Forks: Driver in log truck collision recalled as gentle family man

FORKS — Those who knew the late Loren R. Pearson described him as a reserved, gentle family man who loved his children and worked hard.

Pearson died Tuesday when the 1999 Kenworth log truck he was driving collided head-on with a 1980 Kenworth log truck on state Highway 112 near Gerber Road about four miles east of Joyce.

“He and his wife, Jan, were foster parents, and he would bring four or five of the children to the shop sometimes,” said Pete Wilder, owner of Pete Wilder Trucking in Forks and Pearson’s former employer.

“The children would play while he worked, and he was always so patient and loving with them.”

Wilder said Pearson worked for him for three years before going to work for Barry Swanson Trucking in Forks about two years ago.

“It has hit me really hard,” Wilder said Wednesday.

“He was such a good guy — it is just a shame.”

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The rest of the story appears in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News.

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