Obituaries
James Domit Colbert
Memorial service for James L. Domit, 62, will be at 10 a.m. today at Heritage Funeral Home.
Mr. Domit, who was born in Colville, Wash., died Wednesday.
He was a salesman in the petroleum industry and owned and operated the Exxon station in Lincoln Heights for many years.
Mr. Domit was a member of the Valley Eagles Lodge No. 3433.
Survivors include his longtime companion Ginny; a son, Randall Domit of Spokane, two daughters, Gayle Domit of San Francisco and Jana Ingrim of Olympia; a brother, Bob Domit; four sisters, Mary Johnson, Joanne Berger, Doris Berg and Violet Boggess; and two grandchildren.
Inez ‘Del’ Clift Spokane
Funeral Mass for Inez “Del” Clift, 69, will be at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Otis Orchards. Hennessey Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Clift, who was born in Nelson, British Columbia, died Monday.
She moved to Spokane in 1947 and graduated from Sacred Heart School of Nursing in 1950. She married Jim Clift in 1953.
Mrs. Clift worked as a registered nurse in the Spokane area for 30 years.
Survivors include her husband; four sons, Tom and John Clift, both of Spokane, Jim Clift of Carson City, Nev., and Ray Clift of Columbia City, Ore.; a daughter, Jane Teimouri of Everett; a sister, Isabelle Scatchard of Surrey, British Columbia; and 11 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church Building Fund.
Dallas ‘Doc’ Self Oldtown, Idaho
Memorial service for Dallas LeRoy “Doc” Self, 73, will be at 2 p.m. today at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness in Newport, Wash. ShermanKnapp Funeral Home in Newport is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Self, who was born in Arlee, Mont., died last Saturday.
He served in the Army during World War II.
In 1949, he married Erlene Hodson in Orofino, Idaho.
Mr. Self worked in the woods, cutting poles for many years, and then worked as a custodian for the local school district.
Later, he and his wife owned and operated a janitorial business. He had been a resident of Oldtown for 15 years.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Vicki Denton of Newport; a son, Randy Self of Chattaroy, Wash.; two brothers, Kenneth Self of Missoula and Dale Self of Eagle Creek, Ore.; a sister, Vera Mundt of Plummer, Idaho; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Kelly Deffe Spokane
Funeral for Kelly D. Deffe, 43, will be at 1 p.m. today at Riplinger Funeral Home.
Mr. Deffe, who was born in Superior, Mont., drowned last Saturday in the Spokane River.
He graduated from Rogers High School and worked for Valley Parking Service.
Mr. Deffe had lived in Spokane since 1959.
Survivors include his wife Yvonne; two daughters, Janelle Deffe of Spokane and Shawna Haines of Odessa, Wash.; his father, Edward Deffe of Spokane; two brothers, Timothy Deffe of Spokane and Danny Deffe of Redmond, Wash.; and one grandchild.
Patricia Pickette Spokane
Funeral Mass for Patricia C. Pickette, 69, was Friday. Miss Pickette, a lifetime Spokane resident, died Wednesday.
She graduated from Holy Names Academy and Gonzaga University and later taught elementary school in Spokane for many years.
Miss Pickette was in the Grandma Program at Head Start and was an active member of the International Toastmistress Club.
Survivors include a brother, Paul Pickette of Spokane; and a sister, Peggy Monroe of Longview, Wash.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Geraldine Parsons Spokane
Visitation for Geraldine “Jerie” Parsons, 81, will be from 9 a.m. to noon today at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Funeral will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home. Private burial will be at Pines Cemetery.
Mrs. Parsons, who was born in Harrington, Wash., died Thursday.
She graduated from West Valley High School in 1935 and married E.W. Parsons.
She worked as a cashier in a grocery store.
Mrs. Parsons was a member of the Police Retired Wives Club, the Corbin Community Senior Center and the Women of the Moose.
Her husband, a former Spokane police chief, preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Patsy Johnston of Tacoma; and three grandchildren.
Raymond Borders Spokane
Visitation for Raymond L. Borders, 62, will be from noon to 6 p.m. today and Sunday at Heritage Funeral Home. Funeral is planned for 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Fairmount Memorial Park.
