OBITUARY

Douglas Lee Krueger

November 4, 1941–April 23, 2024

Douglas Lee Krueger, retired Columbia River Pilot, passed away Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in Dayton Wash., of natural causes at the age of 82.

Doug was born November 4, 1941 in Portland, Ore .; the middle child of Raymond and Leona McClure Krueger. He grew up on the Krueger dairy farm in rural Multnomah County, Ore., and graduated in 1959 from Scappoose High School.

Doug started his career at Montgomery Ward's at the shipping and receiving department as a teenager. Later joining Standard Oil before getting a "wiper" job on the tugboats in Portland. Doug worked his way up in the maritime industry and embarked on a fulfilling career that would take him up and down the Columbia River and beyond. He was one of the last remaining tugboat Captains to have run the Columbia River rapids prior to the last dams going in.

During the Vietnam conflict Doug served in the merchant marines before being recruited by a civilian contractor as a tugboat Captain for the uncharted waters of the Mekong River and Delta region of Vietnam. There he supplied U.S. military bases for two years using barges and old wooden tugs so that the rockets fired by the Vietcong wouldn't detonate against the hulls like they would have on newer steel tugs. When he returned to Portland there wasn't any available work on the river, so he went back to the ocean-going tugs of Pacific Inland Tugboat Company. He made runs to Hawaii and up through the Inland Passage all the way to Point Barrow, the northernmost part of Alaska in the days before GPS where mariners navigated by the stars and later radio waves.

Doug returned to the river as one of the last skippers of the steam-powered, sternwheeler Portland assisting ships to dock and move through the narrow bridges of the harbor while also studying to become a Columbia River Pilot. The sternwheeler, the last steam-powered one built in the U.S. is now part of the Oregon Maritime Center and Museum on the Portland waterfront.

After memorizing the entire river system and three years of mentorship from senior Captains, Doug became one of the youngest River Pilots where he successfully guided ships between the ports of Vancouver, Wash., and Portland to Astoria Ore., and back for the rest of his career. He also served as President of the Columbia River Pilots from 1986 through 1989.

During his time with Inland, he met a special secretary who worked there. Doug and Marjory Best were married in a ceremony at the Krueger Farm on August 30, 1975. They made their home in Vancouver, Wash., before moving their young family to the farm in 1978. The family enjoyed spending time outdoors together. They went fishing, camping, snowmobiling, waterskiing and on many horse and mule packing trips. He loved to spend time at the family cabin in Ocean Park, Wash. Digging clams, salmon fishing and crabbing were some his favorite things. Doug often worked extra shifts in the winter so he could have more time off for family adventures during the summer.

In 1988 they re-located to Woodland, Wash., before settling in Dayton in 1998. Even though Doug wasn't on a ship anymore; he didn't really retire. He raised cattle and donated his time and love of mules to the community through his 4-up hitch of Belgian Drafts which were regulars during the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days, Dayton Christmas Kickoff celebrations, the Pendleton Round-Up Wagon Train and in parades and festivals all over the west. Since 2007 Doug felt privileged to pull the historic stagecoach representing the Walla Walla Fair with his matched set of draft mules in regional parades and places as far away as Calgary, Alberta and Cheyenne, Wyo. He and Margie were given the honor to serve as parade marshals in 2020 and 2021. He also helped start and participated in the family friendly "Mule Mania" event that ran in Dayton for more than six years. Doug was always helping his friends and family out and we are grateful for his heart of service and humor.

Doug and Margie spent many years as snowbirds in Tucson, Ariz., and made many friends during their winters there. He enjoyed helping people learn to drive a team; too many to count. He kicked off his parade season in Arizona by pulling a wagon entry for the Tucson Rodeo Parade. While in Dayton he served on the Port Authority Board in Columbia County and was a member of the Kiwanis Club.

Doug will be missed by many friends and family; but especially by his wife of 48 years Margie at their Dayton home; his son Bryce and wife Jessica and their children; Conagher (7), Ryker (6), and Ember (4); by his daughter, Beth and husband Chad and their children; Cassidy (16), Rylee (12), and Sawyer (12); by his brother Bob and wife Bette; and his sister Debbie and husband Kevin Bauer. Doug was preceded in death by his parents. Doug touched the lives of so many people and we are deeply saddened, but we are comforted by the knowledge that he drew close to the Lord in his life and was saved by faith and grace.

A Celebration of Life for Doug is planned the Columbia County Fairgrounds in Dayton on June 2 at 11 a.m. The family suggests memorial gifts be made in his memory to the Pendleton Round-Up Wagon Train, 1330 SW Court Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.

On-line guest book is at http://www.corbeillfuneralhomes.com Corbeill Funeral Home in Dayton is caring for the family.