Locals in the limelight

Some people in the world are really good gift givers. We all know the type. They find just the right gift at just the right time. Dale Winfrey takes this to a whole new level. He truly gave the gift that keeps on giving, the gift of a kidney. On March 13 of this year, he was wheeled into the surgical unit and donated a kidney to local resident Lois Hubbard. They were cousins and had kept in touch over the years. Their grandmothers were sisters. His mother had set up Lois’ parents, Clarence and Helen, on their first date.

Dale is a humble man and doesn’t think what he did was anything exceptional. To him, it was just “the right thing to do.” Dale lives with his wife Tamara about 17 miles outside of Odessa on the old Elizabeth Dammel homestead. They have been married for 27 years and met at Deutschesfest. Tamara was set to move to Germany in three weeks when they met. They kept in touch, and four months after she had moved, Dale offered her a plane ticket if she would come home. They have been together ever since.

Dale is a Claims Frontline Performance Leader for Allstate Insurance, and he travels frequently in his job. Dale is passionate about snow skiing, boating, fishing and hanging out at Deer Lake with family and friends. I have run into them at Spokanimal fundraising events. They are huge animal lovers, especially Tamara, Dale added.

They have a son, Jason, who is a former golf pro and lives in Elk, Wash. with his wife Kim and their granddaughter. Their daughter Casey recently married Adrian Moffet of Odessa. They live in Tacoma, and she just got a job with Allstate as an Injury Adjustor Trainee. I asked Dale how he felt about another family member working for the same company. He laughed and said that “it sure puts more pressure on her to do a good job.”

Dale is a no-nonsense, easygoing guy. He loves westerns and action movies, especially those with Bruce Willis and Tom Selleck. I brought up “Quigley Down Under,” and he agreed that it was one of Tom’s best movies. I asked him if he had any favorite foods, and he said all he could think of was tiger shrimp. He relayed a story about when he and his wife were first dating, and he took her to a really nice dinner at Culpepper Cattle Co. He ordered the tiger shrimp, and she ordered something else. At some point during dinner, Tamara wanted him to share one of his shrimp. Dale said he isn’t certain, but he doesn’t think he shared with her. He REALLY loves tiger shrimp.

I asked Dale if he had any pet peeves. He pondered that for awhile and said it really irritates him when people don’t return their shopping carts in parking lots. If he sees someone bump it up over the curb when the cart return is close by, it is all he can do not to say, “Seriously??”

We had arrived at the kidney donation portion of the interview. To sum up the experience, Dale said “it was incredible, awesome.” At the time, there were 263 people on a regional waiting list for donor kidneys. Sadly, he said, many of them don’t get one in time. Dale was following the “Quest for a Kidney” page on Facebook that Lois’ son Kendall had set up. One evening, while having a glass of wine with his wife, he mentioned to her, “I could do that.” Dale remembered growing up when Lois’ father Clarence struggled with, and finally succumbed to, kidney disease. I asked him if his wife was apprehensive at first, and he said, “No, but I don’t think she thought I was serious.”

The biggest hurdle at the time was getting the six weeks off work that he would need to be a donor. He had recently been appointed to a one-year, temporary position at Allstate that could catapult his career with the company. He approached them, and not only were they supportive, they thought it was a very admirable thing to do. Even though it was the worst timing of his career, he already had his mind made up.

The donation process involves months of physical and psychological testing. Everything is kept anonymous. After the initial blood test, Dale was informed he was a perfect match. After that, he underwent the psychological evaluation, an in-depth interview with the kidney center, and more physical tests. He was given the news that not only was he in the final four, but he was most likely going to be the donor. It was at that time that they informed him he could let Lois know. He had a funny story to share about the day he went to her office to tell her. After they exchanged hugs and how are ya doin’, she started to update him about all of the stuff going on with her kidneys and the search for a suitable donor. Dale was smiling and nodding, because he knew everything. When he told her, “I am the guy, she looked at me in shock and then lost it.” I asked Dale if he was nervous, worried about the pain? “Oh, yeah,” he said, “but I used to be a bull rider. I have horses. I have been kicked and stomped. I figured it couldn’t be worse than that. Dale also grew up with four older brothers. He wasn’t sure if the animals or the brothers prepared him more.

Dale is eager to share his experience and encourage others to consider it. Regarding the kidney he donated, he told me in jest “she will take better care of it than me.” His kids were completely supportive. His son told him that if he ever had problems, he would give him one of his. Four days after surgery, Dale went home. The pain was manageable and about what he expected. He set a goal to run Bloomsday eight weeks later because he figured that Lois wouldn’t worry about him so much if hecould do it. He ran it in under 1.5 hours. This past July, he ran the “Color Me Rad” 5k in Spokane with his daughter. “You wear all white clothing, and they spray you down with colored cornstarch during the race.” In his photos from the race on Facebook, his white teeth are grinning while the rest of him is coated with colored paint. And although the road to recovery has been gradual for Dale (he gets a little more run down, and his stamina isn’t what it used to be), it is obvious that Dale Winfrey is joyful – and wouldn’t change a thing.