Obituaries

Harold `Jack’ Thompson Sr. St. Maries

Service for Harold “Jack” Thompson Sr., 98, will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Maries Church of the Nazarene. Burial will follow at the Emida (Idaho) Cemetery. Yates-Hodge Funeral Home in St. Maries is in charge of arrangements.

Born in Fargo, N.D., Mr. Thompson died Monday.

He grew up in Fargo and owned his a coal-hauling truck as a young man. In 1939 he married Louise Sluggett. They lived in Montana.

Mr. Thompson moved to Olympia in the late 1940s and worked as a mechanic. He received an award from the Dodge-Chrysler Corp. in 1943 in recognition for the fastest time in rebuilding a car engine.

He later returned to Montana and worked as a hard-rock miner and then operated a farm near Fort Benton, Mont.

Mr. Thompson moved to Emida in 1971 and helped install city water and sewer lines and then worked at the Broadfoot Sawmill near Santa, Idaho. He retired in 1973 and later moved to St. Maries.

He was a member of the American Association of Retired Persons.

His wife died in 1988.

Mr. Thompson is survived by three sons, Donald Thompson of St. Maries, Harold Thompson Jr. of Eugene, Ore., and Harvey Thompson of Phoenix; three daughters, Jacqueline Keller of Anderson, Calif., Jennifer Thompson of Big Sandy, Mont., and Cindy Greene of St. Maries; 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Benewah Community Hospice, P.O. Box 134, St. Maries, ID 83861; or the Harrison Emergency Medical Technician Program, Harrison, ID 83833.

Paul Lipari Priest River, Idaho

Memorial service for Paul Joseph Lipari, 17, will be at 2 p.m. today at the Gardenia Center in Sandpoint. Sherman-Knapp Funeral Home in Newport, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.

A 12-year Priest River resident, Mr. Lipari died Sunday. He was born in Santa Rosa, Calif.

He had worked as a customer service representative for Bell Atlantic at Convergys in Salt Lake City.

He recently received his general equivalency diploma.

Survivors include his father, Charles Lipari of Salt Lake City; his mother, Judy Lipari of Priest River; 13 brothers and sisters, David and Cecilia Ross, both of Post Falls; Pete, Cheryl, Nick and Crystal Lipari, all of Priest River; Terry, Linda, Kristin and Megan Lipari of Santa Clara, Calif., Joanne Lipari of Oxnard, Calif., Vincent Lipari of Lancaster, Calif., and Connie Harmon of Tucson, Ariz.; two half-brothers, David Cherno of California and Dean Cherno of Petaluma, Calif.; and his grandparents, Joseph and Eva Lipari of Ventura, Calif.

Elsie (Franseen) Ableman Cheney

Memorial service for Elsie L. (Franseen) Ableman, 69, will be at 1 p.m. today at the Church of the Nazarene in Cheney. Cheney Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Ableman, who was born in Waukon, Wash., died Tuesday.

She married Lee Ableman in 1948 and they moved to Moses Lake, where she graduated from Moses Lake High School.

They moved to Cheney in 1950, and she worked at Seafirst Bank for 20 years. She and her husband owned a Sears catalog store for five years.

She later worked as a loan officer at the Cheney Federal Credit Union for 14 years and retired in 1990.

Survivors include her husband; three sons, Gary, Steve and Todd Ableman, all of Cheney; two brothers, Harvey Franseen of Deer Park and Kenneth Franseen of Seattle; a sister, Evelyn Vrieling of Moses Lake; eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.

Gerald Peters Spokane

No service will be held for Gerald R. Peters, 71, at his request. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

A lifetime Spokane resident, Mr. Peters died Sunday.

He served in the Army as an artillery forward observer in the Korean War.

Mr. Peters worked as the general manager for Swift and Marshall Publishing Co. He was a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

He is survived by two brothers, Joel Peters of Spokane and Marcus Peters Jr. of Maple Valley, Wash.

James Floch Priest River, Idaho

Service for James R. “Jim” Floch, 61, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Calvary Lutheran Church in Post Falls. Burial will follow at Evergreen Cemetery in Post Falls. English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Floch, who was born in Everett, Wash., died Tuesday.

He graduated from Deer Park High School in 1956 and then served in the Navy in the Medical Corps.

Mr. Floch returned to the Northwest after his military service and in 1964 married Nancy Brandenburg.

They settled in Post Falls in 1971, and he worked as a special apparatus technician for General Telephone Co., retiring in 1994.

He spent summers at his home on the Pend Oreille River near Priest River until moving there four years ago. He spent winters in Yuma, Ariz.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Michael Floch, and a daughter, Jamie Benner, both of Post Falls; his mother, Dorothy Pulliam of Deer Park; four sisters, Dean Robb of Mead, Geraldine Herigstad and Doll Fitzgerald, both of Spokane, and Patricia Evans of Chattaroy; a brother, Herb Floch of Kent, Wash.; and three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pediatrics Care, Child Life Unit, Deaconess Medical Center, c/o Jamie Benner, 2119 Grants Court, Post Falls, ID 83854.

Lilah (Oden) Clinefelter Moscow, Idaho

Graveside service for Lilah Jane (Oden) Clinefelter, 91, will be at 2 p.m. today at the Mendenhall Cemetery near Potlatch, Idaho. Kramer Funeral Home in Palouse, Wash. is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Clinefelter, who was born in Rogue River, Ore., died Tuesday.

