Laine DeJong passed away peacefully on August 21st at the age of 61, after a long battle with cancer. He was at home in Renton, WA, surrounded by his wife and children.

Laine was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on January 3rd, 1952, to Abraham and Annie DeJong. His family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. They lived in Montana, Washington, Missouri, North Dakota, and Utah, where Laine graduated from Layton High School in 1970. He studied business at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

He (temporarily) went to work for Van Water & Rogers (now Univar) and stayed there for over 38 years, moving to California and then Washington State. Laine held many positions with the company, starting as a shipping clerk in the warehouse in 1972 and retiring as Vice President of Marketing Analysis in 2010. Laine lived in Woodinville, WA for 23 years and moved to Renton last year.

Laine is survived by his wife of 30 years, Debra, along with his seven children and 12 grandchildren: Chris and Cassie deJong and kids, Jessica, Victoria, Samantha, and Andrea; Chance and Cybil Whittamore and kids, Salome, Silas and Carina; Charity (Whittamore) Detwiler; Mindy (DeJong) and Rod Nash and kids, John, Sadie and Lainie; Tarren and Karyn DeJong and kids, Greyson and Brandon; Colton Whittamore and Corey Whittamore.

Laine also leaves behind five siblings, Maria deJong Ellis, Hendrik deJong, Johanna (DeJong) Goodwin, Andrew DeJong and John DeJong.

Laine loved reading, riding his motorcycle, working in the yard, traveling with Debra, and being with his family. He had a strong work ethic and could seemingly build or fix anything. Laine loved God, cared about doing what was right, gave generously, and offered his help to anyone in need.

We, his family, are so grateful for how he took care of us all. We will always remember his kindness, his encouragement and his wonderful sense of humor. We will remember him mostly for the way he loved us all.


Memorial Service
There will be a memorial service celebrating Laine's life on Saturday, September 7th, at 11:30am. It will be held at Trinity Presbyterian Church (1615 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA). A reception will immediately follow.