Obituaries
Jack Hegel
LaCrosse, Wash.
An open house is scheduled all day Friday for Jack W. Hegel, 79, at the family home, 501 S. Main, in LaCrosse. Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Hegel died Sunday.
He was born in Harrison, Idaho. His family worked as loggers and Mr. Hegel grew up in various places around Idaho.
He enlisted in the Army in 1943 and worked in construction and heavy equipment in an engineer’s battalion. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and moved to Spokane.
He married Shirley Munds in 1946. They made their home in Spokane, and he worked in the smelter at Kaiser Aluminum Mead.
Mr. Hegel suffered ore dust poisoning and was forced to change jobs in 1955. He began a long career with the Union Pacific Railroad, starting on the extra gang and was promoted to section gang foreman They moved to LaCrosse in 1982. He retired in 1984.
Mr. Hegel served in many posts with the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Ways. He was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. He enjoyed fishing, camping and working on cars.
Survivors include his wife; six children, Tania Roberts of Everett, Bruce Hegel of Milton-Freewater, Ore., Duana Hegel of Washtucna, Wash., Bradley Hegel of Fontana, Calif., Shirlee Hepperle of Pullman and John Hegel of LaCrosse; four brothers, Bill of Coeur d’Alene, Lee of Creston, Wash., Don of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., and Fred of Post Falls; 14 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the LaCrosse Emergency Medical Technicians.
Vernon Dixon
Spokane
Funeral for Vernon L. Dixon, 84, will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Mr. Dixon, who was born in Kansas City, Kan., died Aug. 29.
He graduated from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, in 1938.
Mr. Dixon was a sheet metal worker in the early 1940s.
He attended Northern Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago from 1945 to 1947. After receiving his degree, he went to work for Binyon Optical until 1959.
He opened Dixon Optometry in 1961 and retired in 1982.
Mr. Dixon was a member of the Spokane North Rotary from 1963 to 2004, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He served as a Cub Scout master of Pack 32 at Sheridan Elementary School from 1956 to 1961. In 1961 he received an Acorn Award from the Sheridan PTA.
He was involved with a number of genealogical societies, including the Spokane 1 Chapter SAR Genealogist, The Westerners, Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, Outman Association, Quaker Roots, Bolles Family Association, Pearson Places and Things, and the Order of the Ancient Planters.
He enjoyed walking many miles of riverbanks, collecting Indian artifacts and writing.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Edith; two sons, Matthew Dixon of Bellevue and Michael Dixon of Coeur d’Alene; a daughter, Patricia Dixon Fell of Spokane; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Robert Scholz
Colfax
Graveside service for Robert William Scholz, 98, will be Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. at Colfax Cemetery. Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Scholz died Sunday.
He was born on the family farm near Colfax. He grew up on a farm near Dusty and graduated from LaCrosse High School. He played baseball on the Dusty team in 1926.
He began working on the family farm and at an early age purchased his own farm near LaCrosse.
In 1934 he married Mary Hickman, and the couple lived in Dusty. They moved to Steptoe in 1937 and began farming there.
From 1941 to 1960 they lived in Arizona and California, where he worked in real estate development.
They returned to Steptoe, and Mr. Scholz resumed running the farm and driving tractor until a few months ago.
He enjoyed collecting antique automobiles. He also enjoyed antique farm machinery, gardening and playing cards at the Hyde Out. He was a member of Steptoe Grange and Elks Lodge. He was a licensed pilot.
His wife died in 1997.
Survivors include five children; Robert of Thornton, Wash., Randolph and Jonathan, both of Steptoe, Jacqueline Rhoades of Newcastle, Calif., and Rosemary Phillips of Worley, Idaho; 18 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Whitman Hospital Foundation.
Josephine (Bartoletta) Lilienthal
Spokane
Memorial service for Josephine Rose (Bartoletta) Lilienthal, 83, will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Riplinger Funeral Home.
Mrs. Lilienthal, who was born in Spokane, died Sept 2.
She attended Grant School and Lewis and Clark High School, where she was swimming champion.
During World War II she packed parachutes at Geiger Field, and later worked at the Naval Supply Depot. She worked for many years at Eagle Fruit and Produce and later was a photographic retoucher for several photography shops.
She enjoyed oil painting, cooking, golf, bowling, fishing and camping.
Her husband, Robert Lilienthal, preceded her in death.
Survivors include three children, Jack Lilienthal, Colleen Lambert and Laurie Mitchell; a stepdaughter, Susan King; and three grandchildren.
Laura Higgins
Wallace
Memorial for Laura Grace Starr Higgins, 93, was Monday at the Wallace Elks Lodge.
Mrs. Higgins, who was born in Colville, died Friday.
She married Elmo Starr in 1937 in Spokane. He died in 1971.
She married Bill Higgins in 1974 in Spokane. He died in 1985.
Mrs. Higgins was a homemaker. She was a member the Airway Heights Veterans of Foreign Wars, a member of the Fairchild Club, Wallace Ladies Elks, Good Samaritan Church and the Community Concert Association. She was a volunteer at the SilverWood Good Samaritan in Silverton, Idaho.
She enjoyed traveling, painting, cooking, gardening and watching her flowers grow.
Survivors include two daughters, Lois Thackery of Keizer, Ore., and Marianne Hull of Wallace; a son, Larry Starr of Wallace; six grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and three great-great grandchildren.
Esther Johnson
St. Maries
Funeral for Esther Irene Johnson, 86, was Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries, with burial at Woodlawn Cemetery.
Mrs. Johnson, who was born in Winona, Wash., died Thursday.
