Obituaries
Thelma McNaught Walla Walla
Memorial service for Thelma McNaught, 85, will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Liberty Lake Community Church. Private burial will be at a later date. Herring Groseclose Funeral Home in Walla Walla is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. McNaught, a former Liberty Lake resident, died Tuesday in Walla Walla, where she had lived since 1995 to be near her family. She was born in Minneapolis.
She graduated from high school in Miles City, Mont. She married Lee McNaught in 1933 in Terry, Mont., and they settled in Spokane.
She and her husband were part owners in the Spokane Valley Music Conservatory. In 1958, she became the secretary for the Spokane Junior Livestock Show. She held that position for 26 years. The 1988 Junior Livestock Show was dedicated to her. She also held a position with the Spokane Interstate Fair.
Mrs. McNaught and her husband lived in Liberty Lake for 35 years. He died in 1989.
She was a member of Veradale Congregational Church, Garden Gals Garden Club and Her Friends Bridge Club.
Mrs. McNaught is survived by two daughters, Ginger Shoemake of Walla Walla; and Jene Hall of China; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Union Gospel Mission in Spokane in care of Herring Groseclose Funeral Home, 315 W. Alder, Walla Walla, WA 99362-2870.
Bernard Cooper Spokane
Graveside service for Bernard S. Cooper, 77, will be at 11:45 a.m. today at Fairmount Memorial Park. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Cooper, a lifetime Spokane resident, died Thursday.
He had worked as a district manager for The Spokesman-Review before and after World War II.
Later he was the co-owner of Cooper’s Men’s Shop from 1952 until 1963. From 1963 to 1979 he was co-owner of the Blue Lantern Tavern. He worked for Paytele Communications Inc., from 1992 until recently.
Mr. Cooper served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.
He was a member of Temple Beth Shalom. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Frances; three sons, Mike and Brian Cooper, both of Washington, D.C., and Steve Cooper of Portland; one brother, Gerald Cooper of Spokane; and eight grandchildren.
Joseph Blumel Sr. Spokane
Graveside service for Joseph A. Blumel Sr., 92, will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Greenwood Memorial Terrace. Memorial services will follow at 1 p.m. at Audubon Park United Methodist Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Blumel died Wednesday. He was born in Austria.
His family immigrated to Cleveland when he was an infant. He moved to Spokane in the mid-1940s.
He worked for American Building Maintenance for 25 years and retired in 1969.
He was a member of Audubon Park United Methodist Church and served in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.
Two wives preceded him in death; Hazel Blumel in 1959 and Edith Blumel in 1977.
He is survived by one son, Joseph Blumel Jr., of Spokane; one step-daughter, Linda Peterson; one step-son, Arden Bement; one sister, Mary Robbins; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Audubon Park United Methodist Church.
Alma Vantroba Coeur d’Alene
At her request, no service will be held for Alma J. Vantroba, 73. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Vantroba, who was born in Denver, died Monday.
She moved to Burke, Idaho, in the early 1940s, later moving to Coeur d’Alene. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her husband of 55 years, Joseph; four sons, Charley of Nevada, Jesse of Spokane, Albert of Shelton, Wash., and Steven of Arkansas; a brother, Gerald More of Missouri; two sisters, Arlene Adams of Oklahoma and Clora George Blanchard of New Mexico; 11 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Judy Bidwell Spokane
Service for Arlene Judith “Judy” Bidwell, 56, will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Berean Bible Church. Burial will be at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Everett. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs Bidwell died April 8 from pancreatic cancer.
She was born in Seattle and graduated from Lincoln High School in Seattle.
In 1958 she married Renald Bidwell and they moved to Spokane in 1976. She was a homemaker and from 1977 to 1992 was an Avon representative.
She had volunteered at Spokane Bible Study Fellowship as a children’s leader, and helped with the Mothers of Preschoolers at Berean Baptist Church.
Mrs. Bidwell is survived by her husband of 37 years; two sons, Mark Bidwell of Salem, Ore., and Curtis Bidwell of Tacoma; one daughter, Kimberly Rudolph of Aumsville, Ore.; two sisters, Terry Stellwagon of Lynnwood, Wash., and Jean Pete of Eugene, Ore.; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Canyonview Seminary, 12730 N.E. Finlay Rd., Silverton, OR 97381-9535.
Evelyn Buyers Longview, Wash.
No service will be held for Evelyn Love Buyers, 88, at her request. Private burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park in Spokane. Columbia Funeral Service in Longview, is in charge of cremation.
Mrs. Buyers, who died Wednesday, was born in Blue Island, Ill.
She was a longtime Spokane resident and worked as a registered nurse for Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children.
She was a member of St. Luke’s School of Nursing Alumni Association.
Mrs. Buyers had lived in Longview since 1993.
Survivors include one son, Gary McKennett of Longview; one brother, Maurice “Bo” Smith of Sequim, Wash.; and several grandchildren.
Ellen ‘Nellie’ Ruckey Spokane
Service for Ellen “Nellie” Ruckey, 97, was held at an earlier date in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Burial followed at Porthill Cemetery in Porthill, Idaho. Bonners Ferry Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Ruckey, who was born in Porthill, died Tuesday.
She grew up and was educated in Porthill, before attending Kinman Business College in Spokane. She later worked as a clerk in several local general stores.
Mrs. Ruckey had lived in Chelan, Wash., and Montana before settling in Bonners Ferry, where she operated several dairy farms.
She later worked at a downtown cafe as a cashier before retiring. She recently moved to Spokane.
Mrs. Ruckey was a member of the Busy Bee Club, Trinity Lutheran Church and the Order of the Eastern Star.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom.
Survivors include special friend, Marjorie Smith of Spokane; numerous cousins in Bonners Ferry and Spokane; and several adopted grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry.
Zelma Ablutz Snohomish, Wash.
Memorial service for Zelma E. Ablutz, a former longtime Spokane resident, will be held at a later date. Purdy and Walters with Dawson Funeral Home in Snohomish is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Ablutz, 85, died last Saturday in Snohomish, where she had lived for about two years. She was born in Kingston, Tenn.
She graduated from Steptoe (Wash.) High School and married Robert Ablutz of Garfield, Wash., in 1929. They lived in the Garfield and Steptoe areas before making their home in Spokane for 47 years.
She worked as a receptionist at Deaconess Medical Center for 11 years.
Her husband died in 1989 and she moved to Colfax, Wash.
She was a member of the Colfax First Baptist Church.
She is survived by one son, Jonnie Ablutz of Bothell, Wash.; three sisters, Essie Bafus and Gladys Day, both of Colfax and Jean Brandl of Pendleton, Ore.; one brother, James Hall of Colfax; two grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
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