Obituary of Lester Ray Sonneson

Lester Ray Sonneson

Les was born on September 22, 1925 near Enumclaw, Washington. A part of the Greatest Generation, he served in the US Army Air Corps, and the US Air Force during and after World War II.

Les was an engineer by training – he attended Multnomah Junior College in Portland, and then Oregon State University. At the junior college, he served as the fraternity president, and the student body president. At OSU, he went on to receive a degree in mechanical engineering.

For his career, Les spent 25 years working in the Central Research Division at Crown Zellarbach, retiring in 1982 as the Supervisor of Engineering Services. However, he still had many years of work left in him – he then served as the City of Washougal Planning
Commissioner for 17 years. He also served as a Washougal City Council member for 7 years, and the mayor for 2 years.

Les was also very active in the community – and was a part of several community organizations and institutions, such as Boy Scouts, YMCA, Indian Guides, Jaycees, and East County PEOPLE. He also served on many boards, including the Directors for Planning
Association of Washington, CREDC, C-Tran, SW Washington Health District Regional Planning, and IRC. Les also spent many hours supporting the Two Rivers museum in Washougal.

Les and Wanda were married for an incredible 77 years. They arrived in the Camas/Washougal area in 1957 and raised their three children, Steve, Cheryl and Jeff. Both Les and Wanda loved to travel, and made several trips to Reno, as well as to Hawaii to visit his son.