Obituaries
Ovidio `Blackie’ Petris Coeur d’Alene
Memorial service for Ovidio A. “Blackie” Petris, 74, will be today at 11 a.m. at Yates Funeral Home, Hayden Chapel. A reception will follow at the Yates Hayden Chapel Gathering Center. Burial will be at Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene.
Mr. Petris, who was born in California, died Wednesday.
He grew up and graduated from high school in Seattle. He joined the Coast Guard and served for 24 years, including during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Mr. Petris married Carol Powers in 1965. He retired from the Coast Guard in 1966 and settled in Coeur d’Alene.
He worked for Don LaVoie Distributing and then became the GED coordinator at North Idaho College for 10 years.
Mr. Petris was a member of the Coeur d’Alene Lions Club.
Survivors include a daughter, Maria Petris, and a stepson, Michael Powers, both of Coeur d’Alene; two stepdaughters, Pam Powers of Coeur d’Alene and Cindy Angelo of California; a brother, Robert Petris of Seattle; a sister, Katherine Sherrill of Renton, Wash.; three grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Alvin Gustafson Spokane
Graveside service for Alvin E. Gustafson, 86, will be at 1 p.m. today at Greenwood Memorial Terrace. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home - South is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Gustafson, who was born in Mount Vernon, Wash., died March 20.
He was raised in Mount Vernon, where he graduated from high school. Mr. Gustafson was a musician, playing his trumpet in orchestras all along the Washington coast.
Mr. Gustafson married Frances Bright in 1936 and moved to Medical Lake before moving to Spokane in 1940.
He then served in the National Guard and military during World War II.
Mr. Gustafson returned to Spokane after the war, where he was the owner of several businesses. He was in the nursing home business when he retired.
He was a member of the Spokane Valley Senior Center and the American Association of Retired Persons.
His wife died in 1974.
There are no surviving family members.
Lester Day Colville, Wash.
No service will be held for Lester C. Day, 78, at his request. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Day, who was born in Palouse, Wash., died Thursday.
He married Norma Frost in 1946.
Mr. Day worked for Washington State University as an environmental technician, taking water samples. He retired in 1982.
He was a member of the Palouse Grange and the American Legion.
Mr. Day moved to Colville several years ago.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Ernie Day of Palouse; two daughters, Leslie Allen of Spokane and Bobbie Noble of Colville; a sister, Christina Kincaid of Colfax, Wash.; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Frank Shepherd Pinehurst, Idaho
Memorial service for Frank LeRoy Shepherd, 56, will be Monday at 11 a.m. at the Kellogg Funeral Chapel. Mr. Shepherd, who was born in Salt Lake City, died Wednesday.
He grew up in Colorado and Utah and worked as a miner in Utah. He moved to the Silver Valley in the 1970s and worked for the Lucky Friday and Galena mines and Bunker Hill Mining Co.
Mr. Shepherd moved to southern Idaho in the 1980s and worked as a truck driver for Idaho Fresh Pack in Lewisville, Idaho.
He returned to the Silver Valley last year.
Survivors include two daughters, Patricia Dixon of Jerome, Idaho, and Kendra Gardner of Blackfoot, Idaho; two sons, LeRoy Shepherd of Idaho Falls and Keith Shepherd of Pinehurst; two stepdaughters, Michelle of Idaho Falls and Rose of Post Falls; three sisters, Elsie Norris of Colorado, Grace Golden of Utah and Margaret Stevenson of Kellogg; three brothers, Charles Shepherd of Pinehurst, Ronald Shepherd of Kellogg and Benton Shepherd of Salt Lake City; and 14 grandchildren.
Robert Bauer Spokane
Memorial service for Robert A. Bauer, 91, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home - South.
Mr. Bauer, who was born in Hauser Lake, Idaho, died Thursday.
He graduated from Post Falls High School in 1926 and attended Northwest Business College in Spokane.
Mr. Bauer worked as an accountant for Washington Water Power and worked at Harper and McGee before becoming a self-employed building contractor in 1950. He retired in 1978.
He was a member of the Elks Lodge 228 and Manito Presbyterian Church, where he held a variety of offices. He also attended Manito United Methodist Church.
Mr. Bauer married Rita Barlow in 1935, she died in 1955. He later married Virginia Wolfe.
Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Nancy Wolf of Palouse, Wash.; three stepdaughters, Joy Rose of Spangle, Wash., Joanne Cohen of Jacksonville, Fla., and Linda Piekut of Mechanicsburg, Pa.; 13 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Jack Wilbert Liberty Lake
Funeral for Jack B. Wilbert, 79, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home - South. Private burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park.
Mr. Wilbert, who was born in Spokane, died Tuesday.
He grew up and attended schools in California, before serving as a flight instructor in the Navy during World War II.
After the war he returned to Spokane, where he worked as a draftsman for various companies, including Kaiser Aluminum. He retired in the early 1990s.
