in celebration of Gary's life. The family suggests that any memorial donations in Gary's name be made to the Whitman Hospital Foundation, 1200 W. Fairview St., Colfax, WA 99111, or Onecho Bible Church, 11361 Almota Road, Colfax, WA 99111. Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is caring for the family.