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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Fond Farewell Friends And Family Pay A Final Tribute To Peter Labeck At St. Augustine Church

Peter LaBeck would have been pleased to see so many people in the pews of his South Hill church.

The 81-year-old Spokane man had a habit of counting the worshipers who’d show up for Mass with him on any given day. He always enjoyed a crowd, his daughters said, and this one was for him.

About 200 people attended LaBeck’s funeral at St. Augustine Church on Saturday, four days after he died in a nursing home.

They remembered the retired Air Force sergeant the way he’d been before Sept. 12, when he was beaten by a group of teenagers on a downtown sidewalk. The youths broke his nose, knocked out his dentures and kicked LaBeck while he writhed on the ground.

Hours later, they were in jail and LaBeck, bruised and sore, was telling friends he forgave them for what they did.

“His story, what he went through, taught my children a dozen lessons in one,” said Sandy Logan, an acquaintance of LaBeck’s who used to ride the bus downtown with him.

She listened as LaBeck’s daughters recalled the spirit their father had, the way he’d strike up a conversation with strangers and greet people on the street. LaBeck always wanted to know about other people’s lives and made new friends every day, they said.

One of LaBeck’s five daughters, Paula Stepankowsky, laughed about the jokes he used to tell and how he’d give away presents that others, even relatives, had once given him.

“He always felt like others needed things more than him,” Stepankowsky said. The Rev. Robert Pearson said LaBeck’s life was “an adventure that kept him dancing right on into his 80s.” His faith was strong and he stood by his beliefs, Pearson said.

“I know he was strong and intense because sometimes I was at the other end of that,” Pearson said. “Pete liked to tell me all the things that were wrong about the parish.”

In the winter months, LaBeck would always remind Pearson that the snow needed to be shoveled off the sidewalks around the church.

“Then he’d tell me, ‘You know, I really do like you,”’ Pearson chuckled.

Stepankowsky said her father’s faith soothed his trials in the two months after his assault.

“Let’s remember how much he enjoyed people, how much he loved dancing, his family and his church,” she said. “But most of all, let us not forget how much he taught us about forgiveness.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo