Obituaries
Fred Helms Sr. Spokane
Memorial service for Fred A. Helms Sr., 78, will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Foothills Community Church. There will be private inurnment.
Mr. Helms died Friday at home.
He was born in Decatur, Neb.
He worked as an auto mechanic prior to owning and operating his own gas station and mechanic shop at the corner of Freya and Springfield. He retired in 1978.
He had lived in Spokane for 39 years and was a member of community radio watch.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Pauline; three sons, Fred Helms Jr., Paul Helms and Stanley Helms, and one daughter, Mary Russell, all of Spokane; one brother, Jerald Helms of Salem, Ore.; 15 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.
Merritt Percy Spokane
Service for Merritt E. Percy, 97, was held Monday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home.
Mr. Percy, who was born in Castana, Iowa, died Wednesday.
He had lived in Spokane since 1926 and was a farmer. He had served in the Army during World War II.
He is survived by his longtime companion, Luvern Achen of Spokane; and two sisters, Mable Rasmussen and Naomi Daracunas, and one brother, Farist Percy, all of Spokane.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Vera Kelley Spokane
Service for Vera E. Kelley, 86, was held Monday at Holy Cross Cemetery Chapel. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Mrs. Kelley, who died Thursday, was born in Rock Lake, N.D.
She had served as an Army nurse during World War II and was honorably discharged as a captain.
Following the war she worked in health care.
She had lived in Spokane for 83 years.
Her husband, Charles Kelley, died in 1993.
She is survived by four sisters, Mildred Hoem of Butte, Mont., Cleo Castle of Spokane, Chloris Carter of Bakersfield, Calif., and Alta McGuire of Keota, Iowa.
Robert Hart Spokane
Memorial service for Robert E. “Bob” Hart, 74, was held Monday at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home.
Mr. Hart, a 47-year Spokane resident, died Thursday.
He was born in Girard, Ill.
He served in the Army and was a railroad brakeman.
Mr. Hart is survived by his wife of 20 years, Delia Hart; two daughters, Sally Denton of Spokane and Linda Lewis of Bothell, Wash.; four stepsons and eight stepdaughters; two sisters, Glenna Bracken of Dixon, Ill., and Doris Marks of Spokane; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-greatgrandchildren.
James Foley, Smelterville, Idaho
Service for James H. Foley, bartender, is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Shoshone Funeral Chapel, Kellogg. Burial will be at Shoshone Memorial Gardens, Kingston, Idaho. Shoshone Funeral Service, Kellogg, is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Foley, 75, died Sunday at the Silverwood Good Samaritan Center, Silverton, Idaho.
He was born in 1919 in Indiana and moved to North Idaho in 1949.
He served in the Army during World War II, worked for Bunker Hill, and was a bartender for several bars in the Silver Valley.
His memberships include the Osburn Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Kellogg Elks Lodge and the Smelterville Lions Club.
His wife, Rose, preceded him in death.
Survivors include two stepdaughters, Joyce Sciuchetti of Kellogg and Sharon Robinson of Pinehurst, Idaho; one stepson, Clark Gabel of Bear Creek, Idaho; two sisters, Grace Blake and Pat Dyer, both of Indiana; one brother, Obid Foley of Indiana; nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Smelterville Lions Club or the Osburn Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Donald Kreider Spokane
Graveside service for Donald W. Kreider, 74, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Pines Cemetery. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Kreider, who died Saturday at home, was born in Weeping Water, Neb.
In 1962, he opened Kreider’s Western Glove, which he operated until he retired in 1985.
He had served in the Army from 1944 to 1946.
Mr. Kreider was a member of the Liberty Lake Men’s Club.
His wife, Sylvia Kreider, died in 1979.
He is survived by one son, Bill Kreider; three daughters, Donna Jean Owens of Palm Desert, Calif., Karen Bossen of Phoenix, Ariz., and Lori Chesrown of Denver; one brother, Keith Kreider of Portland; one sister, Zelna Robbins of Salem, Ore.; six grandsons, four granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Spokane Valley Baseball.
Patricia Finley Spokane
Memorial service for Patricia Jane Finley, 57, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Private interment will be at Riverside Memorial Park.
Mrs. Finley, who died Saturday, was born in Springfield, Ill.
She had been a resident of Spokane since 1965 and had worked as a registered nurse in Illinois.
She was involved with the Spokane Medical Auxiliary and the American Diabetes Association.
She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Thomas Finley of Spokane; two sons, Robert Finley of Princeton Junction, N.J., and James Finley of Spokane; two sisters, Carol Hamerly of Green Valley, Ariz., and Brenda Judson of Santa Maria, Calif.; and one brother, Dean Jones of Springfield.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association.
