Obituaries
Malcolm Bengson Spokane
Visitation for Malcolm C. “Mal” Bengson, 80, is scheduled from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. today at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Graveside service will be at 11 a.m. today at Fairmount Memorial Park followed by memorial service at 2 p.m. at Messiah Lutheran Church.
Mr. Bengson, who died Saturday, was born in Esmond, N.D.
He was an advertising sales specialist for L.W. Barrett and had lived in Spokane for 48 years. He was still active in his job, selling in the Spokane area.
He served in the Army during World War II and received the Purple Heart.
He was a 36-year member of Messiah Lutheran Church and a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 51.
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Elda Bengson; two sons, Bradley Bengson of Boise and Darrell Bengson of Nashville, Tenn.; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Messiah Lutheran Church or the Riverview Retirement Community Van Fund.
Joanne Riggs Coeur d’Alene
Memorial service for Joanne G. Riggs, 67, will be held today at 9:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene. Private burial will follow the service. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Riggs, who was born in North Dakota, died Sunday from cancer.
She moved to the Coeur d’Alene area in 1933 from North Dakota and was a homemaker. She settled in Dalton Gardens and later worked at Kaiser Aluminum delivering mail and then at Elizabeth Ann’s Tea Room in Coeur d’Alene during the 1940s.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Riggs was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, Frank, earlier this year.
Survivors include two sons, Ron and Jack Riggs, both of Coeur d’Alene; two daughters, Kathy Seward and Sandee Riggs, both of Coeur d’Alene; one sister, Lolita “Sande” Casto of Spokane; seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Clinton Shearer Spokane
Service for Clinton E. Shearer, 77, will be at 11 a.m. today at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Riverside Memorial Park.
Mr. Shearer died Friday.
Born in Spokane, he graduated from West Valley High School.
He worked for Washington Water Power Co. for 34 years and retired in 1981 as a construction maintenance foreman.
He was a member of WWP Trailblazers and was a World War II Army veteran.
Survivors include his wife of 48 years, Ruth; a son, Neil Shearer of Spokane; two brothers, Charles Shearer of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Edwin Shearer of Spokane; a sister, Lucille Fieldstad of Olympia; and four grandchildren.
Walter ‘Nipper’ Bowen Spokane
Service for Walter “Nipper” Bowen, 84, is set for 1:30 p.m. today at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Mr. Bowen, a lifetime Spokane resident, died Friday.
He served in the Navy for four years on the USS Arizona and later worked for Spokane County for 41 years.
He was a member of the Eagles Lodge.
His wife, Margaret Bowen, died in 1985.
He is survived by three daughters, Nancy Garrett and Mary Bowen, both of Spokane, and Rosalie Potratz of Coeur d’Alene; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children.
Clifford Anderson Spokane
Service for Clifford N. Anderson, 74, will be at 3 p.m. today at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Mr. Anderson, a lifetime Spokane resident, died Saturday. He graduated from Rogers High School.
He worked for Caterpillar Tractor Co. for 30 years, in the Spokane parts depot. He retired in 1980.
He was a member of Downriver Golf Club.
He is survived by a special friend, Elaine Darrow of Spokane; and cousins, Bertha and Floyd Morrison of Spokane, Ted Hopkins of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Juanita Myers of Eagle Grove, Iowa.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 900 N. Maple, Spokane, WA 99201.
Victor Mantese Spokane
Funeral Mass for Victor L. Mantese, 79, is set for 10:30 a.m. today at Mary Queen Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Mantese, who died Sunday, was born in Spokane.
He worked as a mechanic for White Freightliner Co. for several years and for Inland Truck Co.
He served in the Army during World War II and was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Hillyard Post 1474, Machinists Union Local 86 and Mary Queen Catholic Parish.
He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Virginia Mantese; two brothers, Mike Mantese of Spokane and Roger Mantese of Colbert; and three sisters, Mamie Julian and Esther Scarpelli, both of Spokane, and Ida Wells of Clayton, Wash.
Jerry Dilling Cusick, Wash.
Memorial service for Jerry R. Dilling, 50, will be at 2 p.m. today at First Baptist Church in Newport, Wash. Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home in Newport is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Dilling died Saturday from an apparent heart attack while working on the Pend Oreille River installing dock pilings.
Born in Spokane, he moved to Pend Oreille County in 1955 and graduated from Cusick High School.
He married Marsha Gillespie in Dalkena, Wash., in 1968.
He had worked for the county since 1968 as the Aquamaug operator, in charge of removing millfoil from the river. He also ran a sawmill, farmed and raised cows and operated a river-piling installation business.
He had served on the Cusick School Board.
Mr. Dilling is survived by his wife; a son, Bryan Dilling of Phoenix, Ariz.; a daughter, Traci Dilling of Spokane; his parents, Harold and Florence Dilling of Cusick; and a sister, Karen McLaughlin, and a brother, Karl Dilling, both of Chattaroy.
Donald Eby Bellingham
No service will be held for Donald William Eby at his request. Jones-Moles Funeral Home in Bellingham is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Eby, 81, a former Spokane resident, died Saturday.
Born in Silver Creek, Neb., he married Magdalene Jakel in 1940 in Coeur d’Alene.
He served in the Army during World War II and drove truck for 35 years in the Spokane area.
After he retired from truck driving, he operated the Trailwest Motel in Grand Coulee. In 1985 he sold the motel and retired again, spending the winters in Arizona.
He and his wife moved to Bellingham in June 1995.
