Obituaries
Delores Vinson Medical Lake
Vigil service for Delores A. Vinson, 62, will be at 7 p.m. today at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Medical Lake. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church. Burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park with Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Vinson, a 30-year resident of Medical Lake, died Wednesday.
She was born in Havre, Mont.
In 1943 her family moved to Shelby, Mont. where she graduated from high school. She graduated from Columbus School of Nursing in Great Falls, Mont.
She and her husband, who was in the Air Force, were stationed in many places. They moved to Spokane in 1964.
Mrs. Vinson worked as a registered nurse at Fairchild Air Force Base Hospital until her retirement in 1991. She was a member of St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Medical Lake.
She is survived by her husband, Donald Vinson, at the home; two sons, Curtis Vinson and Dale Vinson, both of Bothell, Wash.; one daughter, Michelle Reid of Spokane; two sisters, Frances Dobson of Cut Bank, Mont. and Jackie Cox of Glendive, Mont.; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Anne’s Catholic Church.
Hobert Combs Airway Heights
Service for Hobert C. “Shorty” Combs, 62, will be at noon Saturday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South. Burial will be in Medical Lake Cemetery.
Mr. Combs, who died Tuesday, was born in Combs, Ky.
He was a 26-year resident of Airway Heights.
A Vietnam veteran, he retired from the Air Force in 1972.
Mr. Combs owned and operated the Sunset Body Shop in Airway Heights for 20 years until retiring in 1992.
He was a member of Little Guys Stock Car Racing and was a track official at Spokane Raceway Park. He was also a member of the Airway Heights Lions Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemary Combs, at home; three sons, Tobie, Roy, and Douglas Combs, all of Airway Heights; three daughters, Monica Wing of Spokane, Carla Hembach of Odessa, Wash., and Danielle Combs of Airway Heights; two brothers, Wathen Combs of Combs, Ky. and Carl Combs of Houston; two sisters, Marjorie Logan of Point Pleasant, W.V. and Jessie Fortney of Elm City, S.C.; 10 grandsons and three granddaughters.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Airway Heights Volunteer Fire Department.
Dennis Sombke Spokane
Memorial service for Dennis C. Sombke, 55, will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Sunset Chapel at Fairmount Memorial Park. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Sombke, who died Wednesday, was born in Brown County, S.D., and had lived in Spokane for 19 years.
An Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran, he retired in 1979. He flew for Spokane Software and then for Flightcraft. He was a member of Assumption Catholic Church.
He is survived by his wife, Geraldine Sombke, at home; one son, Griffith Sombke of Spokane; one sister, Marlene Zoellner of Denver.; and two brothers, Gerald Sombke of Freeborn, Minn., and Lawrence Sombke of Tacoma.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane or Assumption Catholic Church.
Ruth Mitchell Spokane
Memorial service for Ruth A. Mitchell, 91, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Sunset Chapel at Fairmount Memorial Park. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Mitchell, who died Monday, was born in Santa Barbara, Calif. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Following marriage in 1935, she and her husband moved to Spokane. From 1944 until 1976, they lived in Kennewick.
She then returned to Spokane.
Mrs. Mitchell was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew “Bud” Mitchell, in 1972.
She is survived by a daughter, Nancy Lemery of San Diego; and three grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Friends of Manito.
Eugene `Gene’ Rogers Deer Park
Service for Eugene L. Rogers, 66, will be at 1 p.m. today at Lauer Funeral Home in Deer Park. Cremation preceded. Lauer Funeral Home of Deer Park is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Rogers, who died Tuesday of lupus, was born in St. Louis, Mo.
A longtime resident of Spokane and Deer Park, Mr. Rogers worked as a pressman for The Los Angeles Times and The Spokesman Review, where he retired. He was a member of the Pressmen’s Union.
He was a World War II veteran.
Mr. Rogers was captain of his own commercial fishing boat at San Pedro, Calif., and was a licensed airplane pilot.
He is survived by his wife of 26 years, Lariene Rogers, at home; two daughters, Calla Smorodin of New Jersey and Josephine Valiulis of Los Angeles; one son, Burgess Wood of New Jersey; his mother, Viola Rogers of St. Louis; one brother, Frank Rogers of Staten Island, N.Y.; one sister, Diane Rogers of St. Louis; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Delia Ruth Greenacres
Service for Delia M. Kegley Ruth, 97, will be at 1 p.m. today at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Foothills Chapel, with burial at the Pines Cemetery. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Ruth, who died Monday, was born in Wisconsin.
She was a 55-year resident of Spokane and a homemaker. Her memberships included the 15th Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Foothills Quilting Bee, and the Grange.
Mrs. Ruth was preceded in death by three husbands, Louis Earl Kegley, Everett Reynolds, and Mitchell Ruth.
She is survived by three sons, Larry Kegley and Richard Kegley, both of Spokane, and Robert Kegley of Post Falls; two daughters, Ruth Loeffler of Spokane and Doris Mandurano of Lakevilla, Ill.; one sister, Madeline Nichols of Spokane; 24 grandchildren and numerous great- and great-great grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Spokane 15th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Angela Thursby Thornton, Wash.
Service for Angela Thursby, 8, will be today at 4 p.m. at the Oakesdale (Wash.) Presbyterian Church, with burial at the Thornton (Wash.) Cemetery. Schanzenbach Funeral Home of Rosalia, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Angela died Monday near Thornton.
She attended Oakesdale Grade School.
