Obituaries
John Albi, D.D.S. Spokane
Vigil service for John Joseph Albi, a retired dentist, will be at 7 p.m. today at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Dr. Albi, who was a lifetime resident of Spokane, died Tuesday. He was 85.
He graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School, Gonzaga University and then the University of Oregon Dental School.
Dr. Albi was a captain in the Army Medical Corps during World War II and served in the Pacific. He was awarded five Bronze Stars for courage and valor during combat.
After the war Dr. Albi began his dental practice in Spokane. He retired in 1982.
He was a member of the Washington Dental Association, the Washington State Board of Dental Examiners, Sacred Heart Medical Center, St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital and Holy Family Hospital. He was also past president of the Canadian American Medical Dental Association.
Dr. Albi was also a member of St. Augustine parish, a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus, and a member of the Athletic Round Table, Hillyard Boosters Club, Toastmasters Club, Active Club, Elks Lodge and the Spokane Country Club.
He had worked as a sports correspondent for The Spokesman-Review and often covered Bing Crosby’s Pebble Beach Golf Tournament.
Dr. Albi was athletic director of Harmon Park and a Spokane tennis champion.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Muriel; a daughter, Kathleen Albi of Denver; two sisters, Olga Dobelstein of Spokane and Evelyn Albi of Denver; and two grandchildren.
Lavonne ‘Bunny’ Turk Spokane
Visitation for Lavonne Elizabeth “Bunny” Turk, 75, will be today from 6-8 p.m. at Coffelt Funeral Service in Sandpoint. Service will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Westmond Cemetery near Cocolalla, Idaho.
Mrs. Turk, who was born in North Dakota, died Monday.
She grew up in North Dakota and moved to Sagle, Idaho, in 1936.
Mrs. Turk lived in Kellogg before moving to Spokane in 1952.
She was a member of the Spokane Valley Eagles Lodge.
Two husbands preceded her in death: Owen Haley and Frank Turk.
Survivors include a daughter, Arlene Vanhorn of Spokane; two brothers, Walt Eldred of Sagle and Robert Eldred of Tacoma; three sisters, Margaret Popovich of Seattle, and Laura Carothers and Rosemary Turnbull, both of Sagle; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Sanda Richards Spokane
Vigil service for Sanda Josephine Richards, 75, will be at 7 p.m. today at Riplinger Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be at 8 a.m. Saturday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church.
Entombment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum.
A lifetime Spokane resident, Mrs. Richards died Wednesday.
She worked as a bookkeeper for Medical Service Corp. for 40 years.
Mrs. Richards was a member of St. Aloysius Catholic Church and Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Post 1474.
Survivors include her husband of 55 years, George; a daughter, Susan Cannata of Spokane; three sisters, Agnes Burley of Tempe, Ariz., Mary Florez of Spokane and Mamie London of Kennewick; four grandsons and four great-granddaughters.
Marjorie Conner Spokane
Service for Marjorie D. Conner, 82, will be at 11 a.m. today at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South. Burial will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Mrs. Conner, who was born at Loon Lake, Wash., died Thursday.
She graduated from Deer Park High School, where she was student body president her senior year.
In 1938 she married Kenneth Conner in Spokane, and they traveled with the Air Force.
They moved back to Spokane in the early 1960s and she worked for J.C. Penney as a clerk from 1963 to 1978.
Her husband died in 1989.
Survivors include three sons, Vance Conner of Sandpoint, and Michael and Dennis Conner, both of Seattle; two sisters, Dorothy Stelting of Spokane and Chrestine Lee of Seattle; a brother, John Dunlap of Seattle; six grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Mary Burch Spokane
Visitation for Mary A. Burch, 78, will be from noon to 8 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Service will follow at 3 p.m. at the funeral home with burial at Pines Cemetery.
Mrs. Burch, who was born in Chinook, Mont., died Sunday.
She was raised on a small farm in Hayford and moved to Spokane 50 years ago.
Mrs. Burch was a homemaker.
Her husband of 50 years, Albert Burch, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a son, Bob Burch of Spokane; a daughter, Donna McKay of Spokane; and one grandchild.
Elizabeth Storer Spokane
Service for Elizabeth “Betty” Storer, 75, is set for 1 p.m. today at the Foundation Ministries Church. Graveside memorial service will follow at Greenwood Memorial Cemetery. Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Storer, who was born in Spokane, died Tuesday.
She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and in 1946 married Roscoe Storer in Spokane.
Mrs. Storer was a homemaker.
