Obituaries
Lawrence Wright Spokane
No service will be held for Lawrence N. “Larry” Wright, 64, at his request. The Cremation Society of Washington is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Wright died Monday.
He was born in Spokane, and grew up in the Deer Park area.
He worked at Kaiser Aluminum in Mead for more than 36 years and was a member of United Steelworkers Union Local 329. He was also a member of the Deer Park Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service for more than 26 years.
He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Thelma; two daughters, Patt Donovan of Spokane and Leigh Templeton of Airway Heights; five sons, Rick Donovan of Issaquah, Wash., Larry and Jack Wright, both of Deer Park, Jim Wright of Spokane and Ron Wright of Mead; three sisters, Gerry Craig of Deer Park, Tudy Thomas of Spokane and Beverly Wright of Huntington, N.Y.; 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Elsie (Rice) Kortan Tekoa, Wash.
No service will be held for Elsie May (Rice) Kortan at her request. Private burial will be held at Greenwood Memorial Terrace in Spokane at a later date. Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa, is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Kortan, 74, died Wednesday at the Tekoa Care Center, where she had lived for the past three years.
She was born in Alberta and moved to Spokane as a child.
In 1938, she began working in her parents’ restaurant. She later worked as a waitress in several Spokane restaurants and as a hotel housekeeper. She also operated a laundry in Spokane for 20 years.
In 1956, she married Harlan Kortan in Spokane. They later divorced.
She is survived by a daughter, Lana Kortan of Spokane; a brother, Gilbert Rive of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.; and two grandchildren.
Charlotte McDuffie Spokane
Service for Charlotte E. McDuffie, 87, will be today at 3 p.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home. Inurnment will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Mrs. McDuffie, who died Wednesday, was born in Spokane.
She lived in various cities in Washington and Oregon and had lived in Spokane for the past 29 years.
She was a member of the Colfax (Wash.) Congregational Church.
Survivors include her husband of 39 years, Clair McDuffie; three stepsons, Clair McDuffie Jr. of Spokane, Keith McDuffie of Pittsburgh and Dale McDuffie of Seattle; a grandson, seven stepgrandchildren and eight stepgreat-grandchildren.
Betty Gregerson Spokane
No service will be held for Betty M. Gregerson at her request. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Gregerson, who died Wednesday, was born Longview, Texas. She was 67.
She had lived in Chewelah, Wash., in the early 1950s, and moved to Spokane in 1954. She was a homemaker.
She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Ralph Gregerson; two daughters, Dianne Ondrick of Lake Almanor, Calif., and Becky O’Neal of Spokane; two sons, Reginald and Ralph Gregerson Jr., both of Spokane; four sisters, Ruby Standridge and Ruth Jones, both of Crescent City, Calif., Rebia Edgmon of Myrtle Creek, Ore., and Nona Milligan of Monmouth, Ore.; a brother, Claude Farrell of Myrtle Creek; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Dorie Goodman Lund Spokane
Visitation for Dorie Goodman Lund, 29, is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon today at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home. Memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. at Sunset Mausoleum Chapel at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Mrs. Lund died Wednesday from cancer.
She was born in Spokane.
She was a volunteer with the American Cancer Society and worked for Seehorn Transfer.
She is survived by a daughter, Danielle Lund; her mother, Shirley Goodman; her father and stepmother, Dan and Shirley Goodman; a brother, Danny Joe Goodman; her fiance, Greg Dolecki; and her grandparents, Gladys Goodman and Bob and Dorothy Benshoof.
John Van Komen Spokane
Funeral Mass for John Dale Van Komen, 42, is planned for 1 p.m. today at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Quincy, Wash. A service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South. Cremation will follow.
Born in Las Vegas, Nev., Mr. Van Komen died Wednesday in a construction accident.
He was a construction laborer for Acme Material and Construction Co. and was a member of Laborers Union Local No. 238.
He graduated from Quincy High School and had lived in Springdale, Wash., for two years, moving there from Quincy.
He is survived by his wife of six years, Carrie Sanchez Van Komen; three daughters, Ynasia, Nevada and Lacey Van Komen, all at home; his mother, Allene “Tiny” Van Komen of George, Wash.; a brother, Pete Van Komen of Ellensburg; a sister, Debbie Evens of George; and his grandmother, Goldie Chenault of George.
Kathryn Groff Marlin, Wash.
Visitation for Kathryn V. Groff, 85, is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon today and from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Kayser’s Chapel of Memories in Moses Lake. Service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Moses Lake Alliance Church.
Mrs. Groff, a longtime Marlin resident, died Wednesday at her daughter’s home.
She was born in Genesee, Idaho.
She was raised in Uniontown and Coulee City, Wash.
In 1930, she married Raymond Groff in Waterville, Wash.
Before settling in Moses Lake, she and her husband had lived in Coulee City, Electric City and Soap Lake, Wash., and briefly in California.
Her husband died in 1975. Following his death, Mrs. Groff moved to Marlin.
She is survived by two sons, Earl Groff of Tonasket, Wash., and Donald Groff of Kent, Wash.; three daughters, Patricia Friend of Marlin, Carolyn Olson of Cameron Park, Calif., and Cheryl Crandall of Rathdrum, Idaho; a brother, David Spurbeck of Coulee City; 16 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Don Bean Spokane
Service for Don C. Bean, a retired Spokane Fire Department captain, is set for 1 p.m. Monday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.