She is survived by her parents, Don and Sandy Thursby of Thornton; two sisters, Jenny and Lisa Thursby of Thornton; her grandparents, Dick and Adrienne Nyberg of Spokane; and her great-grandmother, Louise Nyberg of Spokane.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rosalia Ambulance Fund or the Oakesdale Rescue Squad.
Anna Cullooyah Usk, Wash.
Funeral Mass for Anna R. “Annie” Cullooyah, 88, is planned for 10 a.m. today at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Mission in Usk. Burial will follow at the Kalispel Indian Cemetery. ShermanKnapp Funeral Home of Newport, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Cullooyah died Wednesday at the Pend Oreille Pines Nursing Home in Newport.
She was a lifetime Usk resident and a member of the Kalispel Tribe.
Her husband, Frank Cullooyah, preceded her in death.
She is survived by one son, Francis Cullooyah of Cusick, Wash.; 13 grandchildren, eight greatgrandchildren and one great-greatgrandson.
Donovan Walden Spokane
Graveside service for Donovan Michael Lee “Donny” Walden, 3, will be at 11 a.m. today at Greenwood Memorial Terrace. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Donny died Sunday.
He is survived by his mother, Daryl Ensminger of Spokane; his father, Mark Walden of Spokane; two sisters, Dominique May Walden and Ruth Anna Belle Ensminger, both of Spokane; and his grandparents, Mike and Marlene Walden, and Kermit and Donna Brown, all of Spokane.
Gerald Lusher Mead
Service for Gerald E. “Jerry” Lusher, 81, will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Burial will be at Spokane Memorial Gardens.
Mr. Lusher, who died Tuesday, was born Bingham, Utah.
He was the general manager of Goodwin-Mayflower Moving and Storage Co. in Spokane for 25 years. He retired in 1980.
He was past president of Spokane Lions Club and a member of the Manito Masonic Lodge, Spokane Consistory of Scottish Rite Bodies, El Katif Shrine Temple, and the Order of Eastern Star.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Lillie Lusher, at home; one son, John Young of Sacramento, Calif.; one brother, William Lusher, and one sister, Madeline Crumby, both of Seattle; one granddaughter and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane or the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children.
Robert Snoddy Conrad, Mont.
Service for Robert M. “Bob” Snoddy, a former Spokane resident, was Thursday at Pondera Funeral Home in Conrad, Mont. Burial was at Pine Crest Memorial Park in Sandpoint.
Mr. Snoddy, 79, died Monday from cancer.
He was born in Pasadena, Calif.
Mr. Snoddy was a longtime Spokane resident and retired in 1968 as a captain from the Spokane Fire Department.
He and his wife retired to a ranch west of Spokane before moving to Horizon Lodge in Conrad in 1985.
Mr. Snoddy was a board member of the Spokane Firefighters Credit Union and a member of the Back Country Horsemen’s Association.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Calie Snoddy, at home; one son, Neil Snoddy of Spokane; one stepdaughter, Dona McBride of Colorado Springs, Colo.; one sister, Jane Penney of Seattle; six grandchildren and 10 greatgrandchildren.
Blanche (Bell) Donica Spokane
No service will be held for Blanche (Bell) Donica, 85. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Donica, who died Friday, was born in Austin, Minn.
A homemaker, she had lived in Spokane since 1920.
Her husband, Kenneth Donica, preceded her in death.
She is survived to two sisters, Lillian Boyd of Spokane and Irene Mason of Idaho Falls.
Margaret Payne Chewelah, Wash.
Memorial service for Margaret B. “Peggy” Payne, 58, will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Chewelah Free Methodist Church. Burial will precede at Summit Valley Cemetery in Addy, Wash. Schanzenbach Funeral Home of Chewelah is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Payne, who died Tuesday, was born in Colville, Wash.
A homemaker, she was a member of the Chewelah Free Methodist Church.
She is survived by her husband, Don Payne, at home; two daughters, Kathryn McPherson of Leavenworth, Wash., and Diane Payne of Seattle; her mother, Doris Knauss of Chewelah; three brothers, Dan Knauss Jr. of Chewelah, Ted Knauss of Summit Valley, and John Knauss of Edmonds, Wash.; and two grandchildren.
Virginia Baker Spokane
A private service is planned for Virginia Baker, 86. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Baker, who was born in Milwaukee, Wis., died Tuesday.
She graduated from the University of Oregon in Eugene.
A homemaker, she lived in Spokane for 56 years.
She was a member of Heritage Congregational Church and the Manito Golf and Country Club.
She is survived by her husband of 58 years, Wallace Baker, at home; one daughter, Constance Doerkson of Eugene, Ore.; two sons, Douglas Baker of Spokane and David Baker of Vancouver, Wash.; one brother, Lawrence Reid of Portland; and six grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heritage Congregational Church or the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Harold Sandberg Moses Lake
Private memorial service will be held for O. Harold Sandberg, 80.
Mr. Sandberg, who died July 28, was born in Everett.
He graduated from high school in Monroe, Wash.
Mr. Sandberg worked in a logging camp in Morton, Wash., and as sheet metal worker in the Bremerton Naval Yard. In Moses Lake he worked for the Air Force and retired from the civil service.
He was a member of the Columbia Basin Sons of Norway and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Mr. Sandberg is survived by his wife of 40 years, Bobbie Sandberg, at the home; one son, Steve Sandberg of Yakima; three sisters, Clara Wahl of Everett, Olga Thorson of Seattle and Alice Lehman of Spokane; and two grandchildren.