Her husband died in 1985.
Survivors include two daughters, Charlotte Bartow of Spokane and Nancy King of Gibbsboro, N.J.; two sons, Robert Storer of Spokane and Eugene Storer of Warner Robins, Ga.; a sister, Frances Whearty of Spokane; a brother, William Hunt of Spokane; and nine grandchildren.
Rose Fink Spokane
Memorial service and potluck for Rose Margaret Dickinson Fink, 80, is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cascade Mobile Home Park community center. Inurnment will be at noon March 14 at Shelton (Wash.) Memorial Park.
Mrs. Fink, who was born at Eastsound on Orcas Island, Wash., died Monday.
She was raised in Hoodsport, Wash., and graduated from Irene S. Reed High School.
Mrs. Fink graduated with a degree in nursing from French Hospital in San Francisco and did post-graduate work in operating room techniques in Pasadena, Calif.
She moved to Spokane 49 years ago and worked for Sacred Heart Hospital for more than 25 years in both the nursery and surgery.
Mrs. Fink was a member of the first open heart surgery team at Sacred Heart, where she operated the heart-lung machine.
Survivors include her husband John; a daughter, Barbara Dickinson of Seattle; a son, Scott Fink of Spokane; a brother, Gordon Dickinson of Shelton, Wash.; and two grandchildren.
Jack Jordan Spokane
No service will be held for Jack L. Jordan, 83, at his request. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Jordan, who died Tuesday, was born in Colville, Wash.
He served in the Army during World War II, in which he was a member of the 743rd Tank Battalion and was a recipient of the Purple Heart.
Mr. Jordan drove a truck for Vern’s Pies before his retirement.
He was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 51.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Mildred.
Robert Melior Spokane
Memorial service for Robert William Melior, 78, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at United Methodist Church in Athol, Idaho. Burial will be at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Mr. Melior, who was born in Eastport, Idaho, died Saturday.
He attended Bonner County schools and joined the Army in 1940, serving with the 41st Infantry until returning home in 1944.
Mr. Melior settled in Sandpoint and attended the Institute of Dry Cleaning in Maryland. He owned Sandpoint Cleaners.
He served on the Sandpoint City Council in 1963 and was a member of Sandpoint First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Melior retired in 1975 and moved to Spokane, where he retired from the Spokane School District.
Survivors include two daughters, Robin Bernhardt of Pasco and Holly Quesenberry of Kennewick; his companion, Peggy Tabatt of Spokane; three brothers, Wallace, Richard and Eldon Melior; a sister, Ellen Brooks; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Marianna Doughty Spokane
Memorial service for Marianna Johnson Doughty, 80, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the family home. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Doughty, who was born in Montana, died Monday.
She was an artist and a homemaker. She was a 70-year resident of Spokane.
Her husband, Jim Doughty, died in 1984.
She is survived by two sons, Steve Doughty of Portland, Gary Doughty of Seattle; five sisters, Helene Scott of Olympia, and Janice Walser, Dorothy Landreth, Winnie Major and Enid Nuechterlein, all of Spokane; a brother, Bruce Johnson; and four grandchildren.
Alva Bircher Colville, Wash.
Memorial service for Alva L. Bircher, 88, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Danekas Funeral Chapel and Crematory in Colville.
Mr. Bircher, a 50-year resident of Stevens County, died Tuesday.
He was born in Onaway, Wash., and worked on the family farm raising up to 5,000 sheep.
In 1938 he married Fronnie House in St. Maries, and in 1947 they moved to the Rickey Canyon area near Rice, Wash., where they farmed for many years.
Mr. Bircher also logged near Rice and in the Metaline Falls, Wash., area for many years. He worked from 1964 until 1973 as a janitor for the Kettle Falls (Wash.) School District.
He was a member of the Pleasant Valley Grange.
His wife died in 1974.
Survivors include a daughter, Norma Adams of Valley, Wash.; two sons, Harold Bircher of Arden, Wash., and Ronald Bircher of Hunters, Wash.; a brother, Merf Bircher of St. John, Wash.; a sister, Alma Schultz of Tillamook, Ore.; 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Virgil Koerner Spokane
Memorial service for Virgil L. Koerner, 67, is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at Riplinger Funeral Home.
Mr. Koerner, a 67-year resident of Spokane, died Feb. 26.
He was born in Colville, Wash., and served in the Army during the Korean War.
Mr. Koerner drove a truck as a member of Teamsters Union Local 690.
He is survived by a brother, Lloyd Koerner.
, DataTimes