Obituaries
Raymond Neff St. Maries
Graveside service for Raymond Neff, 76, will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries. Yates-Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Neff, who was born in Illinois, died Sunday.
He had worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps as a young man and enlisted in the Navy in 1940.
Mr. Neff was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked during World War II and served in the Navy for 20 years, retiring in 1960.
He worked for Cubic Corp in San Diego for nine years after his military career and later bought the Stockade Restaurant in California in 1970.
He later owned a restaurant and worked as a chef at a dude ranch in Wyoming before moving to St. Maries in 1984.
Mr. Neff was a member of the St. Maries Elks Lodge and the Veterans of Foreign Wars in California.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret; two daughters, Juanita Lyons of St. Maries and Pamalia Neff of Oregon; brother, Cecil Neff of Illinois; two grandchildren, James and Angela; and three great-grandchildren.
Eva Vail Hayden, Idaho
Visitation for Eva Vail, 69, will be today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Yates Funeral Home, Hayden Chapel. Service will be at 11 a.m. at the Hayden Chapel. Burial will be in Fairview, Wyo.
Ms. Vail, who was born in Wyoming, died Wednesday. She grew up in Wyoming and attended Wyoming State University.
She moved to Hayden in 1959 and developed the Burnham Addition in Hayden. She owned the Golden Years Shelter Care Homes.
Ms. Vail’s survivors include a son, Walter Burnham II of Bonners Ferry, Idaho; two daughters, Alycia McGavran of Lake Stevens, Wash., and Victoria Burnham Lederer of Kirkland, Wash.; three brothers, Wayne Vail of Kentucky, and Leon and Dennis Vail, both of Utah; a sister, Marva Spiers of Utah; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 280 Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene 83814.
Beatrice Leffler Post Falls
Visitation for Beatrice J. Leffler, 75, will be today from 2 until 5 p.m. at Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene. Service will follow at 5 p.m. at the funeral chapel. Mrs. Leffler, who was born in Illinois, died Friday.
She grew up in Illinois and graduated from the University of Wisconsin. Mrs. Leffler lived in Pennsylvania and New York before moving to Post Falls in 1990. She was a member of the Three C’s and the American Association of University Women.
Survivors include her husband of 26 years, Donald; a son, Robert DesMarais of Hauser Lake, Idaho; a daughter, Barbara Suflita of Utah; a sister, Diane Franzen of Illinois; and five grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 280 Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.
Katherine Powell Veradale
No service will be held for Katherine Patricia Powell, 39. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Powell, who died Wednesday from cancer, was born in Vancouver, Wash., and had lived in Spokane for 18 years. She was a homemaker.
She attended Spokane Community College and was a member of Greenacres Baptist Church.
Mrs. Powell is survived by her husband, Larry Powell; a son, Joshua Powell of Spokane; her parents, Robert and Charlotte Mandich of Paradise, Mont.; a brother, Steve Mandich of Seattle; and a sister, Sue Mathews of Spokane.
Mae McFarlane Spokane
Service for Mae C. McFarlane, 96, is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Born in Pine City, Wash., Mrs. McFarlane died Friday.
She attended Cheney Normal School.
She and her husband, Donald, showed and trained horses, and they participated in harness races throughout the West.
Her husband died in 1990.
Mrs. McFarlane is survived by a sister, Dora Hart of Spokane.
Gertrude ‘Grandma’ Adams St. Maries
Service for Gertrude “Grandma” Adams, 94, will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries.
Mrs. Adams, who was born in South Dakota, died Sunday.
She grew up in South Dakota and moved to St. Maries in 1923 and was a homemaker.
Mrs. Adams had worked in home health care for local families and was a member of the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene and the Salvation Army.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Warren, in 1952.
Survivors include six sons, Kenneth and Edward Adams, both of Spokane, Owen Adams of Olympia, and Delbert, Dennis and John Adams, all of St. Maries; three daughters, Patsy Maier of Coeur d’Alene, and Ellen Harwood and Dora Strand, both of St. Maries; a stepson, Raymond Adams of Kansas; a stepdaughter, Ruth Horne of Kansas; brother, Winfred Ward of Oregon; and 275 grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the St. Maries Church of the Nazarene Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 332, St. Maries, ID 83861.
Edwin Harris Colville, Wash.
Service for Edwin L. Harris, 99, will be at 2 p.m. today at Danekas Funeral Chapel in Colville. Burial will follow at Mountain View Park Cemetery in Colville.
Mr. Harris, who was born in Harrington, Wash., died Friday.
He graduated from Moses Lake High School.
He had lived in Spokane for a few years and then lived in Porthill, Idaho, where he worked as a logger and on his family’s turkey farm.
He moved to Rice, Wash., in the mid 1930s and farmed until 1969, when he retired and moved to Colville.
He married Bea Clarno in 1975 in Colville.
He was a member of the Quillisascut Grange.
He is survived by his wife, Bea Harris; a step-son, Kenny Ramble of Colville; two sisters, Dorothy Hutchison of Seattle and Louise Hawthorne of Colville; three grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Colville Kiwanis Little League Fund.
Ray Fox Tekoa, Wash.
Memorial service for Ray G. Fox, 82, is set for 2 p.m. today at the United Church of Tekoa. Burial service will precede at Goldenrod Cemetery in Tekoa. Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Fox, a lifetime Whitman County resident, died Friday.
He was born near Oakesdale, Wash., and graduated from Oakesdale High School.
He was a farmer and a member of the Tekoa Jaycee Club and the Tekoa Golf Club.
He married Ada Smith in 1947 in Missoula. She died in 1973.
