Obituaries
Robert ‘R.J.’ Genins Spokane
Memorial service for Robert John “R.J.” Genins, 86, will be at 3 p.m. today at Central United Methodist Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Genins, who was born in St. Louis, died Wednesday.
In 1934 he received a bachelor of science degree from Central Missouri State Teacher’s College in Warrensburg, Mo., and later received his master’s in education.
In 1938 he married Lola Mae Landrum.
He worked as a high school physics and chemistry teacher, a basketball coach, and served as principal of three different Missouri high schools.
He was selected “Man of the Year” by the Sikeston (Mo.) Chamber of Commerce in 1952 and became the administrator of Missouri Delta Community Hospital. In 1958 he accepted a position on the General Board of Lay Activities of the Methodist Church. They moved north of Chicago.
In 1960 he moved to Spokane and became the first administrator of Rockwood Manor. He retired in 1978. He received the award of administrator emeritus from the Washington Association of Homes for the Aging.
Mr. Genins was a member of the Rotary Club and the Masonic Lodge.
His wife died in 1997.
Survivors include a son, John Genins of Atlanta; a daughter, Amelia Genins of Spokane; five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Rockwood Manor Health Center Renovation Fund, Central United Methodist Church or the Rockwood Retirement Community Christmas Fund.
Margaret Theissen Spokane
Service for Margaret H. Theissen, 73, will be at noon today at Holy Family Church in Clarkston, Wash. Malcom’s Brower-Wann Memorial Chapel in Lewiston is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Theissen, who was born in Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, died Tuesday from cancer.
She moved to the Lewiston/ Clarkston area in 1928 from Saskatchewan and graduated from Lewiston High School in 1943.
Mrs. Theissen was a homemaker, and she moved to Cheney in 1960 and to Renton, Wash., in 1974. She returned to Cheney four years later. In 1993 she moved to Idaho Falls and to Spokane in 1996.
Her husband, Lawrence, died in 1993.
She was President of the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church Altar Society in Cheney.
Survivors include a daughter, Becky Morrison of Newcastle, Wash.; a son, David Theissen of California; two brothers, Ivan Brown of Spokane and Alan Brown of Lewiston; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Home Health Hospice, in care of St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center, 1250 Idaho St., Lewiston, ID 83501, or the American Cancer Society.
Hilda Pudwill Newman Lake
Visitation for Hilda H. Pudwill, 88, will be from noon to 5 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Service will be at 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Pines Cemetery.
Mrs. Pudwill, who died Tuesday, was a 29-year Spokane resident. She was born in Herreid, S.D.
She was a homemaker.
Her husband preceded her in death.
Survivors include three sons, Konrad Pudwill of Newman Lake, Marvin Pudwill of Coeur d’Alene and Everett Pudwill of Cisco, Texas; four daughters, Patricia Pudwill of Newman Lake, Peggy Whitney of Greenacres, Marlene Thompson of Cottonwood, Ariz., and Muriel Dixon of Philipsburg, Pa.; three brothers; 19 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.
Robert Landers Osburn, Idaho
Memorial service for Robert Judson Landers, 63, will be at 3 p.m. today at Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene. Mr. Landers, who was born in San Diego, died Wednesday.
He grew up and attended schools in Athol and Spirit Lake, Idaho, and then served three years with the Navy.
Mr. Landers settled in Hayden Lake, Idaho, after his military service and worked for Kaiser Aluminum in Spokane for 34 years.
He later moved to the Spokane Valley before retiring. He moved to Osburn in 1988.
Survivors include his wife, Sharon; two sons, Michael Landers of Yakima and Jeffrey Landers of San Diego; a stepson, Brian Fine of Nevada; two stepdaughters, Tina Templeton of Spokane and Kelli Fine of Oregon; his mother, Ethel Landers of Coeur d’Alene; two brothers, Richard Landers of St. John, Wash., and Gary Landers of Coeur d’Alene; a sister, Barbara Cassell of Nebraska; and five grandchildren.
Irene (Peterson) Blomstrom Chewelah, Wash.
Funeral service for Irene Lucille (Peterson) Blomstrom, 78, will be at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chewelah. Burial will follow at Chewelah Memorial Park. Schanzenbach Funeral Home in Chewelah is in charge of arrangements.
A 16-year Chewelah resident, Mrs. Blomstrom, died Wednesday. She was born in Swea City, Iowa.
She graduated from Swea City High School in 1939.
She married Albert Blomstrom in 1942. She was a homemaker.
Mrs. Blomstrom is survived by her husband; two sons, Bob and Marvin Blomstrom, both of Chewelah; a daughter, Mary Ann Pankratz of Mead; a brother, Melvin Peterson of Watkins, Minn.; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Hommer Mead Auburn, Wash.
