Dairy icon Imogene Woodside succumbs

Imogene Woodside, who was active in the heyday of the Clark County Dairy Women and was a fixture at the Clark County Fair for many years, died Feb. 14, 2015, following a brief illness. She was 92.

Woodside, the mother of two, grandmother of seven, and great-grandmother of six, moved to Clark County with her dairy-farming husband, Stuart, in 1968, when the county had 384 dairy farms. At her death, the county had four dairy farms.

Virginia Imogene Jackson was born Oct. 26, 1923, in Morristown, Tennessee, graduated from Morristown High School in 1940, and immediately got on a train for Tucson, AZ where her parents had moved a year earlier because her father had tuberculosis and was told the dry weather would be good for him. It was on a blind date in Arizona that Imogene met Stuart Chatfield Woodside who was serving in the U.S. military. They were married in March 1942.

The couple moved to Kansas where Stuart was stationed in the Army Air Corps. While in Kansas, son James arrived in 1942, nine months after their marriage, and son Ray rounded out the family in 1945.

After World War II ended, the family moved to Issaquah, WA where Stuart had graduated from high school. He went back to work at the dairy farm where he had worked in high school. Imogene worked in the Grange Mercantile, a grocery store, in Issaquah. Jim and Ray both graduated from Issaquah High School as had their father.

Stuart and Imogene purchased 30 dairy cows in 1953 and operated a 110-acre dairy farm in Issaquah until moving to the La Center area and expanding their operation in 1968 in partnership with son Ray and his then-wife Merry. Their Sammamish Farms was twice voted Dairy Family of the Year.

Imogene was active in the Clark County Dairy Women, previously called the Clark County Dairy Wives, for many years. She also served as president of the state Dairy Women's organization. She headed up the group's milkshake booth at the Clark County fair, organizing the peeling of about 1,600 pounds of peaches each year that went into the milkshakes. She spent long hours at the fair managing the fundraising effort.

Imogene also headed the Clark County Dairy Princess program and served as a chaperone when the county princess competed at the state level each year. She also was instrumental in organizing Dairy Days, an event held annually at the Clark County Fairgrounds in which as many as 2,000 students came for a field trip to learn about the dairy industry.

Imogene was elected to the state Dairy Products Commission and received the World Dairy Expo National Dairy Woman of the Year award in 1987 which included a certificate signed by Pres. Ronald Reagan. In 1988, she received the prestigious LEAVEN award given by the American Agri-Women, a group in which she was also active. Imogene attended the annual World Dairy Expo.

Imogene was elected into the Washington State Dairy Hall of Fame in 1998.

Imogene enjoyed swimming and had a heated swimming pool at her La Center home. She swam often, especially during the summer months.

Stuart retired from dairy farming in 1984 and he and Imogene spent winters in Arizona for many years. Imogene swam almost every day during the winter at the pool in their development in Arizona.

Imogene baked many cookies at Christmas and delivered plates of cookies to various businesses and organizations in the area, often accompanied by a county dairy princess. She always remarked that the cookies were made with butter. She also sent out cookie recipes as Christmas cards.

Stuart died in 1991 Granddaughter Erin Uskoski recalls her grandmother saying that Stuart was her one and only true love, and that she had the “perfect husband the first time.”

In addition to her husband, Imogene was preceded in death by her brother, Lewis Jackson. Survivors include sons James (Marva) Woodside of California and Ray (Brenda) Woodside of Montana, former daughter-in-law Merry Woodside of La Center, grandsons Jason Woodside of La Center, Darin (Brook) Woodside of Montana, and Ray Lynn Woodside, granddaughters Erin (Scott) Uskoski of La Center, Lacey Woodside of Cathlamet, and Cindy (Ken) King and Jeanie (Shawn) Lenard, both of Illinois, nieces Caroline (Muhannad) A'bdulhamid of California, Barbara (Jim) Carroll of Battle Ground, and Mary Kay Vasey and Ruth Ann Smithrud, both of Arizona, and six great-grandchildren.

Imogene was cremated and her ashes spread across the La Center dairy, as were her husband's, because she wanted to be with him forever.

Celebration of Life services will be held Sun., March 1, 2-5 p.m., at La Center High School, 725 Highland Rd., La Center, with a program set for 3 p.m. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Marvin Case may be reached at (360) 687-4122 and at marvincase@msn.com.