Obituaries
Patrick Powers Pinehurst, Idaho
Service for Patrick F. Powers, 85, was Saturday at St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Kellogg. Burial followed at Hunt Cemetery in Kingston. Shoshone Funeral Service of Kellogg was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Powers, who was born in Coeur d’Alene, died Oct. 24.
He moved to the Silver Valley at a young age and attended grade school in Wardner, Idaho.
He married Georgia Hunt in 1937.
He was a miner and worked for many area mines. He was also the owner and operator of several sawmills, including the Linfor and Bumblebee mills, which supplied timber to local mines. He was also a Shoshone County commissioner for many years.
Mr. Powers was active in the Silver Valley Seniors and was instrumental in the building of the Whispering Pines Senior Housing Complex in Pinehurst. He was a member of the Lions Club, the Eagles Lodge, the Masons, the Shriners, the Knights of Pythias and the Waterways Commission. He was also a longtime member of the Wallace Elks Lodge.
Survivors include his wife, at home; five sons, Mike of Kingston, Robert of Pinehurst, James of Ontario, Canada, John of Alaska and Patrick Jr. of Huetter, Idaho; one brother, William Powers of Spokane; one sister, Clara Peters of Yuma, Arizona; 10 grandchildren, six stepgrandchildren, four great-grandchildren, five stepgreat-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be sent to The Old Mission Fund, P.O. Box 30, Cataldo, ID 83810.
Ernestine McCausey Pinehurst, Idaho
Service for Ernestine McCausey, 81, will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at the United Church of Kellogg. Inurnment will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Kellogg. Shoshone Funeral Service of Kellogg is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. McCausey, who was born in North Dakota, died Sunday at home.
She came to North Idaho in 1948 from Montana and was a homemaker and mother.
She married Charles McCausey in 1947.
Mrs. McCausey was a Pythian Sister and a member of the United Church of Kellogg and the Church of Christ in Pinehurst.
Survivors include two daughters, Linda Forsberg of Pinehurst and Betty Barnett of California; two brothers, four sisters, one granddaughter, one great-grandson, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be made to the Church of Christ, 502 Division St., Pinehurst, ID 83850.
Alfred Bliesner Fairfield
Service for Alfred Bliesner, 80, was Monday at Fairfield Presbyterian Church with burial at Rosewood Cemetery in Fairfield.
Mr. Bliesner, who died Friday, was born in Waverly.
He was a longtime Fairfield resident and was a farmer.
He was a member of Fairfield Triangle Grange No. 927 and Latah Assembly of God.
Mr. Bliesner is survived by his wife Flossie Bliesner; three daughters, Linda Madsen and Starla Hall, both of Spokane, and Cheryl Piersol of Plaza; one son, Jay Bliesner of Spokane; one stepson, Robert Johnson of Renton, Wash.; four sisters, Elsie Perry and Lydia Walsh, both of Spokane, Alice Painter of Ravenwood, W.Va., and Freda Emtman of Coeur d’Alene; two brothers, Erwin and George Bliesner, both of Spokane; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Wallace ‘Jim’ Schoen Spokane
Memorial service for Wallace James “Jim” Schoen, 72, was Monday at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 2218.
Mr. Schoen, who was born in Davenport, Iowa, died Thursday.
He and his twin brother, Ward, were two of the original members of the 101st Airborne from the state of Washington during World War II.
He was an electrician in the Army. He retired in 1977 and moved to Spokane.
He is survived by his wife, Caroline Schoen; two sons, Dave Schoen of Sacramento, Calif., and Jimmy Schoen of Seattle; seven daughters, Loretta Latimar of Milwaukie, Ore., Linda Peterson of Vancouver, Wash., Peggy Fox and Nancy Buckner, both of Seattle, Ronee White of Pinehurst, Idaho, Patty Mawson of Coeur d’Alene and Sandra Cafferty of Boise; 20 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Willard Powell St. Maries
Service for Willard Burton ” Bill” Powell, 88, was Friday at the St. Maries Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yates-Hodge Funeral Home of St. Maries was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Powell, who was born in Powers Lake, N.D., died Oct. 21.
