Obituaries

Cecilia Fields Emmett, Idaho

Funeral Mass for Cecilia Ann Edna Fields, 82, was Friday at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North was in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Fields, who was born and raised in Cheney, died August 14.

She graduated in 1937 from Cheney High School, and from a college in San Francisco in 1941.

Mrs. Fields worked as an accountant at the Presidio Army Base in San Francisco until she married Jimmie Fields in 1942.

She worked as an accountant at several other military bases while her husband served in the military. They included the Sharpe Army Depot in Stockton, Calif., where she was an accountant and arranged burials for casualties from the Vietnam War.

She retired in 1966 and she and her husband moved to Spokane. Mrs. Fields moved to Emmett a year ago.

Her husband died in 1993.

Survivors include three sons, Jim Fields of Spokane, Mike Fields of Emmett, and Dennis Fields of Stockton; a brother, Vern Straughan, and a sister, Evelyn Kane of Spokane; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Betty (Foster) Eads Spokane

Service for Betty Jo (Foster) Eads, 67, will be at 3 p.m. today at Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.

A 35-year Spokane resident, Mrs. Eads, who was born in Cape Fair, Mo., died Wednesday.

She graduated from Eagle (Idaho) High School.

In 1950 she married James Eads.

Mrs. Eads worked as a sales clerk for JCPenney.

She was a member of the Driscoll Boulevard Baptist Church.

Survivors include her husband; a son, Larry Eads of Spokane; two brothers, Jack and Victor Foster, both of Star, Idaho; two sisters, Barbara Smith of Steilacoom, Wash., and Alice Darr of Imperial Beach, Calif.; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.

Julie Kittelson Lewiston

A celebration of the life of Julie Ellen Kittelson, 46, will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Larry and Babby Inman’s home, 1025 Miner in Colville, Wash. Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home in Lewiston is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Kittelson, who was born in Republic, Wash., died Aug. 17.

She graduated in 1972 from Colville High School and attended Eastern Washington State College.

She worked as a medical billing representative in Colville, Spokane, Seattle and Tucson, Ariz., hospitals. Most recently she worked at the Community Psychiatric Clinic of Seattle. She recently returned to Lewiston.

Survivors include her parents, Earl and Bernie Kittelson of Clarkston, Wash.; her sister, Jennifer Artley of Grangeville, Wash.; two brothers, Kurt Kittelson of Seattle and Kris Kittelson of Colville; a niece, Allyn Kittelson of Colville and a nephew, Adam Wharf of Hermiston, Ore.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Registry, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm and Carlton Sts., Buffalo, N.Y., 14263.

Wray Featherstone Hayden Lake, Idaho

Private service will be held for Wray W. Featherstone, 87, at Yates Funeral Home in Hayden. Burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park in Spokane.

Mr. Featherstone, who died Aug. 19, was born in Wallace.

He graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in mining engineering, and was elected to the Sigma Tau engineering honorary.

Mr. Featherstone managed mines near Helena and Bellevue, Idaho. He worked at Hecla’s Lucky Friday and Star Mines. During World War II he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Mines and after the war he started Bres Mining Equipment. Later he joined Galconda Mining Corp., and became its president.

He served as general chairman of the 1967 Idaho Mining Association Convention held in Wallace. He was a member of the Hayden Lake Country Club, Rotary, Toastmasters and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.

Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Elinor; three sons, Wray Featherstone Jr., of Kirkland, Wash., Larry Featherstone of Wallace and John Featherstone of Spokane; and five grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of North Idaho, 280 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814.

Stanley Swecker Spokane

Graveside service for Stanley L. Swecker was Thursday at Pinecrest Cemetery in Deary, Idaho.

Mr. Swecker, 78, died Sunday. He was born in Deary, where he graduated from high school in 1940.

Mr. Swecker served in the Navy during World War II.

He was a 40-year Spokane resident and was a self-employed sign painter.

His wife preceded him in death.

Survivors include two daughters, Fern Swecker and Linda Haley, both of Spokane; three sons, Gerald and David Swecker, both of Spokane, and Rick Swecker of Sumner, Wash.; two sisters, Arlene Howell of Rathdrum, Idaho, and Verle Marshall of Springboro, Ohio; 15 grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and four stepgreat-grandchildren.

