Vincent Kretz

Beloved husband and father, Vincent Kretz was born to Walter and Alina Kretz, of Hoquiam, Wash., in 1918, and was raised in Grays Harbor and graduated from Hoquiam High School. He spent his life in the timber industry, starting in Grays Harbor, then working for his uncle, Julius Johnson, in Whatcom County. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Mr. Kretz graduated from the University of Washington. He was a pioneer of the log export business, shipping logs worldwide from his Timber Traders Inc. log yards on Harbor Island and Port Angeles. He later owned the Preston Mill Company. He was a longtime member and former president of the Puget Sound Log Scales Bureau and an early member and elder at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, and a longtime supporter of Christian Missions. He lived an exemplary life as a businessman, husband, father, grandfather and friend to all; always with a strong sense of duty.

Mr. Kretz is survived by his wife, Marjory; son, Joel (Sara); daughter, Molly; grandson, Jed, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. Funeral services have been held. Interment was at Preston Cemetery in Preston, Wash. Remembrances are suggested to the Union Gospel Mission.