Mr. Bean, 77, died Tuesday.
He was born in Silverstar, Mont., and had lived in Spokane for more than 70 years.
He was a North Central High School graduate and retired from the Spokane Fire Department as captain at Station 3 after 29 years.
During World War II, he served two years in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Unicoi-IX 216 with the 7th Fleet in the South Pacific.
He had served as a delegate to the Washington State Council of Firefighters and was a past member of the Police and Fire Public Safety Committee and past president of the Fire Department Relief Association.
He had also served as auditor for the Fire Department Credit Union and was a member of the Retired Firefighters Association and the HiRiders RV Club. He was one of the organizers of the Fire Department Golf Club.
He is survived by his wife, Helen Bean; two sons, David Bean of Topock, Ark., and Billy Littell of Chattaroy, Wash.; a brother, Eugene Bean of Spokane; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Ken Palmer Post Falls
Memorial service for Ken C. Palmer, 76, will be held today at 3:30 p.m. at English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls. Mr. Palmer, who was born in Los Angeles, died Thursday.
He moved to North Idaho in 1972 and had worked as a welder.
Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Ida; two sons, John Palmer of Post Falls and Alan Palmer of Hauser Lake; and three daughters, Janis Jacobsen of Rathdrum, Vicki Belknap of Kent, Wash., and Debi Smokovich of Bothell, Wash.
Goldie Weller Cheney
Memorial service for Goldie C. Weller, 90, will be held at a later date. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Gene, Wash., Mrs. Weller died Sept. 16.
She was a homemaker and had lived in Spokane County for 40 years.
She is survived by two daughters, Marian Foster of Spokane and Dorothy Salter of Cheney; and numerous grandchildren, greatgrandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Henry Briggs Spokane
Private entombment for Henry A. Briggs, 81, will be Monday at Sunset Mausoleum at Fairmount Memorial Park. Memorial service will follow at 1 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home.
Mr. Briggs died Thursday.
He was a lifetime Spokane resident, and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School.
He attended the University of Washington and was a member of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity there.
He was a machinist instructor at Bremerton’s Navy Yard during World War II. Following the war, he became a partner with his father, Peter A. Briggs, owner of American Machine Works and American Machine Co.
He was a member of the Spokane Elks Lodge No. 228, the Danish Brotherhood, Lions Club, Spokane Club, Odin Club, Spokane Country Club and Associated General Contractors. He was a charter member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Helen Briggs; a son, Peter Briggs of Spokane; a daughter, Pamela Cloninger of Spokane; a sister, Elizabeth Woodcock of Portland; and five grandchildren.
Tonia ‘Toni’ Becker Spokane
Memorial service for Tonia ‘Toni’ Becker, 59, will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home.
Mrs. Becker died Thursday from complications due to lupus.
She was a lifetime Spokane resident Spokane and worked as a kindergarten liaison at Whitman Elementary for 23 years.
She is survived by her husband of 43 years, Al Becker; a son, Jerry Becker of Everett; and two daughters, Denise Sandbo of Spokane and Doreen Hiltz of Everett.
Jean (Neumeyer) Bojorquez Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Service for Jean Ann (Neumeyer) Bojorquez, 34, will be held today at 2 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry. Interment will follow at Grandview Cemetery in Bonners Ferry. A memorial service at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Spokane is to be announced. Bonners Ferry Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bojorquez, who was born in Iowa City, Iowa, died Wednesday.
She moved to Bonners Ferry in 1968 and attended Mount Hall School and graduated from Bonners Ferry High School. She went on to attend the University of Idaho and graduated with an animal science degree.
She recently worked at Suntoya Corp. as a company representative and held several other jobs.
Mrs. Bojorquez was a member of the Trinity Lutheran Church, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, and the TriDelta sorority and was active in 4-H.
She served as the Western States Angus Queen and was a past member of the Junior Angus Association, serving on the second board of directors as the third chairman. She was also first in the National Angus Auxiliary Scholarship competition.
Survivors include her husband, Al, of Elk; a son, Robert of Elk; three stepchildren, Aldrin and Mia, both of Elk, and Albert of Fort Leonardwood, Mo.; her parents, Bob and Hollyce Neumeyer of Iowa; a sister, Nancy Longfield of Moscow, Idaho; and two brothers, Gary of Bonners Ferry and Jeffrey of Boise.
Edith Raugust Coeur d’Alene
At the family’s request, no service will be held for Edith Lewis Prosser Raugust, 79. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Raugust, a lifelong Coeur d’Alene resident, died Monday.
She was born and raised in Coeur d’Alene, graduating from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1935. She went on to work as a clerk for Montgomery Ward for 15 years, beginning her career in 1935.
Mrs. Raugust also worked for J.C. Penney for 15 years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Eitel, in 1977.
Survivors include two sons, Michael Raugust of Post Falls and Gregg Raugust of Coeur d’Alene; three sisters, Mary Kolbar and Melissa Loomis, both of Spokane, and Iva Mae Irons of Coeur d’Alene; two granddaughters and two great-grandchildren.
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