Daniel Gabbard

Daniel Leroy Gabbard, 61, of Selah, Washington, passed away on November 10, 2022. Dan was born to Albert Leroy and Martha Gabbard in Norfolk, Virginia. He was the 3rd of 6 children and would give them a run for their money from there on out. At about 6 years old, his father retired from the Navy and they came to his dads hometown Selah, WA where he would spend the rest of his life. Danny started working at a young age. He started in construction at about 14 years old. He worked a few years in logging in his late teen years and in that time he made some lifelong friendships and had stories that he talked about his entire life. He then made his way back into construction where he worked on bridges, residential homes, commercial buildings, and in the end of his career he became a crane operator, which he loved more than anything. At about 25 years old Dan fell off a bridge and injured his back which forever impacted his life from such a young age. He loved to laugh, especially at himself. He was always telling jokes, some good, some not so good, and he laughed his loud roaring laugh that would make you laugh anyways, even if it wasn’t the joke that made you laugh. He had multiple nicknames and most of them came with a story. Steely Dan, Dangerous Dan, Dynamite Danny, 2 beer Dan. And I am sure there are more. He loved to hunt and fish, tree falling, anything dangerous and on the edge he was up for the challenge and would always be good at it. He could fall a tree onto a pop can that he placed for it. He raced dirt bikes and would smoke folks even on their bigger, better, bikes because he was an amazing rider! He would bring home trophies and his daughter Heather would take them apart and put them back together for him to make them prettier. He didn’t much like that. Daniel met Linda Osmun in 1976. It was love at first sight. He chased her until she agreed to give him a date, and well the rest is history. But he never quit chasing her. He loved her so much. They had their first child Heather while they were still just kids in 1979. He refused to let her just be a girl, so he would have her fishing and riding with him in no time. They eventually married in 1985 and soon after they would welcome their baby boy Daniel Jr. That was the light of his eye. A son. He made sure to raise his son doing the things he loved, fishing, hunting, hiking, he would coach baseball, and be on the sidelines of sports yelling and cheering for all of his kids and grandkids for the rest of his life. They welcomed their last child Amber in 1987 and he then got a spitfire just like him that would keep him on his toes forever. He became a grandpa in 1997 to his first grandson, and would then follow with 4 more grandsons before he finally got a granddaughter. Being a grandpa was one of his most accomplishing jobs in his life. The babies always loved him more than anyone else in the room guaranteed. He had the funniest baby talk in the world and they would just melt to it. He ended up having 13 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren that he loved so very much. He loved all of his family so much. Daniel is survived by his wife Linda, children Heather Gabbard-Eells(Nathan), Daniel Gabbard Jr (Nichole), Amber Chouinard (Zack), grandchildren, Austin (Katelyn), Brittany, Christopher, Melody, Brayden, Daytona, Dillon, Cheyanne, Wesley, Charlotte, Elora, Matthew, and Daniel, great grandkids Allison and Chase, sisters Carol (Frank) Mintz of The Villages, Fl, Barbara (Ed) Schmidt of Selah, Cody Lewis (of late sister Glenna) of Selah, brothers Michael Gabbard (Bill) of Seattle and Albert Gabbard Jr of Selah. Niece Crystal (Alex) Ochoa, Nephews Donovan Gabbard, Cody (Jennifer) Lewis Jr, Richard (Jennifer) Mintz and Gregory (Anne) Mintz He also had many uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, and some very special lifelong friends Mike Gunderson, Timmy DeWeese and Randy Bandy. He was preceded in death by His parents Albert Leroy and Martha Gabbard, sister Glenna Lewis, his first granddaughter Kaitlynn MaryLou Chouinard. The family has entrusted Valley Hills Funeral Home with the arrangements. A service is scheduled for Friday November 18, 2022 at 4:00 PM at Valley Hills Funeral Home with a reception to follow at the Selah Civic Center. Viewing will be Thursday November 17 from 3-7 at Valley Hills Funeral Home. Graveside services will be at a later date. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Daniel Gabbard, please visit our flower store.