He is survived by his wife; a daughter, Donna Wheat of Bellingham; three brothers, Raymond Eby of Puyallup, Wash., Robert George of Kennewick and Merle George of Pasco; a sister, Fern Ryan of Pasco; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 5125 N. Market, Spokane, WA 99207.
Blanche Meckel Potlatch, Idaho
Memorial service for Blanche W. Meckel, 79, will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Freeze Cemetery, north of Potlatch. Kramer Funeral Home in Palouse, Wash., is in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Meckel, who died Monday, was born in Cora, Idaho.
In 1942 she married Fred Meckel and they settled west of Potlatch, where they farmed and operated a dairy. Her husband died in 1985.
Mrs. Meckel worked at Paradise Villa Convalescent Center, now Moscow Care Center, from 1967 until 1973. She had also worked at the Moscow Steam Laundry.
She was a member of the Potlatch Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include two sons, Richard and Kenneth Meckel, both of Potlatch; a sister, Mary Daily of Colville, Wash.; four grandchildren, three stepgrandchildren, four greatgrandchildren and six stepgreatgrandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Potlatch Ambulance Fund.
Molly Carmack Garfield, Wash.
Graveside service for Molly A. Carmack, 96, is set for 1:30 p.m. today at Garfield Cemetery. Kramer Funeral Home of Palouse, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Carmack died Saturday in Rosalia, Wash., where she had recently moved. She was born in Rathdrum, Idaho.
She graduated from Spangle (Wash.) High School, after living in Eugene, Ore., and Garfield.
She attended Cheney Normal School and taught school near Spangle before she graduated from Washington State College with a bachelor’s degree in education.
She married James Carmack in 1924, and they settled in Potlatch, Idaho. Mrs. Carmack taught school there for many years.
Her husband died in 1967, and she moved to Garfield.
She is survived by a niece, Billie Byrne of Garfield; and a nephew, Robert Crenshaw of Clinton, Wash.
Memorial contributions may be made to Garfield Christian Church.
Hazel Fulwiler Spokane
Service for Hazel H. Fulwiler, 103, will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Mica Cemetery.
Mrs. Fulwiler, who died Saturday, was born in Pratt, Kan., and had lived in Spokane for 90 years.
She was a homemaker, and after her husband, George, died in 1962, she cooked for Jesuit priests at St. Aloysius Rectory. She is survived by a daughter-in-law, Patricia Fulwiler of Spokane; two grandchildren and two great-grandsons.
Thomas Darcy Newport, Wash.
Memorial service for Thomas W. Darcy, 42, will be at 6 p.m. next Tuesday at the Newport Hospitality House. Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home in Newport is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Darcy, who was born in Newport, died Friday.
He worked as a logging truck driver.
Survivors include his mother, Bessie Darcy, at home; two daughters, Crissy and Katie Darcy; three sons, Billy, Joseph and Matthew Darcy; two sisters, Julie Hammond of Spokane and Anna Coy of Bellevue, Wash.; and a brother, James Darcy of England.
Osa Belsby Spokane
Service for Osa G. Belsby, 87, is set for 11 a.m. today at Cheney Funeral Chapel. Burial will be at Spokane Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Belsby, who was born in Norway, died Friday at the family farm.
She came to the United States as an infant and had lived in Spokane and Amber, Wash.
She married Osborne Belsby in 1935, and they farmed together. He died in 1993.
Mrs. Belsby was a charter member of the Spokane County Cattlewomen’s Association and a member of the Amber Grange; the RNC Club, a bridge group; and the Sons of Norway.
She is survived by four sons, Don, Arney, Gary and Shell “Ole” Belsby, all of Cheney; two daughters, Karen Fiosy of Bellingham and Nancy Grub of Medical Lake; a sister, Ruby Brown of Sprague, Wash.; a brother, Sam Petersen of Spokane; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Catherine Barrett Oak Harbor, Wash.
Graveside service for Catherine Clare Barrett, 89, will be held at a later date at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Burley Funeral Chapel in Oak Harbor is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Barrett, a former Cheney resident, died Monday.
Born in Portland, she married Harold Barrett in 1929, and they moved to Vancouver, Wash. Her husband worked for the railroad and they traveled up and down the Columbia and Deschutes rivers, moving from camp to camp.
They settled in Cheney in the early 1940s.
Her husband died in 1972 and Mrs. Barrett moved to Oak Harbor in 1983.
She was a member of St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Cheney and the Lakeside Club of Cheney.
She is survived by two sons, Frank Barrett of Oak Harbor and Robert Barrett of Cheney; a daughter, Donna Abel of Vancouver, Wash.; nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Chester Pemberton Davenport, Wash.
Service for Chester C. Pemberton, 77, will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Sunset Mausoleum at Fairmount Memorial Park. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Pemberton, who died Thursday, was born in Troy, Ohio. He moved to to Clayton, Wash., in 1982, and had lived in Deer Park and Davenport.
He served in the Army during World War II. He was a retired cook for construction crews in Alaska.
His wife, Allien, died in 1980. He is survived by seven daughters, Cleo Miller of Chewelah, Wash., Dora Stovall of Sequim, Wash., Carol Pemberton and Betty Friend, both of Ketchikan, Alaska, Linda Rusaw of Juneau, Alaska, Margret Kelso of Palestine, Texas, and Ruth McCafferty of Granite, Okla.; two sons, Chester Pemberton of Colville, Wash., and David Pemberton of Kettle Falls, Wash.; two sisters, Helen Lambert of Indiana and Clara Wright of Ohio; a brother, Homer Pemberton of Dayton, Ohio; 27 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
, DataTimes