Obituaries
Michael ‘Mikey’ Powers Rathdrum, Idaho
Service for Michael J. “Mikey” Powers, 20, will be held today at 1 p.m. at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Rathdrum. Burial will be at Pinegrove Cemetery in Rathdrum. Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Powers, who was born in Santa Ana, Calif., died last week.
He lived in California until moving to Indiana at the age of 9 and attended school there for five years before moving to the Spokane area, where he attended North Central High School.
Mr. Powers moved to Rathdrum and graduated from Lakeland High School in 1996. He attended North Idaho College, majoring in English and political science.
He was a member of the NIC debate team and the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.
Mr. Powers wrote music and poetry and played guitar.
Survivors include his parents, Jerry and Nancy Powers of Rathdrum; a brother, Thomas Powers of Minnesota; two sisters, Sharon Long of New Jersey and Allison Cross of California; his grandmother, Gladys Thomsen of Arizona; and two nephews.
Memorials may be made to the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 725 Highway 53, Rathdrum, ID 83858.
Jerry Whybark Moscow, Idaho
Memorial service for Jerry Lee Whybark, 67, will be held Monday at 11 a.m. at Short’s Funeral Chapel in Moscow. Committal will follow at Pinecrest Cemetery in Deary, Idaho.
Mr. Whybark, who was born in Deary, died Wednesday.
Born and raised in Deary, he graduated from Deary High School in 1948 and received a degree in electrical engineering in 1952. He was in the ROTC program.
Mr. Whybark served with the Air Force during the Korean War and was a pilot with the Strategic Air Command. He later lived in Deary for several months before moving to California.
He worked for Rockwell International and operated Whybark Manufacturing, making plastic parts and molds.
Mr. Whybark retired in 1990, and four years ago he moved back to Deary, where he lived before moving to the Good Samaritan Village in Moscow.
His first wife, Virginia, died in 1985.
Survivors include his wife, Lois; and a son, Jack Whybark of California.
Memorials may be made to the Deary Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance.
Arlene Jones-Smith Post Falls
Memorial service for Arlene Fay Jones-Smith, 69, will be Monday at 11 a.m. at Yates Funeral Home, Hayden Chapel. Mrs. Jones-Smith, who was born in Ririe, Idaho, died Monday.
She lived in Spirit Lake, Idaho, and worked for several years in the medical field and before retiring and moving to Post Falls.
Mrs. Jones-Smith was active with Camp Fire and the Rebekah Lodge.
She was preceded in death by her first husband, Tracy Jones.
Survivors include her husband, Wessley; a daughter, Judy Vercoe of Battle Ground, Wash.; a son, Jack Jones of Kentucky; her mother, Elsie Hatch of Post Falls; three stepdaughters, Jean, Barbara Allen and Francheska, all of Queets, Wash.; a sister, Connie Holmes of Dalton Gardens, Idaho; a brother, Bruce Hatch of Hayden Lake, Idaho; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Alva Buchanan Spokane
Memorial service for Alva V. Buchanan, 77, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Congregational Church. Private burial will be at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Buchanan, who was born in Watford City, N.D., died Tuesday.
In 1941 she moved to Spokane and in 1944 married Howard Buchanan.
Mrs. Buchanan attended Kinman Business College in Spokane and worked for First National Bank. She later worked as office manager at Follette Music Co. She also was a nanny for many years.
Mrs. Buchanan was a charter member and treasurer of Heritage Congregational Church. She was a member of the Arboreetes Garden Club, where she was treasurer. She was a member of Phi Sigma Alpha Assembly, Iota Mu and Gamma.
Her husband died in 1989.
Survivors include a son, Howard “Skip” Buchanan of Spokane; a daughter, Carolyn Bloxham of Redmond, Wash.; six sisters, Dorothy Bell of Ronan, Mont., Clair Gunderson of Nampa, Idaho, Velma Fristo of Missoula, Faye Paige of Boise, Phyllis McClary of Elgin, Ore., and Eunice Yost of Parker, Colo.; three brothers, Loyal Lester of New Plymouth, Idaho, Otis Lester of Nampa and Glen Lester of Garden Valley, Idaho; and five grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heritage Congregational Church.
John Edwards Spokane
Funeral for John R. Edwards, 78, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Burial will be at Fairmount Memorial Park.
A 76-year Spokane resident, Mr. Edwards died Wednesday.
Born in Dayton, Wash., he moved to Spokane in 1922.
He served with the Army in the China-Burma-India and Pacific theaters during World War II.
He returned to Spokane and in 1947 began working for Consolidated Freight as a truck driver. He retired in 1974.
He was a member of Teamsters Union Local 690 from 1947 to 1974. He was a 40-year member of the Nondenominational Christian Fellowship.
Survivors include his wife of 43 years, Arlene; a daughter, Betty Weidemann of Spokane; two sons, Ronald Ross of Fairbanks, Alaska, and Donald Ross of Hayden, Idaho; 10 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Gladys (McFall) Wear Priest River, Idaho
Funeral for Gladys Alberta (McFall) Wear, 87, will be at 11 a.m. today at the Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home in Priest River. Graveside rites will follow at the Evergreen Cemetery in Priest River.
A 70-year Priest River resident, Mrs. Wear died Tuesday. She was born in Alberta, Canada.
A homemaker she was a member of the Priest River Card Club.
Her husband, Thomas, died in 1968.
Survivors include two sons, Donald and Darrel Wear, both of Priest River; a brother John McFall of Spokane; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.