Obituaries
Andy Bessler Sandpoint
Memorial service for Andy Bessler, 44, will be today at the home of Chris Bessler, 1227 Lake St., Sandpoint.
Mr. Bessler, who was born in California, died Thursday from complications following surgery for a cerebral aneurysm.
He grew up and attended high school in Oregon and attended Oregon Technical Institute.
Mr. Bessler worked at sawmills and machine shops and as a diver’s tender on offshore oil rigs. He also had worked as a draftsman in Louisiana before moving in 1985 to Coeur d’Alene, where he worked as a gunsmith.
He returned to Oregon in 1987 and moved in 1995 to Sandpoint, where he worked at Harold’s IGA Superfood.
Survivors include a daughter, Amanda Bessler of Oregon; and a brother, Chris Bessler of Sandpoint.
Memorials may be made to a memorial fund for Amanda Bessler, c/o P.O. Box 722, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Henry ‘Hank’ Ackerman Dusty, Wash.
Funeral service for Henry C. ‘Hank’ Ackerman, 89, will be at 2 p.m. today at the Country Bible Church near Dusty. Burial will follow at the Dusty Cemetery. Burning Funeral Home of Colfax is in charge of the arrangements.
Mr. Ackerman, a lifetime resident of the Dusty area, died Saturday.
He was a graduate of Colfax High School.
In 1930 he married Betty Sheer in Wallace.
Mr. Ackerman was a farmer until 1965, when he and his wife purchased the Dusty Store and Service Station.
He was also a meat cutter for the store and helped maintain the Dusty Cemetery for several years. In the late 1980s a new cemetery entrance gate was dedicated in his honor.
Memberships included the Country Bible Church, the Dusty Gun Club and the Penawawa Boat Club. He served with the Dusty Fire District for more than 30 years.
His wife died in 1996.
He is survived by two sons, Richard Ackerman of Snoqualmie, Wash., and Robert Ackerman of Richland; 12 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Country Bible Church or the Dusty Cemetery.
Beryl Knudson Hayden Lake, Idaho
Service for Beryl Knudson, 89, will be at 1 p.m. today at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Knudson, who was born in South Dakota, died Saturday.
She grew up and was educated in South Dakota before moving to Hayden Lake in 1936.
Mrs. Knudson had also lived in Coeur d’Alene.
She was a member of the Friends Church in Hayden Lake.
Her husband, Eddie, died in 1992.
Survivors include a son, E. Dean Knudson of Georgia; a daughter, Donna Harwood of Hayden Lake; a brother, Wright Gleason of Coeur d’Alene; two sisters, Evelyn Spaw of Coeur d’Alene and Verda Hopkins of California; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Richard Schmidt Spokane
Funeral service for Richard Carl Schmidt, 89, will be at 1:30 p.m. today at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Mr. Schmidt, who was born in Spokane, died Saturday.
He owned Standard Plumbing and Heating in Spokane.
Mr. Schmidt was a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association, Hanford Contractors Association, Washington State Mechanical Contractors and the Apprenticeship Program. He received the Outstanding Contractors Award for 1 million man-hours with no injuries and the first annual Mechanical Association Award for Excellence in 1963.
He was a member of the El Katif Shrine Temple, Scottish Rite, York Rite, Order of Eastern Star; Order of Amaranth, White Shrine, Sadir Khan Grotto, and North Hill Masonic Lodge 210.
He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Lucile; three sons, Richard Schmidt Jr. of Coeur d’Alene, Ronald Schmidt of Veradale and Wesley Schmidt of Otis Orchards; a daughter, Catherine Haines of Colfax, Wash.; 15 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane, the Grotto Children’s Home or Sadir Khan Grotto.
Mary Dreyer Tekoa, Wash.
Memorial service for Mary N. Dreyer, 82, will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa. Inurnment will be at Deschutes Memorial Gardens in Bend, Ore., at a later date.
Born in East St. Louis, Ill., Mrs. Dreyer died Aug. 19.
In 1937 she married Ben Dreyer in Burlington, Kan.
Mrs. Dreyer worked for the Boeing Co. during World War II and lived in Hermiston and Pendleton, Ore. She and her husband moved to Priest Lake, Idaho, in 1965. There they managed Barriers Resort for 20 years. They moved to Spokane in 1988. She moved to Tekoa almost a year ago.
She was a member of the Presbyterian Church.
Her husband died in 1990.
Survivors include a daughter, Linda Schmidt of Tekoa; a stepdaughter, Marilyn Reichenberg of Grangeville, Idaho; a grandchild, six stepgrandchildren, one great-grandchild and five stepgreat-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Tekoa Ambulance Fund, P.O. Box 597, Tekoa, WA 99033.
Woodrow ‘Woody’ Kuder Olympia
Visitation for Woodrow Wilson “Woody” Kuder, 85, will be from noon to 9 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Thursday at Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Spokane Memorial Gardens.
Mr. Kuder, who was born in Loon Lake, Wash., died Wednesday.
He worked as a carpenter.
He moved to Olympia seven years ago.
He was a member of the Eagles Lodge, the Elks Club and the Carpenters Union Local 98.
His first wife, Mary, died in 1984.
Survivors include his wife, Suzanne; three sons, Dale and Richard Kuder both of Spokane and Gene Kuder of Rio Rico, Ariz.; two sisters, Mabel Keith and Elaine Palmer; two brothers, Bill and Clyde Kuder; 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.
Sister Xavier Berberich, O.P. Spokane
Mass for Sister Xavier Berberich, O.P., 87, will be at 10:30 a.m. today at the Dominican Center. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Born in Bann, Pfalz, Germany, she died Saturday.
She came to the United States in 1937 after entering the Dominican Sisters in Sperer, Germany. She taught school at St. Mary’s Mission in Omak, Wash., St. William’s School in Shelby, Mont., and St. Margaret’s School in Cut Bank, Mont.
Sister Berberich also a teacher and principal at Assumption School in Spokane, a teacher at St. Thomas More School in Spokane, a sister visitor at Holy Family Hospital, a teacher’s aide at Assumption School and pastoral care worker at the Holy Family Hospital.
She retired from Holy Names Nursing Care of Spokane in July 1995.
Survivors include a sister, Antonia Rutz of Bann, Germany.
Madeline Fisher Spokane
Committal service for Madeline G. Fisher, 89, will be at 1 p.m. today at the Holy Cross Cemetery Chapel. Interment will follow at the Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Mrs. Fisher, who was born in Harrison, Idaho, died Saturday.
She moved to Kellogg in 1940 and then to Spokane in 1953. She worked as a waitress.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Clarence Lavin in 1939, and her second husband, Harry Fisher in 1951.
Survivors include a son, Harry Lavin of Spokane; a daughter, Clarice Burkhart of Spokane; a brother, John Sala of Elizabeth, Colo.; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Susan Briggs Spokane
No service will be held for Susan T. Briggs, 86, at her request. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.
Mrs. Briggs, who was born in Butte, Mont., died Saturday.
She was a homemaker and a resident of Spokane for 71 years.
Mrs. Briggs is survived by a son, Robert Briggs of Bainbridge Island, Wash.; and a sister, Catherine Gedney of Uplant, Calif.
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