A lifetime Spokane resident, Mr. Borders died Wednesday.
He served in the Air Force from 1953 to 1961 and married Marianne Relle in Sembech, Germany, in 1957.
Mr. Border worked as a truck driver in the dairy industry after his military service.
He was a member of the Kiwanis, Mission Community Presbyterian Church and was a volunteer at Stevens Elementary School.
Survivors include his wife; three sons, Curtis and Corey Borders, both of Spokane, and Chris Borders of Chewelah, Wash.; four daughters, Joann Hagen, Roxann Neal, Cindy Olmstead and Heidi Borders, all of Spokane; a brother, Larry Wilson of Sun City, Ariz.; two sisters, Helen Aldridge of Tacoma and Dorothy Butcher of Sun City; and 13 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Mission Community Outreach Center or the American Liver Foundation.
Evalyn Helstrom Coeur d’Alene
Visitation for Evalyn Pearl Helstrom, 82, will be from 3-8 p.m. Saturday and from 1-9 p.m. Sunday at Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene. Service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Coeur d’Alene Church of the Nazarene. Burial will follow at Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene.
Mrs. Helstrom, who was born in Wisconsin, died Tuesday.
She moved to Spokane as a teenager and graduated from North Central High School. She moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1963.
Mrs. Helstrom was co-owner of Betty and Ev Floral in Coeur d’Alene for more than 30 years and was a member of the Church of the Nazarene.
Survivors include her husband of 63 years, Norris; two sons, Bob Helstrom of Olympia and Herbert Helstrom of Coeur d’Alene; a daughter, Betty Towner of Coeur d’Alene; 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Lillian Travis Spokane
Visitation for Lillian Eleanor Travis, 102, is planned from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Travis, who died Thursday, was born in Drywood, Wis.
She worked at a sawmill in Potlatch, Idaho, during World War I and in the dining room at Farragut Naval Station during World War II.
Mrs. Travis worked at Sears department store for about 10 years and then as a licensed practical nurse at Alderwood Manor and Davis Nursing Home until retiring in in 1961.
She was a resident of Spokane and North Idaho for the past 69 years.
Two husbands Wilbur Kelly and Stewart Travis, preceded her in death.
Survivors include two sons, Junior and Merle Kelly, both of Spokane; 11 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren.
Edna Gustafson Spokane
Funeral for Edna T. Gustafson, 83, is planned for 11 a.m. Monday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home - South. Burial will be at Spokane Memorial Gardens.
Mrs. Gustafson, who died Monday, was born in Corryton, Tenn.
In 1946 she married Harry Gustafson in Spokane. She worked for Spokane School District 81 as a matron at Comstock Elementary and at Ferris High School. She retired in the mid 1970s.
Mrs. Gustafson was a member of the First Church of the Nazarene for more than 50 years.
Survivors include a son, Paul Gustafson of Spokane; a daughter, Trula Millspaugh of Reseda, Calif.; a sister, Hazel Wegter of Deer Park; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Church of the Nazarene or Riverview Care Center.
Phillip White Priest River, Idaho
Funeral for Phillip Lyle “Phill” White, 55, was Friday at ShermanKnapp Funeral Home in Priest River, Idaho. Graveside service followed at Evergreen Cemetery in Priest River.
Mr. White, a lifetime resident of Priest River, died Sept. 8.
He graduated from Priest River High School in 1962 and served in the Army during the late 1960s.
He married Susan (McFall) Pruitt in 1971 in Coeur d’Alene.
Mr. White worked as a logger for many years, most recently working for Jim Linton Logging in Priest River.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Phillip White Jr., and a daughter, Tina Brennan, both of Priest River; his mother, Bunnie Swanberg of Priest River; two brothers, Hank White of Priest River and Jim White of Libby, Mont.; two sisters, Pat Oscarson of Newport, Wash., and Linda Bischoff of Libby; and three grandchildren.
Robert Aldridge LaPine, Ore.
Private service for Robert Aldridge, 65, was held Monday.
Mr. Aldridge, a former Spokane resident, died Sept. 2 in a boating accident near Warrenton, Ore.
