John E. Mourning Spokane

Mon., Dec. 8, 1997

John E. Mourning will celebrate his 100th birthday today. He was born in 1897 in Lenville, Idaho, and has lived in Spokane for 70 years.

In 1926, he married Eva. She died in 1986.

Mr. Mourning retired as a security guard at Sacred Heart Hospital. In the 1930s, he owned and operated a service station at Third and Sherman, and was a radio dispatcher for the Spokane County Sheriff Department.

His lifetime hobby has been to track wild swallows and their return each spring. He learned to tell the exact day they would arrive. He carries feathers in his pocket and hat band and coaxes the birds to land on his hand.

Mr. Mourning attributes his long life to never smoking or drinking, or having children. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

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