In a poetic way to honor the wishes of a lifelong Central Whidbey farmer, Bob Engle will get one final tractor ride Saturday.

Engle, who died Oct. 31, will be escorted through a portion of Ebey’s Prairie in his casket as part of a funeral procession of tractors and trucks.

The procession will start at 12:30 p.m. at the lumber yard behind the Prairie Center Red Apple Market. Friends and family of Engle are invited to participate in the procession in a tractor or truck, which will lead to a graveside funeral service at Sunnyside Cemetery at 1 p.m.

After that, a celebration of Engle’s life will be held in the commons of Coupeville High School.

“My dad told me years ago that when he passed, he really would like to be taken to his final resting place on a wagon behind a tractor,” said Engle’s son, who’s also named Robert Engle but is referred to as “Young Bob.”

“I felt really strongly that this would be something he’d want. It’s a way to honor him.”

Bob Engle, who died at the age of 74, was beloved on the prairie as a dedicated, hard-working farmer with a generous heart.

“He never went anywhere. He farmed his whole life. That’s all he wanted to do,” said Dale Sherman, a squash farmer who’s known Engle his entire life. “In grade school, that’s all he wanted to do.”

Engle spent his lifetime in Coupeville except for the six months he was in Fort Knox, Kentucky, for basic training in the Army. He then served in the Army Reserves for six years.

He was a fourth-generation Central Whidbey farmer, following in the footsteps of his great grandfather William Ballinger Engle, grandfather Carl Engle and father Robert Engle.

“There was Grandpa Bob, Bob and young Bob,” Sherman said. “Some called them 1, 2 and 3 when they were all still alive. There were a lot of Bob Engles.”

And a lot of family farming history on Ebey’s Prairie.

William Engle’s arrival in Central Whidbey dates back to 1852.

At age 14, Bob and his younger brothers Len and Jim joined their father in forming Robert Engle and Sons Farm.

The dairy farm would grow to roughly 1,800 acres and consist of 1,000 cows at its peak, making it the largest dairy farm in Island County, according to Len Engle, who continues to farm at age 71.

Eventually, every dairy on Whidbey shut down, out-competed by larger-scale operations in Eastern Washington and elsewhere.

Bob Engle continued to operate Engle Family Farms with his brother Len and son Bob, who’s 43. The business focuses on raising beef cattle and growing alfalfa and various seed crops.

“It was the three of us and now it’s Len and I,” said the younger Bob Engle, adding that he fully intends to keep farming.

Bob Engle’s respect for his dad is mighty. He said his dad instilled in him and others a strong work ethic.

He hears from people around the community who talk about his father’s generosity. He said he talked with his father everyday and feels fortunate to have had that relationship and knows others are better for knowing him.

“My dad always gave everybody a chance at a job and a chance to prove themselves and he taught a lot of people how to work,” Bob said.

The elder Bob Engle’s loves included his wife of 49 years, Cheryl Engle, his family, farming, country music and John Deere tractors.

It will be Bob Engle’s first John Deere tractor, freshly painted as an act of kindess by Main Street Collision, that will take him to his final resting place.

His cousin, Rev. Dave Engle, and Rev. Jin Ming Na will officiate the funeral service, which is open to the public.

“He had friends and friends and friends,” Dave Engle said.