In 1943 she married Paul Clinefelter. They lived in Castroville, Calif., where she worked in a dairy and later as a grocery store cashier.

Mrs. Clinefelter operated Lilah’s Beauty Shop in California for 20 years. She retired in 1978 and moved to Potlatch. She moved to the Good Samaritan Village in Moscow three years ago.

Mrs. Clinefelter was a member of the Princeton Grange 426 and the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Her husband died in 1995.

She is survived by a daughter, Roselee Higuera of Kettle Falls, Wash.; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Princeton Grange 426, Princeton, ID 83857.

Joseph Ciesielski Spokane

Visitation for Joseph F. Ciesielski, 79, will be today from 8 a.m. until the vigil service at 7 p.m., at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Funeral Mass is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.

A 54-year Spokane resident, Mr. Ciesielski died Saturday. He was born in Buffalo, N.Y.

He served in the Army Air Corps.

Mr. Ciesielski worked as a general foreman at Kaiser Aluminum for more than 30 years.

He was a member of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1474.

His wife, Shirley, died in 1995.

Survivors include three sons, Joseph and Patrick Ciesielski, both of Spokane, and Timothy Ciesielski of Rosalia, Wash.; four daughters, Jan Frank, Claudia Ciesielski and Sherilyn Hankel, all of Spokane, and Marilyn Pitner of Rosalia; three sisters, Lillian Zelasko, Frances Bernal and Emily Fischer, all of Buffalo; 20 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the House of Charity.

Rose Flaherty Spokane

Funeral Mass for Rose Mary Flaherty, 90, will be at 2 p.m. today at St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

A lifetime Spokane resident, Miss Flaherty died Monday.

During World War II, she worked with the American Red Cross.

Miss Flaherty worked as a social worker for the Department of Social and Health Services. She also worked with Catholic Charities She was a volunteer at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Miss Flaherty was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church and the Altar Society and Zeta Tau Alpha.

Miss Flaherty is survived by her brother, Dr. Wilfred Flaherty.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Holy Names Sister’s Retirement Fund or the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.

Naomi (Bass) James Post Falls

Service for Naomi (Bass) James, 82, will be at 4:30 p.m. Friday at English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls. Graveside service will be Monday at Canyon Hill Cemetery in Caldwell, Idaho.

Mrs. James, who died Tuesday, was born in Lee, Ark.

She grew up in the Middleton, Idaho, area and later lived in Caldwell for several years. She operated a home nursery before moving to College Place, Wash., in 1959. Mrs. James then lived in Walla Walla and in 1966 moved to Post Falls.

She was a homemaker and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Her first husband, John Bass, died in 1957.

Survivors include her husband of 34 years, Gordon; three sons, Gary Bass of Las Vegas, Glen James of Phoenix and Richard James of Seattle; a daughter, Lorena Severance of Post Falls; three brothers, Lee and Don Stubbs, both of Oregon, and Paul Stubbs of California; two sisters, Dorothy Taylor of California and Elverna McDonnell of Oregon; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Janette `Kay’ Tillberg Sandpoint

Service for Janette `Kay’ Tillberg, 56, will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Sandpoint First Lutheran Church. Burial will follow at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Sandpoint. Coffelt Funeral Service in Sandpoint is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Tillberg, who was born in Decatur, Ill., died Tuesday.

She graduated from Sandpoint High School in 1961 and married Steve Tillberg.

They lived in Sandpoint, where she operated a day-care and preschool business. She was also active with education and volunteer programs at Sandpoint High School.

Mrs. Tillberg was a member of Sandpoint First Lutheran Church and was active with the Sunday school program.

Survivors include her husband; four children, Michelle Allen of Maryland, Timothy Tillberg and Molly Trejo, both of Sandpoint, and Koda Branch of New Jersey; her mother, Eleanor Johnson of Wyoming; three sisters, Dee Holzer and Lee Barfuss, both of Sandpoint, and Joyce Burns of Billings, Mont.; and four grandchildren.

Augusta Van Slyke Coeur d’Alene

Graveside service for Augusta Frances Van Slyke, 87, will be Saturday at 1 p.m. in the old section of Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Van Slyke, who was born in Galena, Kan., died Tuesday.

She married Forest “Frosty” Van Slyke in 1932 and lived in California before moving to Wallace in 1960. Mrs. Van Slyke worked at Fonk’s Variety Store in Wallace.

Mrs. Van Slyke moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1971.

Her husband died in 1991.

She is survived by two daughters, Ila Bond of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Clara Fisher of Whittier, Calif.; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Anna Crane Spokane

Service for Anna Beatrice Crane will be at 2 p.m. today at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North. Visitation will be held prior to the service. Burial will follow at Fairmount Memorial Park.

Miss Crane died Sunday.

She was born in Richfield, Idaho, and graduated from high school there in 1941. She was 77.

Miss Crane worked as an office manager for the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway in Portland for six years. She later worked as a preschool assistant in Fairbanks, Alaska, for two years. She retired in 1952 and moved to Spokane in 1954.

Miss Crane was a member of the Lutheran Church.

Survivors include four sisters, Marie Ogle and Elsie Lafky, both of Spokane, Alice Behr of Richfield and Edna Loudon of Anchorage, Alaska.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Union Gospel Mission.