SEQUIM — Their family calls them “Big Steve” and “Stevie.”
They were husband, dad, son, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend to their extended family living on the Olympic Peninsula and beyond.
Big Steve was Steve Wasankari Sr., 65. Stevie was Steve Wasankari Jr., 30. They died Sunday afternoon when an unexpected storm, packing gale-force winds, capsized their small boat inside the Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
Steve Wasankari Sr. and his wife, Carol, live between Sequim and Port Angeles in a gray-blue manufactured home. A bright red antique tractor is the showpiece of several vintage machines surrounding the home.
Inside, every inch of davenport and chair in the living room Tuesday is filled with family members remembering the two men. This living room is a place of comfort. Hardly anyone is wearing shoes because each feels at home.
Tears well up in eyes as memories are shared, but some of the stories bring laughter.
As expected, father and son shared many traits.
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