Obituaries
Robert Thomas Sr.
Moses Lake
Memorial service with military honors for Robert Theodore Thomas Sr., 85, will be today at 4 p.m. at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories in Moses Lake.
Mr. Thomas, who died Saturday, was born in Enid, Okla., and was raised and educated in Missouri and Kansas. During his youth he served with the Civilian Conservation Corps and worked on several projects in the Northwest including the John Day Dam camp.
He enlisted in the Army in 1941 and was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., in the medical corps. He served in the European Theater during World War II, receiving the Purple Heart. He remained in Germany following the war and helped with the reconstruction of Germany’s new government.
He married N. Eloise Collins in 1950.
Mr. Thomas served in the Korean War, receiving the Bronze Star. He was later stationed in Japan, where he received a commendation as the company commander. He qualified for the Army national rifle competition team and as a paratrooper. He retired as a captain in the Army in 1961 at Fort Richardson, Alaska.
Mr. Thomas had homesteaded in the Alaskan Territory in 1958, before statehood. Following his military retirement, he continued to live in Alaska.
He was active in the Lion’s Club, the PTA, and was instrumental in organizing parents to start a high school in Chugiak, Alaska.
He moved to Spokane in 1973 and pursued a career in real estate, receiving several awards for sales. He later opened his own real estate office.
He moved to Moses Lake in 1995. He was involved in community service projects.
Survivors include his wife; four children, Nancee Thomas of Moses Lake, Debbie Thomas of Puyallup, Wash., Pat Thomas of Naches, Wash., and Robert Thomas Jr. of Tonasket, Wash.; and three grandchildren.
Richard Fuller Jr.
Tacoma
Memorial service for Richard Fuller Jr., 51, will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Athol (Idaho) Baptist Church. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Fuller, who was born in Spokane , died Jan. 4.
He grew up in Everett and Danville, Wash., before moving to the Tri-Cities. He graduated from Kennewick High School in 1971.
He was active with the Boy Scouts in Danville and also worked on a cattle ranch there.
Mr. Fuller worked as an electrician and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46 in Kent, Wash.
He also was a member of the Word of Life Christian Fellowship in Spanaway, Wash., where he helped remodel the church.
Mr. Fuller enjoyed motocross and cross country motorcycle racing in the Tri-Cities area.
He enjoyed hunting, baseball and watching his nephews participate in sports.
Survivors include his wife, Kathryn Fuller of Olympia; his mother, Bonita Fuller of Hayden, Idaho; two brothers, Rodney Fuller of Hayden and Mark Fuller of Anchorage, Alaska; a sister, Luana Church of Dalton Gardens, Idaho; and a granddaughter.
Beulah (Gray) Johnson
Spokane Valley
Funeral for Beulah Fern (Gray) Johnson, 90, was Monday at the United Church of Tekoa.
Mrs. Johnson, who died Jan. 13, was born in Zelma, Mo. She attended elementary school there and moved to California during the late 1930s and worked as a minister in the Free Methodist Church. She later attended Azusa Pacific College of Theology in Los Angeles.
She married Ray Payne in 1947 in St. John, Wash. The family lived in California and Montana, before settling in Tekoa in 1954. The couple operated an adult family home in Tekoa for 12 years. In 1966 they moved to Spokane, where they managed a hotel and later managed an apartment house until 1978. The couple later divorced.
She married Robert Johnson in 1984, and they lived in Torrance, Calif., and Medford, Ore.
After her husband’s death in 1989, Mrs. Johnson moved to Missouri, where she lived near her sibling’s family. She returned to Spokane in the late 1990s to be near her daughter in Tekoa.
Mrs. Johnson had served as pastor in both the Free Methodist and the Assembly of God churches.
Her hobbies included reading and cooking, and she especially enjoyed traveling.
Survivors include a daughter, Rebecca Payne McHargue of Tekoa; a sister, Penny Duniphan of San Diego; a brother, Noah Gray of St. Louis, Mo.; one grandchild and six great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Tekoa Ambulance Fund or the Tekoa Care Center.
Bessie Lyman
Newport, Wash.
Funeral for Bessie Marie Lyman, 70, will be today at 1 p.m. at Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home in Newport.
Mrs. Lyman, who was born in Hotchkiss, Colo., died Thursday.
In 1950 she married Lacy Lyman, and they moved to Pend Oreille County.
Mrs. Lyman cooked a few years at the Pantry Restaurant in Newport.
She was a member of Cusick (Wash.) Grange and enjoyed gardening and collecting movies. She also raised birds and would often adopt birds from other families.
Her husband died in 1980.
Survivors include a son, Lyn Lyman of Olympia; a daughter, Joy Busse of Spokane; a brother, Clyde Love of Calispel Lake, Wash.; a sister, Elva Lee Tryon of Battle Ground, Wash.; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
Billy Snyder
Spokane
Funeral for Billy Kitt Snyder, 82, will be today at 11 a.m. at Riplinger Funeral Home.
Mr. Snyder, who died Saturday, was born in Great Falls.
He graduated with honors from Billings High School.
Mr. Snyder worked for American Optical (Pfizer) as an optician for 25 years in Butte, before transferring to Spokane, where he retired 30 years later.
He enjoyed golf, fishing, dancing, woodworking and carving.
He was a past president of the Highland View Golf Course in Butte.
