Obituaries
Lee ‘Rusty’ McCoy Spokane
Service for Lee “Rusty” McCoy, 71, will be at 1 p.m. today at Riplinger Funeral Home. Cremation will follow the service. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born at Fort Lewis, Wash., Mr. McCoy died Tuesday.
He grew up on Army posts around the world, including in Panama, Hawaii, Colorado, Texas and California.
By falsifying his age, he entered the Navy and served in the Pacific campaign from 1942 to 1944. He was honorably discharged in 1945.
In 1946, he joined the Army and served in Australia. Following his military service, he lived in Alaska, where he mined gold and emeralds for a year and a half.
The first time he played Santa Claus was in 1947 in Fairbanks, Alaska. He had played Santa nearly every year for the past 30 years, for local children, including appearances at NorthTown Mall.
He attended the University of Idaho from 1949 to 1950.
Mr. McCoy spent winters in Puerto Penasco, Mexico, where he was trying to establish a youth baseball league.
He collected uniforms, bats, baseballs, mitts and other equipment to take to the Mexican port town 75 miles south of the border.
The children in Mexico called him Santa Christo. Locally, people knew him as the Baseball Santa.
Spokane Mayor Jack Geraghty declared Jan. 18, 1996, Baseball Santa Day in honor of Mr. McCoy and his efforts to collect baseball gear for the children in Mexico.
He joined the Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 6 in 1958 and served as chapter chaplain, junior and senior vice commander, commander and department service commander.
Nationally, he had served as commander of the Washington DAV in 1963 and national finance committee chairman from 1966 to 1967. He was appointed to the National DAV Bylaws Committee in 1967 and served two additional terms as chapter commander for Chapter 6.
He is survived by his wife, Marlene McCoy; three daughters, Wendy Mott and Pamela Howald, both of Spokane, and Roxanna Johnson of Renton, Wash.; two sisters, Dora Corwin of Whittier, Calif., and Susan Miller of Las Vegas, Nev.; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Emanuel ‘Curly’ Miller Spokane
Service for Emanuel “Curly” Miller, 89, will be at 10 a.m. today at Pines Mausoleum. Entombment will follow. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Miller, who was born in Glen Ullin, N.D., died Wednesday.
He worked for Hygrade Meat Packing Plant in Spokane until he retired. He was a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1439 in Spokane.
Mr.Miller lived in Spokane for 51 years and built bird and squirrel feeders.
His wife, Rose, died in 1988.
Survivors include four sons, Marlow Miller of Fairbanks, Alaska, Lyle Miller of Ferndale, Wash., Dick Miller of Otis Orchards and Dennis Miller of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; two daughters, Verdella Schaefer and Ardella Quaale, both of Post Falls; two brothers, Marvin Miller of Rathdrum, Idaho, and Arnold Miller of Springfield, Ore.; 16 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.
Memorial contributions may be made to Valley Meals on Wheels.
Fred Jones Spokane
Memorial service for Fred W. Jones, 79, will be at 1 p.m. today at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Jones, who died Wednesday, was a lifetime Spokane resident.
In 1938, he went to work for Sears as a clerk and retired in 1969 as unit control manager.
He was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church and a 19-year member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He was a charter member of the Shadle Lions Club and a member of Pages of Harmony Barbershop Chorus.
During World War II he served in the Air Force as a B-17 pilot.
Mr. Jones is survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara Haight Jones; a daughter, Claudia Felts of Spokane; two sons, Frederick Jones of Lumby, British Columbia, and Gregory Jones of Burlingame, Calif.; a sister, Barbara Blackburn of Spokane; a brother, Kenneth Jones of Salem, Ore.; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the church.
Wayne McMurray Pullman
Service for Wayne LaVerne McMurray, 79, will be at 9:30 a.m. today at Simpson United Methodist Church in Pullman. Burial will follow at Pullman City Cemetery. Kimball Funeral Home in Pullman is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. McMurray died Wednesday at Palouse Hills Nursing Home in Pullman.
He was born in Whitman County and graduated from Pullman High School.
In 1939, he married Dorothy Glunk in Pullman.
They operated the family grain farm east of Pullman and had timber and grazing land north of Potlatch, Idaho. They were also involved in the cattle business.
Mr. McMurray raised unusual animals, including a Scottish highlander calf, Brahmas and buffalo. He raised one of the first cattalo, a cow/ buffalo cross, in the area.
He was active in the formation of the Moscow Junior Rodeo Association.
His wife died in 1995.
He is survived by a son, Kenneth McMurray, and a daughter, Karen Bloomfield, both of Pullman; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Southwest Washington, 102 W. Main St., Pullman, WA 99163.
Kenneth Shipps Seattle
A memorial service for Kenneth W. Shipps, 54, former provost and dean of the faculty at Whitworth College, will be at 10 a.m. today at First Presbyterian Church in Spokane. Howden-Kennedy Funeral Home of West Seattle is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Shipps, who died Wednesday at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, was born in Kansas City, Mo.
He graduated from Wheaton College and earned a master of arts degree and a master of philosophy degree from Yale University. He also received a Ph.D. in history from Yale.
He served as an instructor at Yale and as a professor and administrator at Appalachian State University, Trinity College (Ill.), Barrington College, (R.I.), and Phillips University (Okla.) before coming to Whitworth in 1992.
He resigned his position at Whitworth in July to join John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark., as provost.
He is survived by his wife, Charlotte Kroeker, director of development and artist in residence at Whitworth; and his mother, Fern Erickson, and a brother, Donald Shipps, both of Colorado Springs.
Memorial contributions may be made to Whitworth or the First Presbyterian Church Music Program.
