Obituaries

Raymond Hills St. Maries

Service for Raymond R. Hills, 84, will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at YatesHodge Funeral Home in St. Maries. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in St. Maries.

Mr. Hills, who was born in Spooner, Wis., died Sunday.

He attended schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin and later worked at a greenhouse.

He moved to Idaho in 1940 and worked for several sawmills before working as a mechanic at a Ford garage, where he earned his doctor of motors degree from Ford Motor Co. He also owned and operated St. Maries Radiator for many years.

Mr. Hills was a school bus driver and also owned and operated St. Maries Sanitation until his retirement in 1973.

He was a lifetime member of the St. Maries Eagles Lodge and a member of the St. Maries Senior Citizens. He had previously received the St. Maries Gazette Record Good Neighbor Award.

He enjoyed fishing, hunting, boating, woodworking, bowling and spending time with his family.

Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Alma; three sons, Richard and George, both of St. Maries, and Roger of Emida, Idaho; four daughters, Rose Curran of Post Falls, Martha Banderob of St. Maries, JoAnn Clark of Emida and Nancy Pennock of Rathdrum, Idaho; three brothers, Merl Hills of Post Falls, George Hills of Plummer, Idaho, and Don Hills of New Hampshire; one sister, Myrtle Crowell of California; 21 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.

George Kester Spokane

Service for George L. Kester, 95, is scheduled for 1 p.m. today at Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home.

Mr. Kester, who was born in Russia, died Saturday.

He came to the United States with his family in 1901, settling in Marlin, Wash. He farmed there until 1930, when he moved to Lind, Wash., farming there until 1951. He moved to Spokane that year and was employed at the Paulsen Building as a maintenance worker until his retirement in 1965.

Survivors include his wife, Anne Kester; two sons, Douglas Kester of New York City, N.Y., and Jervis Kester of Farmington, Conn.; and one brother, Harry Kester of Spokane.

Vera Shults Spokane

Service for Vera L. Shults, 93, is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home. Interment will be at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.

Mrs. Shults, who was born in Marion Springs, Mich., died Friday.

She was a member of Central Baptist Church; the White Rose Chapter No. 230, Order of Eastern Star; Bethel Shrine No. 6, Order of the White Shrine of Jerusalem; and El Karnak Temple No. 6, Daughters of the Nile.

Her husband, Harold Shults, died in 1985.

Her survivors include two nephews, Leon VanPatten of Lakewood, Calif., and Earl VanPatten of Spokane; one niece, Dorothy Crocker of Calif.; and two sisters-in-law.

Clara Rice Spokane

Memorial Service for Clara J. Rice, 82, is scheduled for 4 p.m. today at Park Place Retirement Community, 511 S. Park Road. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Graveside service and interment were Thursday at Greenwood Memorial Terrace Cemetery.

Mrs. Rice, a lifetime resident of Spokane, died Jan. 15.

She was a member of the First Church of the Open Bible and the American Association of Retired Persons.

She is survived by her husband, James Rice.

Esther Ecker Camarillo, Calif.

Funeral Mass for Esther Ecker, 88, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today at the Jesuit House Chapel on the Gonzaga University campus. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Ecker, born in a part of Austria that is now Italy, died Jan. 15.

She immigrated to America with her family at the age of 7, settling in Spokane.

She was an entrepreneur all her life. She owned the South Denver Antique Shop during the 1940s, Ecker’s Insurance Agency in the 1950s and Ecker’s Gift Shop during the 1960s.

In 1980 she moved to Camarillo.

Mrs. Ecker’s survivors include four sons, Arthur Ecker, Roger Ecker, Thomas Ecker and Joseph Ecker, all of California; her sister, Deva Johnson of Spokane; 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Chester McCartney Spokane

Service for Chester M. “Chet” McCartney, 73, is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. today in the Pines Cemetery Mausoleum Chapel. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. McCartney, a lifelong Spokane resident, died Friday.

He served as a sergeant in the Army during World War II, receiving three battle stars.

He retired from the Postal Service in 1983.

Survivors include his wife, Marie McCartney; two daughters, Darlene Root of Longmont, Colo., and Carolyn Shumate of Olympia; four brothers, George McCartney of California, Charles McCartney of Spokane, Richard McCartney of Rochester, Wash., and Walter McCartney of Loon Lake, Wash.; four sisters, Alice Farmer of Spokane, Grace McKittrick of Plain, Wash., Lorene Worden of Greenacres and Iva Danelo of Spokane; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Lester Morehouse Cheney

Funeral Mass for Lester G. “Les” Morehouse, 80, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. today at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Mr. Morehouse, who was born in Arp, Mont., died Saturday.

He ranched in Montana until 1943 and then moved to Idaho, where he was employed as a chief mechanic for Farragut Naval Training Center. He moved to Cheney in 1958 and retired from the Cheney School District in 1980.

Mr. Morehouse was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Cheney American Legion Post. He was the former president of Chapter 5 of the Washington State Retirees Union.

Survivors include his wife, Carol Morehouse; one son, Lyle Morehouse of Renton, Wash.; six daughters, Jean Smithies of Seattle, Joan Fenske of Renton, Wash., Marilyn Carlin of Las Vegas, Nev., Maria Woolery of Libby, Mont., Rosemary Harris of Cheney and Georgine Froewiss of Spokane; one stepsister, Olga Brown of Coeur d’Alene; 23 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

RoseMarie Laird Spokane

Funeral Mass for RoseMarie Laird, 72, will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Inurnment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Mrs. Laird, a lifetime resident of Spokane, died Friday.

She was a graduate of Marycliff Catholic Girls High School.

She worked for more than 30 years as an executive secretary of accounting and finance at Fairchild Air Force Base.

Mrs. Laird was a member of the Brotherhood of Friends and attended the Sinto Center.

Survivors include one son, Patrick Cardinal of Spokane; two daughters, Karen Hersom of Chattaroy and Robbie Landry of Spokane; and six grandchildren.

Eleanor Baird Spangle

Graveside service for Eleanor Baird, 60, is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Baird, who was born in Cheney, died Sunday.

She was a cook in the Spangle schools in the 1970s and was custodial supervisor at Eastern Washington University until her retirement in the late 1980s.

Survivors include her husband, Kenneth Baird; three daughters, Penny Rose and Wendy Cain, both of Spangle, and Terri Dale of Rosalia, Wash.; one son, Tim Baird of Spangle; two sisters, Irene Weil-Butz of Coeur d’Alene and Ethel Lindsey of Kettle Falls, Wash.; and 10 grandchildren.

Shirley Powell Spokane

Funeral liturgy for Shirley J. Powell, 65, will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Patricks Catholic Church. Entombment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Mrs. Powell, who was born in Plentywood, Mont., died Saturday.

She worked for the Noodle Grill for 30 years as a waitress.

Survivors include two daughters, Jackie Wyatt of Spokane and Debbie Buckmaster of Littleton, Colo.; one brother, Robert Hopkins of Spokane; two sisters, Phyllis Cunningham of Waco, Texas, and Annette Corrigan of Jackson, Pa; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

, DataTimes