Ervin Wegner Spokane

Graveside service for Ervin Oscar Wegner, 77, was Thursday at Fairmount Memorial Park.

Born in Montana, Mr. Wegner died Sunday.

He was a 16-year Spokane resident and served in the Army during World War II.

Mr. Wegner worked as a service manager in an automotive repair shop in Spokane.

Survivors include his wife, Geraldine; a son, Monte Wegner of Spokane; and a daughter, Ramona Chinn of Anchorage, Alaska.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Union Gospel Mission.

Donald Hunter Spokane

Memorial service for Donald E. Hunter, 79, will be held at a later date. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Hunter, who died Saturday, was born in Rochester, Pa.

He served in the Army during World War II.

He was an apartment manager.

Mr. Hunter was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Deer Park.

His wife, Janice, died in 1996.

Survivors include a daughter, Kandis Harlow of Elk; four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association.

Robert Haigh Spokane

Private service will be held for Robert O. Haigh, 82. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-North is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Haigh, who was born in Seattle, died Wednesday.

He graduated in 1936 from Ballard (Wash.) High School.

Mr. Haigh worked at Boeing in Seattle from 1938 to 1940. He then worked for two years at the Sandpoint Naval Air Station in Seattle.

In 1943 he enlisted in the Navy and served in the Pacific Theater. He was discharged in 1945.

He returned to Seattle and went to telegrapher school. Mr. Haigh worked as a telegrapher and station agent for Great Northern Railroad. He worked in Odessa, Wash., from 1946 to 1956 and was transferred to Colville, Wash., where he worked for two years.

He served as the Stevens County deputy treasurer from 1958 to 1970. Mr. Haigh became a Justice of the Peace in 1970 and eventually became a District Court judge for Stevens County in 1975. He retired in 1978 and moved to Spokane.

He was a member of the Colville Masonic and Elks lodges.

Survivors include his wife of 32 years, Alice; two daughters, Myra Boughter and Adina Walsh, and two sons, James and Jon Sager, all of Spokane; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children.

Randolph Abbott Cheney

Memorial service for Randolph Joseph Abbott, 48, was Thursday in the chapel at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Mr. Abbott, who was born in Orange, Calif., died Friday.

Mr. Abbott moved to Cheney 15 years ago and worked as a registered nurse at Sacred Heart Medical Center.

He was currently serving as a captain in the Army Reserve.

He was a member of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Cheney.

Survivors include two daughters, Kimberly Abbott of San Diego and Tiffany Abbott of Phoenix; his parents, Harry and Dorothy Abbott of Lawton, Okla.; five brothers and three sisters.

Clifford Baumann Spokane

Service for Clifford A. Baumann, 87, will be at 10 a.m. today at Riplinger Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.

A 43-year Spokane resident, Mr. Baumann died Friday. He was born in Sherburn, Minn.

He served with the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s with former President Ronald Reagan.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940 and served during World War II in the Seventh Bomb Group with the Ninth Bomb Squadron with B-36s. He retired from the Air Force as a chief master sergeant in 1965.

Mr. Baumann worked for Washington Water Power for 11 years, retiring in 1977 as building foreman.

He was a member of Pilgrim Lutheran Church.

Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Frieda; a daughter, Marga Snipes, and a son, Michael Baumann, both of Spokane; a brother, Robert Baumann, and a sister, Vivian Erickson, both of Sherburn; and two grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Spokane Youth Sports Association.

Edith (Brookmiller) Melconian Coeur d’Alene

No service will be held for Edith C. (Brookmiller) Melconian, 89, at her request. Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Melconian, who died Aug. 18, was born in Sausalito, Calif.

She graduated from high school in Ashland, Calif., and then from UCLA.

Mrs. Melconian was the director of christian education at First Presbyterian Church in Spokane, where she lived until 1940. She moved to Kansas City and served as a director of christian education. She then became an executive secretary of the Presbyterian Board at McCormick Seminary in Chicago, where she met her husband.

In 1960 she married Dr. Verton Melconian in Evanston, Ill. He died in 1990.

