Courtney Salmonson
Courtney Lane Salmonson, 78, of Lynden, passed away peacefully and into the arms of Jesus on Nov. 14 after a courageous seven-year battle with cancer.
Courtney was born in Lynden on Dec. 21, 1943, to Arnie and Juliana “Doll” (VanDiest) Salmonson.
Courtney was a lifelong Lynden resident and attended Ebenezer Christian School and graduated from Lynden High School in 1961.
Courtney had a lot of fun times with his buddies in high school, played football, was in FFA, worked on his family farm, and took pride in showing off his ‘60 Chev.
Courtney met the love of his life, Sharon Vander Kooi in 1960, and they married on May 28, 1964.
They were married for 58 wonderful years and had four awesome kids: Eric, Jodi, Leif, and Shauna.
After high school, Courtney worked with his dad at Darigold, and in 1965 he started working construction.
In 1976 he formed a partnership and was general contractor/co-owner of Holleman and Salmonson Construction building custom homes in Whatcom County.
In 1994, Courtney started Salmonson Construction and continued building houses until 2017 and still did smaller construction jobs until spring of 2022.
Courtney was a very skilled builder, and customers as well as suppliers and subs enjoyed working with him over the 46 years he was a general contractor.
Courtney loved the outdoors – working and playing outside. In his younger years, Courtney enjoyed water skiing, hiking, taking his family camping and fishing.
He began hunting at a very young age, and hunting and fishing were lifelong passions of his.
Courtney was an avid bow hunter, and in 1974 he shot a world record mountain goat on Barometer Mountain and was awarded first place with the Pope and Young Club.
Courtney took great pleasure in teaching his son, sons-in-law, and grandkids the skill of archery hunting.
He loved being with his family, and being able to hunt with them was something very special to him.
Even when he wasn’t able to go hunting himself this past September, Courtney was still an important part of the preparations for the trip.
Courtney also enjoyed lake and river fishing with his friends and family – including teaching the grandkids how to fish and clean them.
In his latter years, Courtney also liked growing a garden and taking care of his apple trees.
Through the years, Courtney and Sharon thoroughly enjoyed supporting their kids and grandkids in various activities including band, cross-country, track and field, basketball, volleyball, fastpitch, football, swim, wrestling, etc., rarely missing any events.
In recent years, they could be found cheering on the grandkids at both Lynden and Meridian schools.
In his retirement, Courtney spent most mornings with the coffee guys at Dave’s Sporting Goods where he made many friends.
Courtney was a very patient, quiet, strong, devoted, hardworking, wise, and Godly man. He was an elder at his church for many years and loved Jesus.
He was a great family man and loved spending time with his family.
Courtney is survived by his wife Sharon; children Jodi (Duane) Zander, Leif (Cindy) Salmonson, Shauna (Brandon) Thomas; grandchildren Kent and Ella Zander and Lane and Kasi Thomas; sisters Juanita (Dale) Hymas, Sally (Chuck) Bullion; sisters-in-law Elaine Salmonson, Janet Huisman, Carole (Roger) Kornelis; brother-in-law Dale (Aileen) VanderKooi; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Courtney is preceded in death by his son Eric Shawn Salmonson; parents Arnie and Juliana “Doll” Salmonson; sister Nola Salmonson; brother Arnie Lee Salmonson; brothers-in-law Larry VanderKooi and Robert Huisman; sister-in-law Bonnie VanderKooi; nephews Michael VanderKooi and Christopher VanderKooi.
The family would like to thank the staff at CHCC Rehab Unit and PeaceHealth St Joseph Cancer Center, and Drs. LeTellier, Hiemstra, Mahal, and Spiess for their compassionate, loving care of Courtney.
Graveside service will be held at Monumenta Cemetery on Monday, Nov. 28 at 1:15 p.m.
Memorial Service will follow at First Reformed Church in Lynden at 2 p.m. Reception to follow.
Please share your memories at www.gilliesfuneralhome.com.
Memorial donations may be made to the following: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, PO Box 8249, Missoula, MT 59807; St Joseph Cancer Center, 3301 Squalicum Pkwy, Bellingham, WA 98225; CHCC Rehab Unit, 855 Aaron Drive, Lynden, WA 98264. Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Gillies Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
