Walter Richard (Dick) Terwilliger passed away at 8:13PM on August 28, 2011 after a long battle with M.D.S. and Leukemia. Dick was born in Mount Vernon, WA on Oct. 16, 1944. His parents were Walter and Laura(Kaiser) Terwilliger. Dick spent all but a few years of his life in Mount Vernon where he attended school and graduated with the Class of 1963. From 1964 - 1968 he served in the U.S. Coast Guard. Most of that time was in Newport, OR at Yaquina Bay Lifeboat Station. While in Newport, he met and married Pam Barnes. They moved to Mount Vernon in 1968 where they raised three sons: Bob, Jason & Clint. Dick retired from the Skagit County Sheriff's Office after 26 years of service. He was a Deputy, Detective, Patrol & Corrections Sgt. During that time. He was also the first Range Officer, a position he held for 13 yrs. He retired in 1994. Dick then became employed as a Tribal Gaming Agent for the Swinomish Casino, 1994-2002. In 1994 he married Barbara Ronsse and they have resided in Mount Vernon since Dick retired in 2002 for good. He enjoyed the outdoors. He loved to camp, hunt and fish and in his younger years he did his share of hiking in the mountains. He especially enjoyed hunting trips with his sons and many years of water-skiing and camping at Lake Chelan with his family and friends. Over the years he made his share of "Hobo Stew". He and Barbara liked to travel and their favorite trips were to Australia and China. They also sometimes visited California and Arizona in the winters in their R.V. They also enjoyed many trips to Reno. They had a great cruise to Alaska in 2008, and had planned a lot more road trips and cruises. Dick had a quick wit and enjoyed making others laugh. He enjoyed the family gatherings and playing with his grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and his coffee drinking buddies. He was preceded in death by his grandparents and his parents. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; three sons, Bob (Carol) Terwilliger, Jason (Nichole) Terwilliger, Clint (Kristi) Terwilliger; stepdaughter, Vanessa Ronsse (Vanya Tucherov); his sister, Martha Terwilliger; niece, Liz Kooy; nephew, Rod Waddle; as well as 11 grandchildren, Jacob and Kylie Terwilliger, Alyssa and Gracie Terwilliger, Emma, Madalyn, Mason, Avery and Mallory Terwilliger, Alexander and Nicolas Ronsse-Tucherov; and life-long friends, Tom Burger and Ron Carpenter. Our gratitude goes to Dr. Mehrdad Jafari, nurses and staff at the Skagit Cancer Care Center. You made our lives so much more hopeful and made the journey the last three plus years easier and more "doable" than we thought possible. Thank you. A celebration of Dick's life will be held Wednesday, September 7, 2011, 4:00pm at Crossroads Covenant Church, 351 Pease Rd., Burlington. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to: Young Life, PO Box 246, Mount Vernon, WA 98273.