PORT ANGELES — The Peninsula logging and trucking industry is mourning one of its own.
Dwane Robert Sukert, 38, was killed Sept. 3 in a trucking collision near North Bend.
To honor him, Fallon Ellis, owner of Ellis Trucking LLC, which Sukert worked for, is planning a trucker procession next week. The event will depart at 10 a.m. Sept. 27 from Swanson’s in Port Angeles and travel to Fairview Grange No. 619, 161 Lake Farm Road, for a celebration of life.
The procession will be a show of how supportive the trucking community is of each other, Ellis said.
“There are several different log trucking companies out here,” she said. “We’re all competitive for the hauling out here, but when things like this happen in such a small community, we come together. Several log haulers are putting their trucks into the procession to show their support.”
She said the amount of support that’s been expressed so far is “pretty incredible.”
“New generations are taking over the industry, but one thing that keeps constant is the support we all have for each other out here,” Fallon said. “We’ve seen a lot of support and a lot of people have reached out to the family.”
The procession will be shown through Facebook Live on Sukert’s account, Ellis said.
Sukert, a member of the Makah tribe, was born April 13, 1987. He was born and raised in Port Angeles.
“He was hauling logs over by North Bend on I-90 and a semi next to him blew out a front tire and swerved into Dwane’s log truck, causing it to roll, and he passed away,” Ellis said.
“Dwane was a gentle giant, very kind, giving, funny,” she said. “He was never in a bad mood, always willing to go the extra mile when we asked him to do different jobs or go places to haul. He was a great guy. He was the kind of person who you felt like you knew for a thousand years after meeting. As employers, we were really close with Dwane.”
Sukert was really funny, his niece Holli Clark said.
“He would always make everybody laugh around him,” Clark said. “Very friendly, had a great work ethic. He really cared for his family and loved doing what he did. He liked being out in the city but didn’t like to live out there.”
Sukert didn’t have a lot of spare time because work was so demanding, Clark said, but when he did have time off, Sukert enjoyed hiking and hanging out with his friends. He played poker every Saturday night with family, she said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