Frank Rauthe Spokane
Graveside service for Frank E. Rauthe, 74, is set for 11 a.m. today at Holy Redeemer/Kelly Cemetery in Deer Park. Lauer Funeral Home, Deer Park is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Rauthe, a former Deer Park resident, died Thursday.
He was born in Somers, Mont.
He was an operating engineer in heavy equipment in the construction industry.
Mr. Rauthe was a member of the International Order of Operating Engineers.
His wife, Blanch Ann Rauthe, preceded him in death.
He is survived by one daughter, Nancy Gray of Huntington Beach, Calif.; two sisters, Genevieve Meyers and Elsie Sunberg, both of Kalispell, Mont; one brother, Carl Rauthe of Kalispell; his stepfather, Oliver Aurdant of Kalispell; one stepbrother, Butch Aurdant of Spokane; five grandchildren and eight greatgrandchildren.
Kathleen Emerson Pullman
Service for Kathleen Rae Otten Emerson, 48, was held Monday at Trinity Lutheran Church in Pullman, where she was a member. Burial was at Albion (Wash.) Cemetery.
Born in Walla Walla, Mrs. Emerson died Friday from cancer.
She had lived in Spokane, Wenatchee and Coeur d’Alene, until 1959 when her family moved to Pullman.
She graduated from Pullman High School and from Pacific Lutheran University with a nursing degree.
She worked in Arizona and later at Holy Family Hospital in Spokane. She had also worked as a nurse at Northwest Hospital in Seattle, and as a school nurse for the Sunnyside (Wash.) School District.
She returned to Pullman in 1985 and worked at Palouse Hills Nursing Center. For the last seven years, she had worked for Dr. Alvin Frostad.
She was a member of Pullman’s Job’s Daughters Bethel No. 11 and the GuyAlbion Historical Society.
She is survived by her husband of 21 years, Patrick Emerson; two daughters, Melissa and Laura Emerson, and a son, Ben Emerson, all of Pullman; and a sister, Linda Belz of Edmonds, Wash.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pullman Child Welfare Committee of Pullman Job’s Daughters Scholarship Fund.
G.C. ‘Jerry’ Chaffin Tekoa, Wash.
Memorial service for Garrell Collin “Jerry” Chaffin, 89, was held Saturday at United Church of Tekoa.
Mr. Chaffin died April 16.
He was born in Nixa, Mo., and graduated from high school there in 1924.
In 1942 he went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad. He moved to Tekoa, Wash., and worked in Lewiston, Spokane and Tekoa. He retired in 1962.
He was a member of the Union Pacific Railroad Employees Club No. 10 in Spokane.
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Marjorie Chaffin; two stepsons, Ken Jones of Corvallis, Ore., and Paul Jones of Saudi Arabia; one brother, Harold Chaffin of Pocatello, Idaho; two sisters, Irene Andrews and Beatrice Patterson, both of Springfield, Mo.; and five stepgrandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Tekoa Ambulance Fund or the Union Pacific Railroad Employees Club, in care of Shirley Einis, 8609 E. Valleyway, Spokane, WA 99212.
John Thompson Sequim, Wash.
Service for John Thompson, 94, was held.
Mr. Thompson, a former Oroville, Wash., resident, died April 4.
He was born in Kilgore, Ind.
In 1945 he and his wife, Laurel, moved to Sunnyside, Wash., from Wyoming. They later settled in Spirit Lake, Idaho, where they both taught.
He also was an instructor for Veterans Vocational Agriculture in Bonner County, Idaho.
They moved to New Mexico in the early 1960s, and after he retired, they lived in Utah and Wyoming. They then moved to Oroville, where they lived for several years, before moving to Sequim in 1991.
Mr. Thompson is survived by his wife of 69 years; three sons, Sidney Thompson of Fountain, Colo., John Thompson of Endicott, Wash., and Gaylord Thompson of Sonoma, Calif.; four daughters, Marjorie and Judith, both of Sequim, Carol Putzier of Oroville and Janet of Oregon; one sister, Thelma Klein of Pinedale, Wyo.; 22 grandchildren and 16 greatgrandchildren.
Ruth Spacek Tekoa, Wash.
Service for Ruth E. Spacek, 95, is set for 2 p.m. today at Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa. Burial will be at Goldenrod Cemetery, Tekoa.
Mrs. Spacek died Thursday at the Tekoa Care Center.
She was born in Colfax, Wash., where she graduated from high school.
She and her husband, Orgie Spacek, moved to Pendleton, Ore., in 1922, where they operated a donut shop. In 1927, they moved to Tekoa where her husband owned and operated the Tekoa Bakery until the early 1940s, when it was sold.
Mr. Spacek died in 1981.
She was a member of the United Church of Tekoa, a charter member of the Tekoa Study Club and the Lotus Club at Tekoa.
She is survived by one son, Steve Spacek of Cheney; two grandchildren, one great-grandson; and one sister, Edna Atkinson of Biloxi, Miss.