Survivors include his wife, Patricia; and a daughter, Sue Gary of Butte.
Shane Maixner
Sandpoint
Memorial service for Shane Richard Maixner, 27, will be today at 5 p.m. at Taps Lounge at Schweitzer Mountain. A prayer service will be Thursday at 7 p.m., and the funeral will be Friday at 12:30 p.m., both at St. Mary’s in Bismarck, N.D.
Mr. Maixner died Friday in a Utah avalanche.
He graduated from Beach (N.D.) High School in 1995, and graduated with a PTA degree from the University of North Dakota at Williston in 1997.
Shortly after graduation he moved to Sandpoint, where he was a partner at Advanced Physical Therapy.
He graduated from the University of Montana in 2004 with a degree in pre-med. While in Missoula he became an EMT, certified as a swift water rescuer, and a white water rafting guide.
Most recently Mr. Maixner was living and working on Schweitzer Mountain as a volunteer firefighter and EMT. He also was a backcountry skiing and snowmobile guide.
He enjoyed snowboarding, wakeboarding, surfing, sailboat racing, rock climbing and mountain biking.
Survivors include his father, Joel Maixner and stepmother Linda Hixson Maixner; three sisters, Chantel Hartl of Bismarck, Joelean Lowman of Mandan, N.D., and Rebecca Maixner of Sandpoint; a brother, Kelly Maixner of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; a stepbrother, Bob Hixson, and three stepsisters, Lisa Hixson, Laura Scott and Jennifer Hixson, all of Bismarck.
Genola Walters
Coeur d’Alene
Celebration of life for Genola May Ferguson Osborne Walters, 86, will be Friday at 3 p.m. at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene.
Mrs. Walters, who was born in Twin Bridges, Mont., died Saturday.
She grew up in North Idaho and graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School.
She married C.V. “Spud” Osborne in 1936. They later divorced.
Mrs. Walters worked at the Coeur d’Alene Credit Bureau and General Telephone Co. for many years.
She married Leo Walters in 1960.
Mrs. Walters was active in the Happy Homemakers Club, Blue Birds and Camp Fire Girls.
She enjoyed music, handcrafts, puzzles, reading and gardening.
Survivors include her husband, Leo; three children, Kay Osborne Butler of Florence, Ore., Barbara Osborne Hudson of Coeur d’Alene and Paul Walters of Mesa, Ariz.; a brother, Robert Nunnelly of Long Beach, Calif.; a sister, Vivian Van Valkingburgh of Spokane; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 9493 N. Government Way, Hayden, ID 83835.
Hulda ‘Peggy’ Parrish
Spokane
Service Hulda F. “Peggy” (Wickland) Parrish, 100, will be today at 11 a.m. at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Burial will be at Pines Cemetery.
Mrs. Parrish, who died Friday, was born in Meridian, Iowa. She was a resident of the Spokane area for 55 years.
She was a homemaker.
Her husband, O. Ray, died in 1968.
Survivors include two sons, Ken and Brian, and a daughter, Judy Ferste, all of Spokane; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Gertrude Hansen
Spokane
Funeral for Gertrude W. Hansen, 89, was Tuesday at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Hansen, who was born in Mansfield, Wash., died Thursday.
She worked for the state of Washington as a social worker for 27 years. She was a founding member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, where she was active in its programs, including Bible study.
Her husband of 24 years, Henry, died in 1959.
Mrs. Hansen enjoyed playing cards at the Elks Club in the senior center.
Survivors include two sons, Gerald Hansen of Sparks, Nev., and David Hansen of Redmond, Wash.; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Trudy Hansen Memorial Fund through the church.
Ronald Allen
Spokane
Memorial service for Ronald M. Allen, 53, was Monday at Zion Lutheran Church.
Mr. Allen died Thursday.
A lifelong resident of Spokane, he graduated from Freeman High School and attended Spokane Community College.
Mr. Allen owned Lucky U Auto Sales and also owned an investment company.
He attended Zion Lutheran Church and was a member of the Spokane Club.
Survivors include his wife, Gerri; a stepson, Geoffrey Williams at home; two sisters, Patricia Warner of Newport, Wash., and Carol Lee Allen of Anchorage, Alaska; and a brother, Donald Allen of Spokane.
James Williams
Spokane
Memorial service for James Douglas Williams, 75, will be Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Veradale. Inurnment will be at a later date in the family plot at Lake of the Woods Cemetery in Kenora, Ontario. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Williams, who died Jan. 2, was born in Kenora, Ontario.
In 1953 he married Eva Hutcheson, and they immigrated to the United States in 1963 and lived in Southern California, where Mr. Williams was the marketing director for Merle Norman Cosmetics.
In 1974 he and his wife moved to the Spokane Valley, where they owned a True Value/Ace Hardware business at Argonne and Montgomery. He retired in 1996.
He enjoyed golf, traveling, genealogy and relaxing at his Pend Oreille River home. He was a member of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Manito Golf Club, Shriners and the Spokane Valley Rotary.
His wife died in 2003.
Survivors include three daughters, Janet Betts of Spokane Valley, Shelagh Tilton of Wenatchee and Donna Throgmorton of Ephrata, Wash.; two sisters, Barbara Siegrist of Ottawa, Ontario, and Jocelyn Campbell of Cornwall, Ontario; nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children or National Multiple Sclerosis, Inland Northwest Chapter.