He was born in Hackensack, N.J., and graduated from high school there. He served in the Army during the Korean War.
In 1955, he married Julia Betz in Hackensack.
He worked in management with telephone companies in New Jersey for 13 years until moving to New York in 1968.
In 1978, he moved to Spokane and worked for US West.
After retiring in 1990, when he moved to LaPine and spent winters in Yuma, Ariz.
Mr. Aldridge was a member of the Moose Lodge in LaPine and the Eagles Lodge in Ocean Park, Wash.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Wayne Aldridge of Deposit, N.Y.; four daughters, Ellen Harris of Binghamton, N.Y., Dawn Aldridge of Reading, Pa., Laura Valenzo of San Antonio and Beth Ann Dively of Dallas; two brothers, Albert Aldridge of Hackensack and Walter Aldridge of Hillsdale, N.J.; two sisters, Florence Ackley of Otisville, N.Y., and Viola Leuhmann of Ontario, Canada; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Mary MacLean Spokane
No service will be held for Mary Lou MacLean, 76. The Creamtion Society of Washington is in charge of arrangements Mrs. MacLean, who was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, died Thursday.
She was a homemaker.
Her husband, John, died in 1989.
She is survived by daughter, Dawn Martin of Terrace, British Columbia; three sons, Grant MacLean of Spokane, Ross MacLean of Denver and Terry MacLean of Courtenay, British Columbia; and 10 grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross.
Russell Rogers Spokane
Memorial service for Russell R. Rogers, 93, is planned for 11 a.m. Sept. 19, at Heritage Congregational Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Rogers, who was born in Spokane, died Sept. 2.
He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and then from the University of Washington in 1927.
Mr. Rogers worked for four years as an insurance underwriter for the General Insurance Co. of America in Seattle before returning to Spokane in 1931.
In 1932 he married Mary Wheelock and joined the family real estate and insurance business, Rogers and Rogers Inc.
He served as president of the Washington Association of Realtors in 1941 and 1942, and in 1943 was elected to the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers, where he served for four years as a member of the Editorial Board of the Appraisal Journal, the association’s publication. He was also on the board of St. Luke’s Hospital and the Washington Children’s Home for several years.
Mr. Rogers was actively engaged in the appraisal field throughout the Inland Empire, making the appraisal of the Naval Supply Depot before it became Spokane Industrial Park. He also aided in the appraisal of Natatorium Park and was the appraiser for Pacific Gas Transmission Co. He also acquired many of the properties needed for Sacred Heart Hospital’s expansion in 1971.
In 1965, Mr. Rogers sold the family business to employees but continued to work there, retiring in 1975.
He was a member of the Washington Pioneer Association and Heritage Congregational Church.
He is survived by his wife; two sons, Edward Rogers of Spokane and Charles Rogers of Sussex, Wis.; and four grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Heritage Congregational Church.
Rory Susalla Coeur d’Alene
Inurnment for Rory P. Susalla, 44, will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Thomas Catholic Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Susalla, who was born in Spokane, died Monday.
He lived most of his life in Coeur d’Alene and at one time had been a cook at the former Topper Restaurant on Sherman Ave.
Mr. Susalla served in the Marine Corps and was a member of St. Thomas Catholic Church.
Survivors include a son, Christopher Susalla of Puyallup, Wash.; his mother, Elaine Susalla of Coeur d’Alene; and a brother, Michael Susalla of Tucson, Ariz.
Mary Schindler Spokane
No service will be held for Mary V. Schindler. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Schindler, who was born in Wilbur, Wash., died Monday. She was 82.
She was a homemaker and lived in Spokane for 60 years.
Mrs. Schindler was a 35-year member of the Women of Rotary.
Her husband, Frank, preceded her in death.
She is survived by several cousins.
Maxine Skaggs Spokane
Private graveside service for Maxine Thelma Skaggs, 86 will be held. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Montana, Mrs. Skaggs died Tuesday.
She and her husband, Charles, owned and operated Skaggs Automotive, establishing five branches throughout the Spokane area. The first store opened in 1949.
Her husband died in 1990.
She is survived by a brother, Winston Clutter of California.
Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children.