Obituaries
F.M. Gokee Spokane
Service for F.M. Gokee, a retired Naval Reserve commander, will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home. There will be private burial at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Mr. Gokee, 89, died Thursday.
He was born in Petoskey, Mich., and graduated from Rogers High School.
He started a Pontiac and Cadillac dealership in Gooding, Idaho, and later opened an appliance and music store in Gooding.
In 1952, he moved to Spokane and was a regional sales manager for an automotive replacement parts business.
He served in World War II and the Korean War.
His wife, Dorothy Gokee, died in 1991.
Mr. Gokee is survived by a daughter, Mary Ann Cowan of LaClede, Idaho; a son, Henry Gokee of Spokane; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Ethel Gosney St. John, Wash.
Service for Ethel Kathryn Gosney, 97, was held Thursday at St. John Methodist Church with burial at St. John Cemetery.
Mrs. Gosney died June 10.
She was born in Fremont, Neb., and moved to Sprague, Wash., with her family when she was three.
She and her husband, Charles Gosney, lived in Redondo, Wash., for a short time, and moved to St. John in the 1930s.
Her husband died in 1971.
She worked for Palouse Rock Lake Soil Conservation District for 20 years.
Mrs. Gosney was a published poet and short story writer. She was a member of St. John Methodist Church and the choir and was active in the St. John School Education Fund.
Survivors include one daughter, Joan Evans of Sumner, Wash.; one son, Max Gosney of Livermore, Calif.; three sisters, Fay Arrowsmith of Arcadia, Calif., LaVerne Rotchford of Hayden Lake, Idaho, and Jeffra Rice of Spokane; two brothers, Bill Pierson of Hayden Lake and Arthur Pierson of Spokane; nine grandchildren and 16 greatgrandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. John Methodist Church or the St. John School Education Fund.
Robert Willis Grant Harrison, Idaho
Private burial service for longtime Coeur d’Alene resident Robert Willis Grant will be next month in Harrison.
Mr. Grant, 84, died in Kansas City last Saturday.
Born in Harrison, Mr. Grant moved to Spokane, where he graduated from Lewis and Clark High School. He then attended the University of Idaho, receiving a degree in 1932.
He worked in the credit department of International Harvester Corp. in Oregon and the Midwest.
Mr. Grant was married twice: first to Mary Dorritt Grant, who died in 1980, and later to Claudia Grant, who died in 1992.
After retiring in 1972, Mr. Grant lived in the Coeur d’Alene area until moving to Kansas City in 1993.
Survivors include two sons, Robert H. Grant of Kansas City and Douglas Grant of Yelm, Wash.; and a grandaughter, Jill Grant of Kansas City.
A memorial service will be July 12 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Wallace. Burial will follow at a private family plot.
John Korski Jr. Kent, Wash.
Service for John A. Korski Jr., 57, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at EdlineYahn Funeral Chapel in Kent. Burial will be at Miller-Woodlawn Cemetery in Bremerton.
Mr. Korski, a former Spokane resident, died Wednesday.
He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.
He graduated from high school in Bremerton and lived in Spokane for 15 years.
He worked for a food service company as a salesman in Spokane.
He had moved to Kent six years ago.
Mr. Korski is survived by his wife of 12 years, Lela; three daughters, Susan Epling of Hillsboro, Ore., Julia Dawson of Spokane and Carolyn Christopher of Helena; two stepchildren; his mother, Marie Korski of Belfair, Wash.; one brother, James Korski of Bellingham; and five grandchildren.
Josephine Rother Spokane
Funeral Mass for Josephine E. Rother, 90, was held Saturday at St. Peter Catholic Church with burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. HennesseySmith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Rother, who died Thursday, was born in Milwaukee.
She was a homemaker.
Her first husband, William Schmitz, died in 1944. Her second husband, Calvin Rother, died in 1988.
She is survived by two sons, Roger Schmitz of Spokane and Curtis Schmitz of Phoenix; 10 grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Francis Xavier Parish.
Louis Mertl Spokane
Graveside service for Louis Charles Mertl, 77, was held Saturday at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Born in Nespelem, Wash., Mr. Mertl died Tuesday in Warden, Wash.
He graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School and served in the Army during World War II.
He had lived in Spokane from 1927 until 1980, when he moved to Warden, Wash.
Mr. Mertl was a member of Plumbers and Steam Fitters Union Local No. 44.
He is survived by one brother, Michael Park of Torrance, Calif.; and one sister, Mariann Alling of Warden.
Elmer Hite Sr. Newport, Wash.
Graveside service for Elmer W. Hite, 88, is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at Greenwood Memorial Terrace in Spokane. Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home, Newport, is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Hite, who was born at Fernan Lake, Idaho, died Wednesday in Newport where he had lived for the past year.
He was a former 70-year Spokane resident and had worked for Bader Machinery in Spokane for 35 years.
His wife, Alice, preceded him in death.
Survivors include a son, Elmer Hite Jr., of Newport; a daughter, Marcellina Phelps of Medical Lake; a sister, Lucille Cozzetto of Spokane; six grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
Anne Simonson Spokane
No service will be held for Anne Simonson, 92, at her request. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Simonson died Thursday.
She was born in Stuttgart, Ark.
She had lived in Spokane for 82 years and was a homemaker.
Her husband, Marvin Simonson, preceded her in death.
She is survived by one daughter, Juanita Croteau of Spokane; two brothers, Charley Kuonen of Castlegar, Alberta, and Emil Kuonen of Spokane; four sisters, Lena Scott and Mary Lightfoot, both of Spokane, Marguerite Davidson of Seattle, and Augusta Michaelis of Olympia; six grandchildren and seven greatgrandchildren.
Marilu Dessert Spokane
A private family memorial is planned this summer in remembrance of Marilu Dessert. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Miss Dessert, 81, died Monday.
Born in Spokane, she graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and majored in drama at Washington State University, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
Her grandfather, Victor Dessert, built the Russ House in Spokane in 1884 and her father, Victor Dessert, managed the Desert Hotel at First and Post Street. He built many hotels in the Spokane area during the 1920s and ‘30s.
She worked in the family hotel business as assistant manager and interior designer for several hotel properties, including the Desert Caravan Inn in Spokane and the Desert Hotel in Coeur d’Alene, on the site of the current Coeur d’Alene Resort.
She was married twice to Nat Scaler and later to Malcom MacKenzie.
She is survived by two nephews, Richard Williams of Los Angeles and Fred Williams of Spokane; and one niece, Georgi Krom of Seattle.
Memorial contributions may be made to Rockwood Manor.
, DataTimes