Obituaries
John Perry
Spokane
Graveside service for John Perry, 88, will be Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. at Greenwood Cemetery. Neptune Society is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Perry, a lifelong resident of Spokane, died Aug. 3.
He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1935 and from Washington State College in 1952.
He served in the Army during World War II as a corporal in the 65th AAA Gun Battalion as a parachutist-gun commander, marksman M1 rifle.
He received the American Theater Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the Victory Medal.
Mr. Perry was a pharmacist at Rosauers Pharmacy for 29 years, retiring in 1981. He had also owned Broadway Pharmacy.
He was a member of the Spokane Yacht Club, Brotherhood of Friends, American Italian Club, Elks and Moose lodges, U.S. Power Squadron, Pharmacy Association, Over the Hill Gang and the WSU Alumni Association.
He enjoyed playing golf and boating.
Mr. Perry was president of the Spokane County Pharmaceutical Association and coordinated the first volunteer Pharmacist Polio Drive in the late 1950s.
His wife of 52 years, Eleanor, died in 2000.
Survivors include a daughter, Leslie Sears of Calgary, Alberta; two sons, Mark and Drew Perry, and a sister, Minnie Swinson, all of Spokane; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Ronald Legget
Sandpoint
Service for Ronald J. Legget, 68, will be today at 10 a.m. at Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint. Burial with a Scottish bagpipe processional will follow at Pack River Cemetery near Sandpoint.
Mr. Legget, who was born in Klamath Falls, Ore., died Tuesday.
He grew up near Fort Klamath and graduated from high school in Chiloquin, Ore.
He served in the Army for two years and then graduated from Southern Oregon College in Ashland. He received a master’s degree from Nova University in Florida.
He married Gail Mannering in 1959.
Mr. Legget began a teaching career in Southern California and taught for two years before moving to Germany, where he taught for the U.S. Department of Defense Dependents Schools. For the next 31 years he taught the children of Army families stationed overseas. He and his wife retired to Sandpoint in 1993.
He was a member of the Sandpoint Elks Lodge and the Prime Timers at Schweitzer Mountain Resort.
He enjoyed teaching part-time at the North Idaho College extension office.
He was active in golf, skiing and tennis.
Survivors include his wife; and a brother, Jim Legget of Yakima.
June Bassett
Spokane
Service for June Virginia Bassett, 81, will be Saturday at 3 p.m. at Audubon Park United Methodist Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bassett, who was born in Chickasha, Okla., died Monday.
A resident of Spokane for 40 years, she was a member of Audubon Park United Methodist Church and the Garden Club.
She was a seamstress and taught sewing.
She was involved in square and round dance. As a round dance teacher and cuer, she cued for a number of dance clubs for over 23 years and in 2000 was inducted into the Square Dance Hall of Fame with her husband.
Survivors include her husband of 57 years, Lawrence; three sons, Lawrence Bassett Jr. of Kirkland, Wash., Scott Bassett of Spokane and Thomas Bassett of Vail, Colo.; five grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Memorial contributions may be made to the NSDA Hall, c/o Scott Bassett, 4207 West Excell, Spokane, WA 99208.
Royal ‘Josh’ Randle Jr.
Plummer, Idaho
Private memorial for Royal J. “Josh” Randle Jr., 62, will be held at a later date. Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Randle, who was born in Beach, N.D., died Wednesday.
He grew up in Colville and in 1960 enlisted in the Air Force.
After his military service he worked as a log scaler in the timber industry. He also played guitar with several area bands.
Mr. Randle moved to Orofino, Idaho, in 1982 and continued to work in the woods.
He married Catherine Bloom-Schneider in 1983. The couple moved to St. Maries in 1988 and later to Plummer.
Mr. Randle worked for Pacific Crown Lumber Co. until it was destroyed by fire in 1998. He then went to work for the Coeur d’Alene Casino, until June.
Survivors include his wife, Catherine; a son, Royal “R.J.” Randle III of Twin Falls; two daughters, Tami Brown of Plummer and Katy Randle of Sandpoint; a half-brother, William Carson, and two half-sisters, Naomi Henn and Heidi Vales, all of Spokane; and four grandchildren.
Zoe McCue Wing
Coeur d’Alene
Service for Zoe Ann (Urfer) McCue Wing, 79, will be held at a later date. Burial will be held at the family cemetery in Iowa.
Mrs. Wing, who was born in Lincoln Township, Iowa, died Tuesday.
She grew up in Brooklyn, Iowa, and met her future husband, J. Ray McCue, while they were both working for Maytag.