Memorial contributions may be made to Tekoa Ambulance Fund or to the Tekoa Care Center.
Adeline Osmonson Spokane
Memorial service for Adeline Anna Kreig Osmonson, 86, is set for 1 p.m. today at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home.
Born in St. Cloud, Minn., Mrs. Osmonson died Friday.
She and her husband, Arthur, moved to Spokane from Oakland, Calif., In 1944. He died in 1984.
In Spokane she was a piano teacher and, during the 1950s, was the principal pianist for the Wednesday Musicale, a women’s singing group.
She is survived by one daughter, Noel Kafton of Spokane; one son, Arthur Osmonson of Vancouver, Wash.; and two grandchildren.
Miroslav Simek Spokane
Memorial service for Miroslav Simek, 55, will be at 2 p.m. today at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home. There will be private inurnment.
Mr. Simek died Saturday at home.
He was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to the United States in 1983.
He graduated from Leningrad State University with a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
He worked for Kaiser Aluminum in Trentwood for 11 years as a systems engineer and had lived in Spokane for 11 years.
Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Larisa Simek; one daughter, Olga Simek of Tucson, Ariz.; and one brother, Joseph Simek of the Czech Republic.
Corliss McLaughlin Colbert
Service for Corliss M. McLaughlin, 70, will be at 2:30 p.m. today at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Burial will follow at the Holy Cross Cemetery.
Mrs. McLaughlin, who died Saturday, was born in Bloomington, Ill.
She had lived in Spokane for 40 years and was a Tupperware distributor for 20 years. She owned and operated the Garland Avenue Antique Store for 20 years. She was also a thoroughbred horse owner.
She is survived by her husband of 38 years, Tom McLaughlin; four sons, Gary McLaughlin of San Rafael, Calif., Richie McLaughlin of Colbert, Joe McLaughlin of Longview, Wash., and Tom McLaughlin III of Spokane; two daughters, Susan Beecher of Spokane and Corlanne Shoemaker of Pleasanton, Calif.; and one brother, Newell Bliss of Mesa, Ariz.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association or the American Lung Association.
Elmer Bafus Endicott, Wash.
Service for Elmer Bafus, 79, is set for 1:30 p.m. today at the Congregational Church of Endicott, where he was a member. Burial will follow at Endicott Cemetery. Bruning Funeral Home in Colfax, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Bafus, who was born in Endicott, died Saturday at the Moscow (Idaho) Care Center.
He graduated from Endicott High School and was a farmer in the ColfaxEndicott area.
He sang in the church choir and was a church trustee and a deacon at the church.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Leta; two sons, Robert Bafus of Colfax and Gerald Bafus of Spokane; one daughter, Kathleen Bafus of Colfax; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Endicott Congregational Church.
Fern Peterschick Spokane
Memorial Mass for Fern L. Peterschick, 81, will be at 10 a.m. today at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements. Graveside service was held Monday at the International Order of Odd Fellows Evergreen Cemetery in Rosalia, Wash.
Mrs. Peterschick died Friday.
She was born in Plaza, Wash., and graduated from Rosalia High School.
She moved to Spokane in 1989.
She is survived by one sister, Rose Churchill, and two brothers, William and Harold Peterschick, all of Spokane.
Norman Wolf Latah
Memorial service for Norman D. Wolf, 71, is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday at Country Bible Church in Latah. Cremation will precede. Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Wolf, who was born near Latah, died Sunday at home.
He farmed with his father following his high school graduation. In 1944, he entered the Army and served through World War II. He received a bronze star.
He and his wife, Miriam, moved to Dayton, Wash., after they were married in 1961. He worked for Green Giant Co., and later operated a service station in Waitsburg, Wash.
In 1966, they returned to Latah, where he worked as a warehouseman at the pea mill in Tekoa. He later worked for Oakesdale Grain Growers. He retired in 1993, after working for a farmer in Latah.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Rockford Post 7815 and was active with hunter education. He had received an award from the Department of Wildlife for 30 years of service.
He is survived by his wife of 33 years; one son, James Wolf of San Bernadino, Calif.; three daughters, Melanie Wolf of Lincoln City, Ore., Renee Wolf of South Burlington, Vt., and Dawn Garwood of Ritzville, Wash.; two brothers, Laurel Wolf of Spokane and Bill Wolf of Palouse, Wash.; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Visiting Nurses Association, P.O. Box 3989, Spokane, WA 99220-3989.
Olive Watson Spokane
Service for Olive B. Watson, 87, is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. John Vianney Catholic Church. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park. Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Watson, a 49-year Spokane resident, died Saturday.
A homemaker, she was born in Clinton, Mo.
She is survived by one son, Daniel Watson of Spokane; one granddaughter, six grandsons and 13 great-grandchildren.