Memorial service for Hommer William Mead, 85, will be at 1 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Auburn Church of the Nazarene. Memorial service will be Dec. 19 at the Post Falls home of his daughter, Dollee Meredith. Graveside service will be at Spokane Memorial Gardens in Spokane. Price-Helton Funeral Home in Auburn is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Mead, who was born in Spokane, died Sunday.
He served with the Spokane Air Service Command as a civilian radio engineer in the Signal Corps and as a maintenance technician with the Civil Aeronautics Authority during World War II.
From 1946 to 1953 he was a disc jockey and engineer with KHQ-TV, assisting in the initial installation of television broadcasting in Spokane.
He then became a registered professional engineer and served as chief engineer at KREM-TV.
In 1960 he moved to Kent, Wash., where he became senior specialist engineer for vibrations in an environmental lab, testing the lunar moon buggy at Boeing Space Center.
Mr. Mead received the Certification Merit for Distinguished Service to Engineering award, and served as regional and national director of the Instrument Society of American Environmental Sciences. He was also the inventor of a high acceleration vibration shaker.
Mr. Mead was a member of the Nazarene Church, where he taught Bible classes and received the Distinguished Citizen Award. He also served on the board of directors for Seattle Christian Schools.
His first wife, Maybell, died in 1977. His second wife, Alona, died in 1980.
Survivors include his wife of 18 years, Mildred; two daughters, Dollee Meredith of Post Falls and Judith Cook of Bellevue, Wash.; two sons, James Mead of Arlington, Wash., and Stephen Mead of Tacoma; nine grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
Beverly Self Sandpoint
Service for Beverly Jean Self, 75, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at Coffelt Funeral Service in Sandpoint. Burial will follow at 2 p.m. at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery in Spokane.
Mrs. Self, who was born in Spokane, died Tuesday.
She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and moved to Sandpoint in 1939. She helped operate Sundgren’s Greenhouse.
Mrs. Self worked at a local bank and returned to Spokane in 1949, where she worked at Old National Bank and helped manufacture Roy Self’s Fishing Lures.
In 1964 she returned to Sandpoint and bought Kramer’s TV and Radio. She later established Self’s Service TV and Appliance. She was also involved in a Radio Shack franchise until 1994.
Mrs. Self traveled throughout the United States, and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Martha Chapter 34 in Sandpoint and was a former 4-H leader.
Survivors include her husband, Le Roy; three sons, Roy Self of Greenacres, Ronald Self of Sandpoint and Randy Self of Spokane; two brothers, Wayne Sundgren of Sandpoint and Donald Sundgren of Spokane; and five grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Bonner Community Hospice, P.O. Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Marion Clason Spokane
Service for Marion A. Clason, 65, will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the Sunset Mausoleum at Fairmount Memorial Park. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A 26-year Spokane resident, Mr. Clason, died Wednesday. He was born in Millboro, S.D.
In 1972 he retired for the Air Force after serving more than 20 years.
Survivors include his wife of 40 years, Patricia; two sons, Jim and Troy Clason, both of Spokane; two sisters, Mona Briscoe and Mary Brown, both of Spokane; three brothers, Neal Clason of Spokane, Francis Clason of Pampa, Texas and Chester Clason of Amarillo, Texas; and three grandchildren.
Donna Taylor Spokane
Memorial service for Donna V. Taylor, 54, will be at 3 p.m. today at Heritage Funeral Home.
Mrs. Taylor, who was born in Clarksville, Tenn., died Saturday.
A Spokane resident for 29 years, she worked as a bartender at Snoops Saloon for eight years.
Mrs. Taylor was a member of the Life Center.
Survivors include four sons, Tim Dube and Larry Taylor, both of Spokane, Roger Miller of Milan, Ill., and Scott Miller of Eldridge, Iowa; her mother, Viola Huff of Chillicothe, Mo.; a brother, Lewis Huff, and two sisters, Lorina Avery and Melody Sage, all of Chillicothe; and seven grandchildren.
Evelyn Anderson Medical Lake
No service will be held for Evelyn G. Anderson, 77. Burial was Friday at Pines Cemetery. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Anderson, who was born in Spokane, died Wednesday.
She was a homemaker.
Her husband, Eugene, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a son, Leroy Brown; three daughters, Joanne Stanger, Carol White and Linda Anderson; three stepchildren, Terry, Martha and Lorraine Anderson; a brother, Harold Vinge; a sister, June Koonce; and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Donald Fraser Spokane
No service will be held for Donald Cameron Fraser, 93, at his request. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
An 80-year Spokane resident, Mr. Fraser died Thursday. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland.
He worked for Washington Water Power for 35 years and retired in 1970.
He was a member of the Downriver Golf Club for many years.
Survivors include his wife of 70 years, Helen; a son, Michael Fraser of Chico, Calif.; a daughter, Donna Wyatt of Spokane; seven grandchildren, six great-grandsons and two great-great-grandsons.