She graduated from Metaline Falls (Wash.) High School in 1937 and went to work for Kluvers Drug Store. In 1941 she married Arthur Johnson in Coeur d’Alene. They moved to St. Maries.
During World War II she and her husband lived in Spokane and Mrs. Johnson worked for Brown Industries as a Rosie the Riveter. Following the war, she returned to St. Maries and was a homemaker.
She was a member of the St. Maries Eagle’s Auxiliary Drill Team during the 1950s, an assistant Cub Scout leader, and a volunteer for Valley Vista Care Center. She enjoyed playing the accordion, crocheting and flower gardening.
Her husband died in 1999.
Mrs. Johnson is survived by a son, Maurice Johnson of St. Maries; a daughter Elaine of Cheney; three brothers, Pete, Leonard and Lester Gregory, all of Spokane; a sister, Verda Moos of Billings; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Valley Vista Cottage Care, in care of Sonja Clyne, 820 Elm, St. Maries, ID 83861 or Hospice of North Idaho, 9493 N. Government Way, Hayden, ID 83835.
Leo Robertson
Fernwood, Idaho
Memorial service for Leo L. Robertson, 69, will be today at 2 p.m. at Fernwood Community Bible Church. Hodge Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Robertson, who was born in Klamath Falls, Ore., died Thursday.
He graduated from high school in 1954 in Klamath Falls.
He worked for the Southern Pacific and Great Northern Railway as a carman and in 1969 was promoted to foreman. He was transferred many times with the railroad. In 1983 he became disabled.
In 1970 Mr. Robertson married Ally Hinton in Reno, Nev. They moved to Fernwood in 1984.
He was a member of the Fernwood Community Bible Church. He enjoyed hunting and fishing.
Survivors include his wife; two sons, Rick Robertson of Lincoln, Neb., and Randy Robertson of Klamath Falls; a stepson, Blen Hinton of Medford, Ore.; a daughter, Cindy Bales of Klamath Falls; a stepdaughter, Tina Kaikaka of Henderson, Nev.; a brother, Everett Robertson of Talent, Ore.; two sisters, Alice Robertson of Medford and Violet Morgan of Sacramento, Calif.
Memorials can be made to Fernwood Community Bible Church, P.O. Box 534, Fernwood, ID 83830.
Angela Hoffman
Spokane
Funeral Mass for Angela C. Hoffman, 83, will be today at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, with burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Hoffman, a 57-year resident of Spokane, died Thursday. She was born in Rosalia, Wash.
She worked for US Bank Corp., retiring in 1986.
She was a member of the Roman Catholic Church and the Spokane Valley Senior Center.
Survivors include two daughters, Karen Brophy of Spokane and Arlene Hamilton of Greenacres; two sisters, Mary Ellen Baldwin of Medical Lake and Eleanor Lee of Spokane; and five grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.
Irma Floether
Ritzville, Wash.
Funeral for Irma L. Floether, 85, will be today at 1 p.m. at Lind Community Church, with vault interment at Lind Cemetery. Danekas Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Floether, who died Thursday, was born in Warden, Wash.
She attended Warden Schools before marrying Fredrick Floether in 1944 in Lind, Wash. Together they farmed and raised their family on a ranch seven miles north of Lind. They lived on the farm until her husband’s death in 1997.
Mrs. Floether was a resident of the Rose Garden Estates in Ritzville until three years ago when she moved to the Life Care Center.
She enjoyed gardening, sewing, crocheting and quilting.
Survivors include two daughters, Gloria Daniel of Hermiston, Ore., and Arlene Tibergien of Seattle; four sisters, Della Kiesz and Edna Langenheder, both of Ritzville, Lenora Sackmann of Lind and June Larsen of Vancouver, Wash.; two brothers, Delmar Laib of Warden, and Harvey Laib of Sacramento, Calif.; two grandsons and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation, P.O. Box 56, Mercer Island, WA 98040.
Steve Peterson
Spokane
No service will be held for H. Steve Peterson, 60, at his request.
Mr. Peterson, a lifelong resident of Spokane, died Sept. 1.
He attended Shadle Park High School.
Mr. Peterson was a long-haul truck driver for more than 20 years and retired due to health problems. During his retirement, he renovated his home and restored and maintained his cars and a 1951 Harley Davidson trike.
He had many interests and especially loved hot rods, motorcycles and listening to blues music.
He had been a member of the Dukes Auto Club since 1962 He owned a 1940 Ford coupe for 46 years and had nearly completed a restoration at the time of his illness.
Survivors include his wife, Jackie; three sons, Chad Peterson of Indiana, Lance Peterson of Arizona, Ralph Peterson of Spokane; two stepsons, Cameron Jones and Bradley Smith; his mother, Effa Peterson of Spokane; two brothers, Arlee Peterson of Spokane and Owen Peterson of Seattle; a sister, Naomi Kerr of Oregon; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.
Clair Lowder
Spokane
Funeral for Clair J. Lowder, 78, will be today at 10 a.m. at Opportunity Christian Church. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Lowder, who died Thursday, was born in Parowan, Utah.
He worked for the former Washington Water Power for 41 years and was a member of the WWP Trailblazers for 57 years. He was a charter member of Elks Lodge 2328.
Mr. Lowder also was a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 199 and also was Scout commissioner.
He served in the Navy at Farragut Naval Station and aboard the USS Menifee.
His hobbies included golfing, fishing, oil painting and pruning bushes and trees.
He spent winters in Yuma, Ariz.
He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Nina; a daughter, Kay Loibl of Spokane; a son, Larry Lowder of California; a brother, Dan of Las Vegas; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.