Echo (Forsyth) Fuson Spokane
Private graveside service for Echo A. (Forsyth) Fuson, 89, was held.
Born in Spokane, Mrs. Fuson died Aug. 28 at Royal Park Care Center.
She graduated from North Central High School and attended Kinman Business University.
During World War II, she worked for the Department of Agriculture Emergency Crop Loan Agency.
In 1946, she and her husband, Ira Fuson, bought the Franklin Press, which they ran for 26 years until retiring in 1972.
She and her husband were also active in horse shows and raising horses. Mrs. Fuson served as secretary of the Spokane Riding and Driving Association and was a member of the Little Spokane Garden Club for more than 45 years.
Her husband, Ira Fuson, died in 1979.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Salvation Army or the Union Gospel Mission.
Joan Chesbrough Spokane
A memorial service for Joan G. Chesbrough, 94, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Spokane Valley United Methodist Church. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Chesbrough, who died Wednesday, was born in Austria and immigrated to the United States when she was young.
She moved to Spokane in 1940 and worked as a private secretary.
She was a member of Valley Methodist Church.
There are no surviving family members.
Memorial contributions may be made to Spokane Valley United Methodist Church.
Bernice Lane Spokane
Service for Bernice E. Lane, 75, will be at 10 a.m. today at Holy Cross Chapel at Holy Cross Cemetery. Burial will follow. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Hot Springs, Ark., Mrs. Lane died Wednesday.
She had lived in Spokane for more than 50 years and was a homemaker.
She is survived by her husband, William Lane Sr.; two sons, William Lane Jr. of Spokane and Ron Lane of Puyallup, Wash.; and three grandchildren.
Rose Smythe Spokane
Memorial service for Rose A. Smythe, 64, is planned for 2 p.m. Tuesday at Pines Mausoleum. There will be private inurnment. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Smythe, who was born in Potlatch, Idaho, died Tuesday.
She was raised in Coeur d’Alene, where she married Walter Smythe in 1951.
She moved to Spokane 36 years ago and was a homemaker.
Her husband died in 1974.
She is survived by a son, Dale Smythe, and a daughter, Debbie Fuentes, both of Spokane; a brother, David Nichols of Post Falls; a sister, Marjorie Hogeweide of Hayden Lake, Idaho; seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Patricia Lemon Spokane
Memorial service for Patricia Mae Lemon, 65, was Friday at Riplinger Funeral Home.
Born in St. Ignatius, Mont., Mrs. Lemon died Monday.
She had lived in Spokane for 43 years and was a homemaker.
She is survived by a daughter, Dawn Lemon, and a son, Scott Lemon, both of Spokane; and a sister, Margie Zollman of Spokane.
Robert Johnson Pahrump, Nev.
Service for Robert H. Johnson, 65, was Friday at United Methodist Church in St. John, Wash. Burial was at Pine City (Wash.) Cemetery.
Mr. Johnson, a former Pine City resident, died Tuesday.
He graduated from Washington State University and was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.
He was a farmer and had been a member of the Whitman County Wheat Growers, Whitman Community Hospital Board and the St. John Golf and Country Club.
Mr. Johnson served in the Air Force during the Korean War.
He is survived by his wife, Molly Johnson; a daughter, Linda Bell of Fife, Wash.; two sons, Eric Johnson of Dayton, Wash., and Larry Johnson of Yakima; a sister, Irene Hays of St. John; a brother, Fred Johnson Jr., of Pine City; and six grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. John Golf Club or the Alpha Gamma Rho Scholarship Fund, PO Box 171, Dayton, WA 99328.
Charles ‘Bud’ Prindle Lakeside, Mont.
Service for Charles C. “Bud” Prindle, 70, was Aug. 30 at Buffalo Hill Funeral Home in Kalispell, Mont. Cremation followed the service.
Mr. Prindle, a former Spokane resident, died Aug. 24 at Fort St. John, British Columbia, while on a hunting trip.
He was born in Minneapolis and graduated from high school there.
He enlisted in the Army when he was 18 and served in the European campaign during World War II.
After the war, he graduated from the University of Minnesota.
In 1951 he moved to Three Forks, Mont., and in 1956 married Marjorie “Marge” Duncan in Great Falls, Mont. He worked for General Motor Acceptance Corp. and was transferred to Spokane in 1967. He retired in 1984 and moved to Lakeside.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Valerie Bozzo of Salinas, Calif.; a brother, William Prindle of Gary, S.D.; a sister, Dorothy Johnson of Prior Lake, Minn.; and two grandchildren.
Eleanor Skillingstad Spokane
No service will be held for Eleanor M. Skillingstad, 81, at her request. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Saco, Mont., Mrs. Skillingstad, died Monday.
She was a homemaker and had lived in Spokane for 60 years.
She is survived by a son, Gordon Skillingstad, and a daughter, Kay Lynn Depue, both of Spokane; 10 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
Marion Haupt Spokane
Private graveside service for Marion E. Haupt, 95, was held Friday at Riverside Memorial Park. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South was in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Haupt, who died Wednesday, was born in Dartford.
She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and in 1922, married George Haupt in Lost Creek, Wash.
They settled in Spokane, where she worked at The Crescent as an instructor of contract bridge. She later worked for the Coeur d’Alene Hotel in downtown Spokane and retired as office manager in 1964.
She and her husband also owned and managed rental properties until 1971.
She was a member of the American Association of Retired Persons.
Her husband died in 1980.
Survivors include a son, Harold Haupt of Deer Park; a sister, Avis Covlin of Scappoose, Ore.; six grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Union Gospel Mission or The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund.
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