Linda Ball

Sherrild Mills, 65, had a four-year illness but kept an upbeat attitude until his death Sept. 7. He was a Christian and told his grandchildren that death was the ultimate healing because there would be no more sickness or sorrow. Up until the end he cared more about others than himself, according to Angie, his wife of 48 years. Angie and Sherrild were married in Coeur d'Alene in 1957 at the First Christian Church at Fourth and Garden.

Coeur d'Alene's summer love affair with its visiting moose came to the best possible end Saturday night as the EXCEL Foundation, a nonprofit organization, earned approximately $366,500 in the gala auction that capped off the "No Moose Left Behind" public art project. Throughout the summer, 26 life-size or "majestic moose" and 39 tabletop moose, or "machetes," have graced Coeur d'Alene. The moose were created by a variety of artists to be auctioned off to benefit EXCEL (Extras to Create Excellence in Learning), which supports educational innovation above and beyond what school funding can provide.

Bob Eagan "really filled a room when he came in," says his wife, Dorothy Dahlgren. She thought he was a little "strange" when she first met him. His larger-than-life personality brought joy to many people in Coeur d'Alene. Bob died of a heart attack Sept. 8. He was 54. He was in great spirits that day, Dorothy says, and had just finished a short walk on his beloved Tubbs Hill.

The Lake City Playhouse finds itself on firmer financial footing with a new major patron, a new management team and a new season that kicked off Friday with the production of "Harvey." The Winifred Gregory Endowment Fund is sponsoring the small community theater's entire 2004-05 season, which is under the direction of managing director Noel Barbuto, technical director Todd Jasmin and artistic director Tracey Benson. The endowment, named after Winifred Gregory, a well-known Coeur d'Alene resident who was an accomplished singer, is the nonprofit theater's first major benefactor, Benson said.

Bette Donovan, who died last month at 80, lived a quiet life for the last 25 years, with her husband, Robert, in Hayden Lake. Their life before that is another story, filled with hard work, celebrity clientele and national acclaim for their incredible stained-glass creations. In the '70s, Donovan Stained Glass Studio Inc. was the largest company of its kind in the United States. Bette and Robert met in Oakland, Calif., in 1948. They were both working in a drive-in restaurant, Andy's restaurant, at 19th and Harrison in Oakland. Robert was a soda-pop man who also worked the register, and Bette was a car-hop. Both of their families had moved to Oakland during the Depression looking for better opportunity. Bette lost her mother when she was very young and was in an orphanage for a time before the move to California.

After a year of living in a construction zone, shifting back and forth in the building to accommodate workers, using portable buildings, all the while conducting classes, students at the alternative high school Project CDA are finally seeing the finished product, new and state-of-the-art. "This was quite a process," said Principal Julie Green. "What absolutely surfaced, particularly from the kids, was that the commons — the kid area — would be at the heart of the school. Of course, the kids are the heart of the school."

The kids are all right when they're in the capable hands of veteran school bus driver Jill Hill. Hill placed seventh out of 100 competitors in the International School Bus Safety Competition in Minneapolis, July 10 and 11. Hill moved up 12 places from her 19th-place finish at last year's competition in New York City.

Coeur d'Alene lost a beloved husband, father, steamboat captain and native son July 3 when Hap Murphy, 92, died at home after a very brief battle with cancer. According to his daughter, Kathi Poitevin, he was the youngest man ever to pass the tests to be a steamboat captain, starting his career on Lake Coeur d'Alene in his late teens. Following in the footsteps of his father, Loren Murphy, Hap was the last living tugboat captain who ran a steam engine in this area.