They were married in 1944. She was a homemaker. Mrs. Wing was a standout basketball player for several years with an amateur league in Newton, Iowa.
Her husband died in 1975, and she continued to live in Newton, until moving to Las Vegas to be near her son.
She moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1988 to be with her daughter.
She enjoyed crafts, knitting and crocheting.
Survivors include two children, Dean McCue of Las Vegas and Rae Hennig of Coeur d’Alene; three grandsons and eight great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children, P.O. Box 2472, Spokane, WA 99210.
Gordon Schuster
Spokane
Private service will be held for H. Gordon Schuster, 81. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of cremation.
Mr. Schuster, who died Aug. 4, was born in Wilbur, Wash.
He attended Wilbur schools and graduated in 1940. He attended Washington State University from 1940 to 1943 before enlisting in the Army Infantry.
He was stationed at Roberts, Calif., and later at Fort Benning, Ga. From there he went to Europe, where he served with the 3rd Division. He was discharged in 1946 and served in the reserves until retiring as a major.
Mr. Schuster returned to Washington State University and finished his senior year in 1947.
He worked for International Harvester Co. until his retirement in 1989.
He was co-chairman of the Champagne Ball in 1964 and presided as president of the Spokane Music Festival.
He enjoyed fishing, hunting and traveling. He was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and Messiah Lutheran Church.
Survivors include his wife, Carol; a daughter, Iantha Sidell of Mercer Island, Wash.; a son, Gregory Schuster of Spokane; two stepsons Kelly Strantz of Spokane and Mitch Strantz of Spangle; and seven grandchildren.
Oscar ‘Ed’ Graham
Spokane
Visitation for Oscar E. “Ed” Graham, 94, will be today from noon to 5 p.m. at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Funeral will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home, with burial at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Mr. Graham, who was born in Badger, Minn., died Tuesday.
He was a resident of Spokane for 88 years and was involved in the lumber union as a young man.
He participated in the senior program at Northeast Community Center.
His wife, Josephine, preceded him in death.
Survivors include a son, Jerry Graham of Utah; 15 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Meals On Wheels, Mid City Concerns, 1222 W. Second Ave., Spokane, WA 99201.
Louise Mills
Spokane
Funeral Mass for Louise Marie Mills, 75, will be today at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Mills, who was born in Tekoa, Wash., died Aug. 5. She was a resident of Spokane for 16 years.
She grew up on the family farm and graduated from Tekoa High School. She went to work for General Telephone Co. A career advancement took her to Spokane, where she met her husband Roger Mills. The couple moved to Alaska, where she helped to develop the Anchorage Telephone Utility.
After her husband died, she returned to Spokane.
She enjoyed playing bridge.
Survivors include two sons, Frank Mills of Burien, Wash., and David Mills of Olympia; a sister, Evelyn; and four grandchildren.
Ross Crabb
Spokane
Memorial service for Ross R. Crabb, 92, will be Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Desmet Mission, Desmet Idaho. Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Crabb, who was born in St. John, Wash., died Monday.
He farmed most of his life in Tekoa, Wash.
He was an active member of Spokane Valley Senior Citizens and a member of the Catholic church.
His wife of 51 years, Mary, died in 1987.
Survivors include a son, Mike Crabb of Cheney; a daughter, Barbara Toetly of Spokane Valley; a sister, Jessie Hershey of Lincoln City, Ore.; a brother, Vern Crabb of Lewiston; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Robert Hanson
Mount Vernon, Wash.
No service will be held for Robert Carr Hanson, 82.
Mr. Hanson, who was born in Spokane, died July 28.
He served six years in the Navy, including serving in World War II and the Korean War.
After returning from overseas he met and married May Black. They lived in Spokane for 49 years. She died in 2003.
He enjoyed drawing and building models of cars, boats and trains and gardening. He was a pilot.
After his wife died, Mr. Hanson moved to Mount Vernon to be close to family.
Survivors include a son, Jack Hanson of Mount Vernon; and a granddaughter.
Amy ‘Peggy’ Finke
Coeur d’Alene
Private graveside service for Amy T. “Peggy” Finke, 93, was held Thursday at Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Finke, who was born in Palouse, Wash., died Monday.
She was a homemaker and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star in Umatilla, Ore.
Mrs. Finke was preceded in death by her husbands, Lyle Mitchell and Ray Finke.
Survivors include a daughter, Marlene Brassfield of Blaine, Wash.; seven grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.