A life in full: Dale Hubbard’s journey of reflection, work, and joy

As the autumn of his career draws near, Dale Hubbard walks the halls of Barto Hall at Central Washington University with the quiet confidence of someone who has truly lived within the rhythms of the place.

Dale moves like someone who knows the sound of every door creak, who has memorized the light through the windows at different hours, who greets students and colleagues not with obligation, but with genuine connection. And now, after decades of dedicated service and a life intertwined with the university and the town of Ellensburg, Dale will retire in November.

For Dale, retirement isn't an end; it’s a reflection point. His journey didn’t begin in Facilities or Housing, or even at CWU. It began just across the street from where he now works, under the pine tree that once stood in his front yard.

As a boy, he watched his mother, Gay Nyce, work at the CWU library cataloging department. He remembers nights when she edited thesis papers at home, raising him and his brother after a divorce that came when Dale was just 4 or 5 years old.

“I was the only kid at Mount Stuart who could walk home for lunch,” Dale says.

Those walks often led to Rena Shore’s farm just down the road, where cows and fields became his sanctuary. In those formative years, Dale learned independence, responsibility, and the value of hard work—traits that would stay with him throughout his life.

Dale’s family life was complex and large—he is the oldest of five siblings, with a mix of full and half-brothers and sisters. His stepfather, Harold Nyce, a Vietnam War vet and eventual Verizon project manager, helped shape Dale’s teenage years. After a move to Kennewick during his senior year of high school, Dale felt uprooted but resilient.

“It kept me out of jail,” he says with a wry smile, recalling his adolescent friction with change.

After high school, his life took unexpected turns. To believe Dale, he may have considered the priesthood after spending time with a future bishop at a church camp.

But when the Financial Aid Office wouldn't recognize his independence from his parents, Dale enlisted in the Coast Guard. From 1981 to 1985, he served; first, playing the trumpet in the Coast Guard Band in Alameda, California, performing in parades and ceremonies including Disneyland and the Rose Festival Parade.

Then he transferred to the Cutter Bennett out of Port Townsend. His first job? Painting.

“If it didn’t move, we painted it,” he jokes.

Dale spent over two years on search-and-rescue missions, counting 400 missions over that time. But beneath the humor is a proud recognition: he was part of a small, tight-knit crew that helped save lives.

The Coast Guard was also where he met his wife, Stephanie—ironically at a dance at CWU’s Sue Lombard Hall during a weekend visit with friends. They were married five months later. He calls it the best decision he ever made.

After the military, Dale returned to Ellensburg and got his degree in communications. He let go of his music dreams, but not his love of learning. Over time, he took on jobs in carpentry and remodeling, eventually finding his way into CWU’s Facilities department, cleaning the ceiling lights in the Psychology Building.

“Weekends,” he says, smiling.

For the past 10 years, Dale has been a fixture in Housing Custodial, particularly in Barto Hall. He doesn't just manage a building; he cultivates a culture.

“Joy is my favorite word right now,” he says. “I try to get everybody to come up to Barto and just see it in action. Those kids are just awesome.”

He leads by example, running his team with camaraderie and purpose.

“We get the work done together,” he says. “Not just get assigned work. There’s a difference.”

Beyond the campus walls, Dale’s got a history in Ellensburg. He once distributed the Seattle Post-Intelligencer paper on-campus as a boy, delivering dozens of papers every day from Wilson Hall. Later, as union president, he helped reinstate the book scholarship— something he wishes he’d had access to as a student.

He earned his master’s in public administration from Norwich University and developed a deep interest in leadership and organizational behavior. Even now, he still hopes for the day when CWU functions like a “well-oiled machine.”

Dale’s path hasn’t been linear, but it has always been authentic. He’s been a Coast Guardsman, carpenter, trumpeter, union leader, facilities manager, and mentor. Along the way, he and his wife adopted a young woman who worked in the Office of the Registrar.

“We didn’t have kids of our own,” he shares, “but she stayed with us, finished her master’s, and now she’s out in the Sawtooth Wilderness with her family, including our grandson, Jack.”

It’s Jack’s laughter that now brings Dale the most joy. That, and the sound of music echoing from the baby grand piano in his lobby—a tradition he keeps alive even without regular tuning, inviting musicians to bring melody to the hallways of Barto.

Looking back, Dale isn’t interested in accolades or prestige. He’s more interested in the students who’ve passed through his buildings and gone on to great things. He’s proud of the people he’s worked beside—the quiet bonds forged through shared effort.

His least favorite words? “I can’t.” It’s a phrase that doesn’t fit his story—one that is marked by perseverance, change, and showing up, day after day, with intention. Dale never needed a spotlight to make an impact; he just needed a place to put down roots.

Now, with retirement in sight, Dale isn’t rushing toward the exit. He’s walking toward it with grace, with stories embedded in every brick and hallway, and with the quiet satisfaction of a life spent in purpose.

A pine tree still stands by the library next to Jim and Lillian Brooks’ bench—tall, weathered, familiar. It once shaded the front yard of Dale’s childhood home, and today, it quietly marks the landscape of a life come full circle.

Its roots, like Dale’s, run deep across our campus. Though his time at CWU is drawing to a close, the impact Dale Hubbard has made will remain—grounded in years of steady presence, quiet leadership, and authentic connection.

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Author Staci Sleigh-Layman is the former Associate Vice President of Human Resources, who will be retiring from CWU on August 1. This is the first in a series of CWU employee features she completed in 2025.