Douglas Stuart Rhine's Obituary
On Tuesday, September 26th, 2023, Douglas S. Rhine, loving husband, father of 6, grandfather of 12, passed away peacefully at the age of 80 in Puyallup, Washington.
Doug is the second child of Ronald and Lois Rhine of Tacoma, Washington. The Rhine family located in the Greater Tacoma area after moving from Montana on Memorial Day, 1942, where Ronald worked in the shipyards and construction to help with the war effort and to support his family. Doug was born in 1943, the little brother to sister Phyllis who is two years his senior.
A lifelong resident of the Tacoma area, Doug attended Parkland School from Kindergarten through 5th grade and then Junior High and High School at Franklin Pierce. Doug participated in his father’s small construction business doing light demolition, road building and site prep in the local area. Following the untimely death of Doug’s father, Doug assumed responsibility for the business at age 20 and began a lifelong career as a demolition contractor, founding R.W Rhine, Inc. in Tacoma. That company had some ups and downs but eventually became well- known in the Pacific Northwest. He decided to do work close to home so he and his employees could be home with their families. That is one reason his employees seldom left. His employees were kind of family to Doug. He cared.
Doug married Frances Van Noy in 1971 and together they raised four children, Judy, Deb, Wendy, and Jamie. At that time Doug relocated his growing business from South Tacoma to the Parkland area at the intersection of 112th Street and Aqueduct Drive. During this time Doug’s business grew and prospered, completing larger and more technical projects over the years.
In 1980, Doug married his childhood sweetheart, Virginia and they made their residence in the Fredrickson area, south of Tacoma. Doug was a large part of raising Virginia’s children Leanne and Pat.
Doug performed thousands of demolition projects throughout the Puget Sound Region, including demolition of the Alaskan Way Viaduct, Husky Stadium, the Seattle Art Museum, T Mobile Park, Climate Pledge Arena (former Key Arena) to name a few.
Doug was a visionary in the demolition world, establishing recycling and reuse processes before it was fashionable to do so. He paved the way for the demolition industry here and was proud to be the first in the Northwest to deploy a fleet of high reach excavators in his business.
In later years, the company became Rhine Demolition, LLC. What once was a small company with a dump truck and bulldozer, that according to Doug “was happy to make enough money to pay the equipment rental,” eventually grew to a regional powerhouse, favored by major contractors and State officials to complete complex projects safely and on time.
After a full and rewarding career for himself and his many friends and colleagues, Doug made the difficult decision to close his business in 2021 and devote more time to the real estate portfolio that he had been developing for many years. Throughout his business and real estate careers he developed hundreds of relationships around the area that he maintained over the years. Doug was known by many people, owing in part to his habit of driving around the region, apparently aimlessly, through back roads, job sites, vacant lots, always willing to stop and converse with whomever he might encounter. Doug’s many friends knew that an offer of a ride from Doug was really an invitation to an hours long journey through what he was involved in at the time, what he had done in the past, and possibly what he was contemplating for the future. Almost always these rides included a stop at one of Doug’s many favorite restaurants. Doug had a personal relationship with many that he punctuated with a unique personal greeting, often followed by a well-worn anecdote or phrase that is memorable to many, such as, “You’re number one”, or “Walk this way,” or, “Don’t walk behind me”.
Doug was sentimental although he seldom allowed his soft side to be displayed. Even as he demanded excellence and accountability in his profession, he was something of a softy.
Doug can generously be described as outspoken. Candidly, he might have regretted some of his comments, but they usually had a purpose, as only he may have known at the time.
Doug was visionary, often described as having a deluxe crystal ball. He had a unique ability to look down the road, visualize what was coming and position himself accordingly. He often tried to help others develop this same quality though they may not have recognized the lesson at the time.
Doug was generous with his talent, with his time, with his knowledge and with all his resources. He was careful enough not to be taken advantage of but willing to help almost anyone. Over the years his companies employed hundreds, and he developed personal relationships with many.
Doug was preceded in death by his parents, Ronald and Lois Rhine.
Doug is survived by his wife Virginia, his children (oldest to youngest) Judy (Mark) Johnson, Deborah (Darrell) Hughes, Melinda (Martin) Eidbo, James (Linda) Van Noy, Leanne Goodner, Patrick (Sandra) McCreery and by 12 grandchildren, his sister Phyllis, and many loving colleagues and friends.
A memorial celebration of Doug’s life and legacy with a reception following will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, October 13, 2023, at Mountain View Funeral Home, 4100 Steilacoom Blvd. SW, Lakewood, WA 98499.
Please honor the life and memory of Douglas by leaving cherished memories, messages, and photos for his family on the guestbook page.
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