Landmarks: Bench pays tribute to parents’ courtship

Sometimes something very new can speak to a time gone by, to people or events from an earlier day. One such very new thing in Spokane remembers Bert and Georgia Shaber – a memorial bench in their beloved Corbin Park.

When Bert Shaber died in March 2015, his four children wanted to establish a permanent remembrance of their father and mother, Gloria, who died in 1998. Their parents conducted most of their courtship in Corbin Park in the 1940s, so a bench there seemed like the perfect memorial, said Susan Polakiewicz, of San Diego, their oldest child.

Gloria Helen Johnson was born in 1922 in her family’s home at 310 W. Waverly Place facing Corbin Park. Her father was George E.H. Johnson, owner of Johnson and Bungee Fuel Company and owner of significant downtown Spokane real estate. As Johnson’s eyesight began failing, Polakiewicz said, his daughter Gloria would drive him to meetings at the Davenport Hotel and sit up in the mezzanine waiting for him to conclude his business, and she would fly his Piper Cub for him on business trips – at the age of 16. She decided to become a nurse.

Bert Shaber Jr. was born in Wetumpka, Oklahoma, in 1919 and grew up as something of an Oklahoma cowboy, his daughter said. He served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a colonel, having flown 67 combat missions in New Guinea as a B-25 bomber pilot in World War II and having taught other pilots how to fly later.

Shaber contracted malaria during his wartime service and was sent to Spokane to recover. A young student nurse caught his eye one day, and he got on the bus with her, engaged her in conversation and carried her books to her house, where young Gloria’s mother invited him in. Polakiewicz said he must have been quite a sight to her family – all jaundiced from the malaria and chatting in his casual friendly way with his pronounced cowboy accent.

The young couple walked in Corbin Park throughout their courtship, and in June 1945 married at Gloria’s home on the south side of the park. They traveled through the world during his military service, and they and their children all learned to ski when they were in Germany.

“Even though we lived many places, we always felt that Spokane was a special place,” Polakiewicz said. “When Dad retired, he and Mom came back here.”

Bert Shaber went on to manage 49 Degrees North Ski Resort, serve on the Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees and be active in local politics. After his wife died in 1998, Bert continued living an active life, including skiing into his 90s, though he never dated again. “He told us mom was the only woman for him,” his daughter remembered.

The four Shaber children – the others are Randy, a retired medical examiner in Spokane; Russ, a retired consultant in Chewelah; and Shelley Ross of San Diego – agreed on the bench to honor their parents. They contacted Garrett Jones, parks planning and development manager, and worked through the process, including selecting the style of bench, language for the memorial plaque and, of course, paying for the bench and its installation.

“We do quite a few of these each year, probably five to eight, as well as other memorials,” Jones said. “Certain standards have to be met, but there are still some choices in style and color. And we can usually accommodate desired park location, though we are running out of room at some locations, notably along High Drive. The Centennial Trail, Manito Park, Cannon Hill Park and Riverfront Park are among the favorite locations.”

A catered ceremony for the Col. Bert and Gloria Shaber Memorial Bench was held in August, and Paul and Sherri Nelson, owners of the home at 319 Waverley Place, opened the home so that relatives and visitors could see where Gloria grew up.

“Having the bench mid-park, just across from the house, is just perfect,” Polakiewicz said. “Sitting there is almost like sitting on our parents laps.”

The bench is placed by some tall shade trees and faces the green lawn. A plaque gives the names and birth and death dates of Bert and Gloria Shaber. And there are these words as well:

“The girl from Corbin Park and the fly boy from Oklahoma … They will be remembered for their love of each other, for their love of us, their family.”