Dale Raymond Harkins was born to Amos Acey Harkins and Myrtle Joyce Magness in Grants Pass, Oregon, on August 24, 1944. He was the second of five children, being the oldest boy. As a child, he moved with his family around southern Oregon as his father followed the lumber business until they settled in Coos Bay, Oregon.
There, he attended school and graduated from Marshfield High School in 1963. He held multiple jobs in the area, including picking cranberries for a local farmer, Don Davidson, and working at a saw shop and sawmill. He spent many happy days at the beach, scuba diving, fishing or racing on the dunes, for which Coos Bay is famous, with a homemade dune buggy. Dale moved to Walla Walla, Washington, after finding a job with a wheat farmer. There, he met Elisabeth Huntsman, who was visiting the area with several friends, when she volunteered to help him with an elderly woman who had fallen in her home. After a couple of years of courting, they were married in the Gresham Meeting Room on August 17, 1968. They began their married life in a small home in Walla Walla, Washington. In December 1974, their first son, Timothy was born. Three years later, on January 1, 1978, their son, James was born. In 1979, the family moved to Vancouver, Washington, where they spent the next 25 years on a small, 2-acre hobby farm. During this time in Vancouver, there were many changes in their lives, including taking in and raising Dale’s nieces, Kristin and Kasii, who were formally adopted after the death of their mother, Dad’s older sister, Mary Ann. Dale worked for AMSCO, traveling across the Northwest and Alaska repairing hospital medical equipment such as sterilizers, and surgery tables and lights. In 1988, he left the company and opened his own business, Alpha Centauri Medical Repair. In 1995, he began working at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital as a maintenance engineer. In March 1997, their son, Jim, passed away. In 2003, Dale and Beth moved to another hobby farm on 8 acres in Benton City, Washington. Dale went home to his Lord and Savior on Saturday, November 22, 2025, at Trios Hospital, surrounded by his loving family. Dad put his faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as a young man and Dad’s greatest joy was found in his faith in Christ and the approximately 60 years he was gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ in Walla Walla, Gresham, and West Richland. He, and his wife, Beth, left an example of love of the Lord Jesus Christ – an example for their children that was of inestimable value and that we trust is carried through to future generations. Dad’s servant’s towel was large and well used, showing a generous heart and a willingness to help others, a quality greatly valued by his children and grandchildren, and an example for them. Dad did not often have much in the way of treasure, but he generously gave of his time and talent in helping those in need. Dale enjoyed woodworking, working on cars and tractors, and being outdoors with many happy memories of time spent baling and loading hay, working with livestock, camping, fishing and other quality time with family. Besides his son, James, he was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth just four months ago; his parents; a sister, Mary Ann Harkins; and one brother-in-law, Dean Kutsch. He is survived by his son Timothy (Robynn) Harkins and his daughters, Kristin (Josh) Phillips and Kasii (Sam) Odgers. He had nine grandchildren: Michael (Achsah) Harkins, Cody Harkins, Katilyn (Toby) Hall, Emma Harkins, Russell Harkins, Anna Harkins, Jessica Phillips, James Phillips, and Reagan Odgers. He also survived three great-grandchildren, Makayla Harkins, Chase Harkins, and Oaklyn Hall. He is survived by two brothers, David (Meg) Harkins and Brian (Hope) Harkins, and one sister, Donna Kutsch. Dad is greatly missed, but we are thankful that he is “Absent from the body and present with the Lord.”