Mr. Wilbert was a member of the Elks Lodge.
His wife, Geraldine, died in 1995.
Survivors include two sons, Charles Wilbert of Canoga, Calif., and William Wilbert of Santa Barbara, Calif.; a daughter, Kristi Wilbert of Yakima; and three grandchildren.
Elsie Sasser Moscow, Idaho
Viewing for Elsie H. Sasser, 84, will be Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. at Short’s Funeral Chapel in Moscow. Service will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow. Burial will follow at Moscow Cemetery.
Mrs. Sasser, who died Wednesday, was born in Utah.
She graduated from high school in Brigham City, Utah, in 1931. She attended beauty school in Salt Lake City for two years prior to working as a beautician.
She married Robert Sasser in 1937. They moved to Malad, Idaho and farmed before settling in Pingree, Idaho, where they farmed and owned Bob’s Enco, a gas station and fuel distributorship, for 15 years.
Mrs. Sasser retired and moved to Moscow in 1982.
She was a member of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Moscow, Mary’s Circle and a Bible study group.
She had traveled extensively in the United States and Europe.
Her husband died in 1983.
Survivors include two daughters, LaRae Rhoads of Moscow and Karen Pfeiffer of Coeur d’Alene; two sons, Garth Sasser of Moscow and James Sasser of Virginia; two sisters, Kathleen Williams and Joyce Cracas, both of Utah; 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Palouse, 700 S. Main St., Moscow, ID 83843.
Phyllis Imus Post Falls
No service will be held for Phyllis J. Imus, 64. Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Spokane, Mrs. Imus died Wednesday.
She grew up in Spokane and Newport, Wash. She attended Mead and Newport high schools and then graduated in Mesa, Ariz.
Mrs. Imus graduated from Kinman Business College in Phoenix. She lived in Sandpoint from 1961 to 1971, where she drove a school bus and worked for Schweitzer Ski Lodge and the Itex Corp.
She moved to Post Falls in 1971 and had worked at Custom Furniture and Cabinets, and the Post Falls Tribune.
Survivors include her husband, Charles; two daughters, Laurel Millard and Tobina Atkinson, both of Post Falls; a stepdaughter, Donna Hooper of Hayden, Idaho; two brothers, Gene Meredith of Elk and John Meredith of Naples, Idaho; four grandchildren, four step-grandchildren and six step-great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 280 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815.
Elton Baldwin Spokane
Memorial service for Elton G. Baldwin, 58, will be at noon Sunday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home.
A 10-year Spokane resident, Mr. Baldwin died Tuesday. He was born in Tunica, Miss.
Mr. Baldwin served in the Army during the Vietnam War, and later worked as a truck driver.
Survivors include his wife, Patty; four sons, Mike and Denny Baldwin, both of Spokane, Richard Baldwin of Tekoa, Wash., and Chris Baldwin of Tacoma; two daughters, Mary Baldwin of Deer Park and Angela Baldwin of Tekoa; a brother, Velton Baldwin of Horn Lake, Miss.; and 10 grandchildren.
Kenneth Mann Hayden, Idaho
Service for Kenneth C. Mann, 94, will be held at a later date in Seattle. Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Mann, who was born in Quincy, Ill., died Thursday.
He grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho, and married Julia Jennison in 1926.
Mr. Mann moved to Seattle in 1952.
He remained in Seattle and moved to Hayden in 1992 to be near family.
Mr. Mann was active as a lapidary artist.
His wife died in 1967.
Survivors include a son, Richard Mann of California; a daughter, Julia Craft of Hayden; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Glenn Toptine Sr. Spokane
Funeral for Glenn D. Toptine Sr., 80, is planned for 1 p.m. Monday at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home. Burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park.
A 50-year Spokane resident, Mr. Toptine died Tuesday. He was born in Reno Hill, Wyo.
Mr. Toptine served in the Army during World War II and later worked as a flour packer for General Mills.
He was a member of Pilgrim Lutheran Church.
Survivors include his wife, Mary; two daughters, Glenda Toptine of Spokane and Jo Ann Carter of Lebanon, Ore.; two sons, Glenn Toptine Jr., of Seattle and John Toptine of Hillsborough, N.C.; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
James `Red’ Mitchell Spokane
No service will be held for James E. “Red” Mitchell, 74, at his request. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A 33-year Spokane resident, Mr. Mitchell died Monday. He was born in Princeton, Ind.
He served as a chief radar operator in the Army with the 127AAA Gun Battalion at the Langdon Cliffs, near Dover, England during World War II.
Mr. Mitchell later worked in the steel fence industry before owing his own own business producing, “Jim and Lottie’s Horseradish.”
He was a member of the El Katif Shrine.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Lottie; a daughter, Jackie Martin; and a sister, Jeanie Henry.