He moved to Spokane with his family in 1919 and attended school there. After completing his education, he married Dorothy Carner in Yakima. She died in 1934.
In 1937, he married Wilma Bauer in Spokane. They moved to St. Maries in 1943.
He worked as a truck driver for government projects and later drove a logging truck for local logging companies until his retirement in 1968. He became a cattle and dairy rancher after his retirement.
His second wife died in 1992. Survivors include two sons, Red and Dennis, both of St. Maries; two daughters, Anita Eadus of St. Maries, and Janice Kienbaum of Spokane; four sisters, LaDella Kennedy of Clarkston, Wash., Marna Estep and Ruth Waters, both of Spokane, and Lila Selig of Alaska; 18 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild and numerous nieces and nephews.
Elizabeth Sitch Sandpoint
Memorial service for Elizabeth Burton Sitch, 97, will be today at 2 p.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint. Coffelt Funeral Service of Sandpoint is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Sitch, who was born in Philadelphia, died Friday.
She grew up and attended schools in Philadelphia.
She married Frank Farr in 1913 and moved to California in 1920.
She married Walter Sitch in 1946. He died in 1977, and she moved to Oregon in 1984 and to Sandpoint in 1989.
Mrs. Sitch enjoyed arts and ceramics and built her own kiln.
Her survivors include two daughters, Jean Mass of Sandpoint and Dorothy Knight of Bend, Ore.; eight grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, 17 great-great-grandchildren and one great-great-great-granddaughter.
Annie Melvin Coeur d’Alene
Service for Annie Melvin, 86, was Saturday at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene. Burial followed at Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Melvin, who was born at Newman Lake, died Oct. 22.
She was raised on the family farm in Newman Lake.
After her marriage to Raymond Melvin, she moved to Coeur d’Alene and worked for the Forest Service until her retirement. She also worked for General Instrument in Post Falls.
Mrs. Melvin enjoyed sewing, crocheting, flower gardening, camping, fishing and hunting.
She was preceded in death by her husband, and her 20-year companion, Herb McAvoy.
Survivors include a brother, Louie Miller; two sisters, Lydia Bakken and Elsise Becker, both of Spokane; four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Rev. Peter Stretch Port Angeles, Wash.
Memorial service for the Rev. Peter Stretch, 61, will be at noon today at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Spokane. Sequim (Wash.) Valley Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Rev. Stretch died Oct. 25 in Port Angeles, where he had built a home.
He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and graduated from Trinity College, General Theology Seminary and Associate Order of the Holy Cross.
He had served with the Episcopal church as rector at Church of the Nativity in Lewiston, with missions in Grangeville, Orofino, Kamiah and Kooskia, Idaho.
He had lived in Spokane since 1972 and served the Diocese of Spokane in many capacities, including secretary of the Diocesan Council; rural dean, serving outlying areas of the diocese; chairman of the Department of Missions; a member of the standing committee; delegate of provincial synod and deputy to the general convention. He served as rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church for 22 years and retired in 1994.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years; three sons, Robert and William Stretch, both of Seattle, and James Stretch of Spokane; one brother, the Rev. Jerome Stretch of Bedford, N.H.; and three grandchildren.
Curtis Melville Lamont, Wash.
Memorial service for J. Curtis Melville, 61, will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Sprague (Wash.) Community Church. Burial will follow Macabee Cemetery in Sprague. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Melville died Saturday from cancer.
He was born in Spokane, and lived in the Sprague-Lamont area for most of his life.
He graduated from Sprague High School and Washington State University.
He served in the Air Force and returned to Lamont to farm at his family’s farm.
Mr. Melville returned to WSU and received a doctorate in biochemistry and later attended Michigan State University for post-doctoral studies.
He worked for U&I Sugar as a research chemist in Moses Lake and later with other sugar companies in Missouri and California. He returned to Lamont in 1981.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Shirley Melville; one daughter, Andrea Rickards of Los Angeles; three sons, James Melville of Lamont, David Melville of Richland and Burke Melville of Everett; one sister, Marcia Friet of Bellevue, Wash.; and one granddaughter.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Sprague Ambulance Fund.
, DataTimes