In 1974 he married Ruby Moss.
Mr. Fox is survived by his wife; three daughters, Nancy Fox and Sue Michelbook, both of Spokane, and Mary Fox Ingram of Portland; a stepson, Bill Moss of Spokane; a brother, John Fox of Oakesdale; a sister, Virginia Sieveke of Tekoa; five grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren, three great-grandchildren and one stepgreat-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to Tekoa Care Center or to Home Health and Hospice of Southeast Washington in Pullman.
Larry McMillin Chewelah, Wash.
Service for Larry McMillin, 65, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Chewelah United Church of Christ. Schanzenbach Funeral Home in Chewelah is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. McMillin, who died Sunday, was born in Long Beach, Calif.
He served in the Navy during the Korean War.
He owned the Chewelah NAPA Auto Parts Store in Chewelah from 1972 to 1993.
Mr. McMillin was a member of the Chewelah Golf and Country Club.
Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Roberta; a daughter, Nancy Buchholtz of Chewelah; two sons, Michael McMillin of Chewelah and David McMillin of Spokane; and three grandsons.
Memorial contributions may be made to Chewelah United Church of Christ.
Joseph Rekofke Spokane
Vigil service for Joseph J. Rekofke, 75, will be at 7 p.m. today at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Burial Mass is set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Rekofke, who died Friday, was born in Topeka, Kan.
He served in the Army and received the Bronze Star.
He graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law and began practicing law in Spokane in 1951. He worked several years with the Winston & Cashatt law firm.
He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, the Spokane Club, the Polar Bear Association of World War II and the Gonzaga Prep Alumni Board.
His wife, Jeannea, died in 1995.
Mr. Rekofke is survived by two sons, Robert and Brian Rekofke, both of Spokane; two brothers, the Rev. Robert Rekofke, S.J., of Tacoma and Edward Rekofke of Spokane; two sisters, Armel Rodberg and Sally Olstad, both of Spokane; and seven grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Gonzaga Preparatory School.
Frank Heidt Spokane
Vigil service for Frank G. Heidt, 73, is planned for 7 p.m. today at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the cathedral with burial to follow at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Heidt, who was born in North Dakota, died Friday.
He had lived in Spokane since 1957 and worked in the parts department at Ernie Majer Ford in downtown Spokane until 1960. He then worked for the Spokane Transit Authority as a transit supervisor and retired in 1987.
In 1973 he and his wife, Rose, purchased a mom-and-pop grocery store with eight motel units attached. They sold that business in 1977.
Mr. Heidt is survived by his wife; two daughters, Geri Heidt and Josette Voss, both of Spokane; a son, Francis Heidt of Edwall, Wash.; seven brothers, Kasper Heidt of New England, N.D., Phillip and Donald Heidt, both of Eugene, Ore., Edward Heidt of Portland, James Heidt of Salem, Ore., Richard Heidt of Minot, N.D., and the Rev. Charles Heidt of Bismarck, N.D.; three sisters, Leontine Gabel of Bismarck, and Delores Heidt of Minot and Lucille Heidt of Richardton, N.D.; and three grandchildren.
Stephan Weiler Spokane
Memorial service for Stephan M. Weiler, a 42-year Spokane resident, was Monday at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home.
Mr. Weiler, who was born in Richardton, N.D., died Thursday. He was 70.
He served in the Navy during World War II and in the Army National Guard during the Korean War.
He owned Weiler Plumbing and Heating for 30 years until 1982 and also worked for the East Valley School District for 10 years as head custodian before retiring in 1993.
He was a member of the American Legion.
He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Geraldine Weiler; three sons, Dale and Scott Weiler, both of Otis Orchards, and Brian Weiler of Greenacres; four daughters, Brenda Whitlow, DeeAnn Weiler, Jody Thulon and Laurie Awbery, all of Otis Orchards; three brothers; four sisters; his stepmother, Pauline Weiler of Mott, N.D.; and 10 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.
Pauline Zoret Silverton, Idaho
Service for Pauline Josephine Zoret, 86, will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Wallace Funeral Chapel. Burial will be at St. Joseph Cemetery in Spokane.
Mrs. Zoret, who was born in Italy, died Sunday.
She moved to North Idaho in 1917 and attended the Lady of Lourdes Academy in Wallace.
Mrs. Zoret was a homemaker and a member of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church of Wallace, the Catholic Daughters and the St. Alphonsus Choir.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William, in 1978. Survivors include three daughters, Marilyn Mackie of Spokane, Barbara Zimmerman of Bellevue, Wash., and Janet Robertson of Seattle; seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Silver Valley Medical Center Foundation, P.O. Box 30, Silverton, ID 83867, or the American Heart Association.
Gaye Bethards Spokane
Visitation for Gaye B. Bethards, 69, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at Heritage Funeral Home. Service will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Mrs. Bethards, who was born in Anacortes, Wash., died Friday.
She married Bill Bethards in Pullman in 1946 and graduated from Washington State University’s School of Pharmacy two years later.
She came to Spokane 35 years ago and retired from St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital in 1979.
Survivors include her husband; and a daughter, Barbara Bethards, at home.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.
Robert Zimmerman Spokane
Memorial service for Robert A. Zimmerman, a retired schoolteacher, will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home.
Mr. Zimmerman, 71, died Wednesday.
He was a lifetime Spokane resident and a graduate of Lewis and Clark High School and Eastern Washington University.
He was a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church and the Retired Teachers Association.
His wife of 30 years, Barbara Zimmerman, died Feb. 8.
There are no surviving family members.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Eastern Washington, 5125 N. Market, Spokane, WA 99207.
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