Mrs. Melconian moved to Coeur d’Alene in 1992.

Survivors include a sister, Elizabeth Shadwick of Hayden, Idaho.

Stanley Rucker Spokane

Private service for Stanley Allen Rucker, a former Sandpoint resident, will be held. Coffelt Funeral Service in Sandpoint is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Rucker, who died Aug. 16., was born in Sandpoint, He was 45.

He attended schools in Kootenai and Sandpoint, and was a member of the Boy Scouts of America.

He worked for Panhandle Special Needs and with the janitorial department for Sandpoint School District.

In 1976 he moved to Spokane and attended the Vocational Rehabilitation School, under the janitorial program.

Mr. Rucker was a member of First Christian Church in Sandpoint.

Survivors include his parents, Sherman and Sharon Rucker of Sandpoint; five brothers, Steven Rucker of Duncan, Ariz., Shawn Rucker of Yakima, Sherman, Scott and Stacey Rucker, all of Sandpoint; his grandmother, Wilma Rucker of Sandpoint; and caregiver, Kelly Klein of Spokane.

Duane Clutter Mica

Service for Kenneth Duane Clutter, 86, was Saturday at Heritage Funeral Home. Burial followed at Riverside Memorial Park.

Born in Garfield, Utah, Mr. Clutter, died Aug. 16.

He graduated from Woodward (Okla.) High School.

In 1933 he married Lurabelle Taylor.

During World War II he worked for the Milwaukie Railroad in Malden, Wash., and as a carpenter for the Naval Depot in Spokane.

Mr. Clutter and his family lived in Mount Hope, near Fairfield, before moving to Mica 27 years ago.

He worked in the maintenance department at Washington Water Power Co.

Mr. Clutter was a member of the Restoration Church and the Gentlemen on Horseback.

Survivors include his wife; a son, Donovan Clutter of Deer Park; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Lucille Wendl Spokane

Private memorial service will be held for Lucille A. Wendl. Riplinger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Wendl, 88, died Tuesday. She was born in Belt, Mont.

She was a Spokane resident for more than 79 years and graduated from North Central High School.

Mrs. Wendl worked as a telephone operator for Pacific Northwest Bell.

She was a member of the Moose and Eagles lodges and the Brotherhood of Friends.

Her husband, Frank, died in 1997.

Survivors include two grandchildren, Gary Gwinnup of Spokane and Shawn Wallin of Bellevue, Wash.; and three great-grandchildren.

Burt Chestnut Wenatchee

Private memorial service for Burt Chestnut, a former Spokane resident, will be Saturday at the family home in Wenatchee. Tellford’s Chapel of the Valley in East Wenatchee, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Chestnut, who was born in Spokane, died Tuesday. He was 71.

His family moved to Calistoga, Calif., during his junior year in high school. After graduating in 1946 from Calistoga High School he joined the Air Force and served with the occupational forces in Japan. He was discharged in 1949 and returned to Spokane.

In 1950 he married Eleanore “Elly” Strawick.

Mr. Chestnut worked as a salesman for Fuller Paint Co.

In 1973 he moved to Wenatchee.

He later became safety director for the Washington State Farm Bureau in Wenatchee and retired in 1988.

Mr. Chestnut and his wife also owned an orchard from 1980 to 1998. He was a private pilot and was past president of the Washington Pilot’s Association.

Mr. Chestnut was a member of the National Farm Safety Institute, the American Legion and the Washington and American Farm bureaus. He also was a member of the El Katif Shrine and the Manito Masonic Lodge.

Survivors include his wife; five sons, Timothy Chestnut of Spokane, Kevin Chestnut of Moses Lake, Patrick Chestnut of Bellevue, Wash., Darin Chestnut of Maple Valley, Wash., and Jeffry Chestnut of Houston; a brother, Larry Chestnut of Gig Harbor, Wash.; and 11 grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Oncology Unit in care of Central Washington Hospital, 630 N. Chelan, Wenatchee, WA 98801; Our House, in care of Cancer Care of North Central Washington, 33 Furney St., Wenatchee, WA 98801; the Boys Scouts of America or the Shriners Hospital for Children.