You may have heard in the news or on social media about the family in Selah who last week died in a tragic incident involving carbon monoxide poisioning. I remember hearing about the story in the news but I had no idea that I knew the family personally until their names were revealed. When I read this article from KIMA News and saw the victims names, my heart broke. I had just met them only a few months ago!

I met Dustin Trimble a few months ago when I took in my old hoopty to get an oil change at the Jiffy Lube on Nob Hill Blvd (3310 W Nob Hill Blvd). Dustin was wearing a work shirt that had the name "Justin" on it, but he told me that his name is actually Dustin, or Dusty, as his family and friends called him.

Jiffy Lube Yakima - 3310 W Nob Hill Blvd
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Other employees had initially given me service in at the Jiffy Lube that day, but before I took off, I had asked one of the workers if they knew what could be causing my car to sputter. That worker yelled downstairs for Dusty if he wouldn't mind coming over to my car and see if he could offer some mechanical answers.

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Dusty was extremely friendly and explained a few possibilities for my car to be tripping like that. He even offered to help me out on the side by having me stop by his home after work where he could take a look under the hood and fix the problem.

Mechanic
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A week later, I was invited to Dusty's home on Speyers Rd in Selah. He had encouraged me to buy some new spark plugs from an auto parts store before I came to his house and that he would be happy to put in my new ones in his free time. He didn't know me from Adam, but he was so generous and happy to me. He told me that day that fixing cars was his new calling and he wanted to put his automotive skills to use for people in the community who needed help.

Speyers Rd in Selah
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When I arrived at his home and garage, I was greeted outside by a young lady named Ariah (Butler). Dusty explained that she was his daughter and that he would be showing her how to change spark plugs on my car.

Ariah Jade Butler Gofundme
screenshot via Gofundme.com
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"We rebuild cars together," Ariah explained quietly and politely.

Dusty proudly told me that he and Ariah had remodeled and rebuilt an old car and that Ariah had repainted the car herself. They even opened up the car's hood and showed me all of the rebuilt engine parts they had put in together as a father and daughter team. I was quite impressed by her work.

"This is AMAZING, Ariah! Are you going to become a race car driver like Danica Patrick someday?" I asked Ariah.

"No," she said. "But I want to be my 7th grade class president though," Ariah replied, smiling confidently.

Selah Middle School
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"Well, I hope that even if you don't get to win your election this year, I hope you will run again for class president next year and win!" I replied, and I meant every word. I didn't know this young lady very well, but I remember thinking in that moment that I hoped she would grow up to become a powerful force to be reckoned with.

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Ariah was so sweet, kind, and I could tell she had a beautiful and loving heart. She was just so precious and she reminded me of my own daughter. I wanted to give her a big hug before I left their house. In retrospect, I so wish I had. I cannot believe she is gone and my heart breaks for the remaining family members of Ariah, Rachel, and Dusty, especially for the unnamed sibling that was also in the house that day last week. From what I hear, that sibling will thankfully be able to recover from the carbon monoxide poisoining.

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Dustin had called out to his wife, Rachel (Ramirez-Trimble) to come outside of the house to meet me and say hello. Rachel told him she was busy at that moment and had decided to stay inside but sent her hellos to me so I never got to meet her. Dustin told me that his wife, kids, and his faith in God is what kept him going.

If you would like to donate to help build a money pot to care for Ariah Jade Butler's burial expenses, her mother, Amber, has created a Gofundme page her. Dustin's biological father has also created a GoFundMe page to help cover his son's funeral expenses, too.

**Update: Here is the official GoFundme link for help with funeral costs for the family in honor of Rachel Ramirez-Trimble.

Funeral and Burial
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Please hug your family members tightly tonight and tell them you how much you love them. We never know when they might be taken away from us unexpectedly and tragically!

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Take care of yourself and your loved ones during the pandemic:

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