Obituaries

Jack Kramer Tekoa, Wash.

Service for Jack E. Kramer, owner of Kramer funeral homes, will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Farmington, Wash. Burial will follow at the Goldenrod Cemetery in Tekoa. Kramer Funeral Home in Tekoa is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Kramer, who was born in Tekoa, died Wednesday. He was 75.

He graduated from high school in 1942 in Tekoa. During high school he was a drummer for the band and won second-place in the state competition in 1939.

Mr. Kramer worked at Kimball Funeral Home in Tekoa during high school and started an apprenticeship under Harold Kimball after graduation.

In 1943 he entered the Army Air Corps and was trained as a surgical technician in El Paso, Texas. He later was stationed at Strother Army Air Force Base in Winfield, Kan. Following the Battle of the Bulge, he was transferred to the infantry and sent overseas to the European Theater, where he participated in battles at Rhineland and in Central Europe. He was discharged as a corporal in 1945 and had received the American Theatre Service Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Service Medal, the Victory Medal and a Good Conduct Medal.

Mr. Kramer moved to Palouse, Wash., and in 1946 married Marian Sieveke. They lived in Palouse for one year before moving to Westminster, Calif., where he attended the California College of Mortuary Science. He graduated in 1948, returned to Tekoa and purchased Kimball Funeral Home in Tekoa. He later purchased the Kimball Funeral Home in Palouse and both names were later changed to Kramer Funeral Home. He also operated an ambulance service for the local area. He semi-retired in 1989.

He worked as a lab technician at the Tekoa Medical Clinic in the 1950s with Drs. Cressy, Purdy and Reinscmidt.

Mr. Kramer served on the Tekoa City Council for 20 years and was mayor of Tekoa from 1972 to 1977.

He was a member of the Kiwanis Club, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Tekoa Junior Chamber of Commerce, Oakesdale Masonic Lodge No. 55, and the Washington State and National Funeral Directors Association. He also was a 50-year member and past master of the Masonic Lodge in Tekoa, a 50-year member of the El Katif Shrine in Spokane and a volunteer fireman.

Mr. Kramer had served on the Tekoa School Board in the late 1950s and helped during the planning and building of the current high school.

He was an avid golfer and helped to establish the Tekoa Golf Course, gave golf lessons and maintained the greens for several years. He also played in the Slippery Gulch Players band during the Fourth of July community celebration every year.

Survivors include Marian Kramer of Tekoa; three sons, Mark and Robert Kramer, both of Palouse, and Jason Kramer of Tekoa; a daughter, Jill Wise of Kennewick; five grandchildren; and his companion of 20 years, Teresa Schuman of Tekoa.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Tekoa Ambulance Fund or the Tekoa Care Center.

Pauline McKee-Mellon Spokane

Graveside service for Pauline McKee-Mellon, 78, will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Greenwood Memorial Terrace. Spokane Cremation and Burial Service is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. McKee-Mellon, who was born in Wichita, Kan., died June 4.

She was a food server at the Spokane International Airport.

Mrs. McKee-Mellon was preceded in death by her first husband of 37 years, Floyd McKee, and her second husband, Edward Mellon, who died in 1995.

Survivors include two sons, Warren and Ronald McKee; two daughters, Loretta Carman and Paula Muto-Strom; 14 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Carlosse Brown Spokane

Visitation for Carlosse K. Brown, 17, will be from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Heritage Funeral Home. Service is planned for 1 p.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Riverside Memorial Park.

Mr. Brown, a lifetime Spokane resident, died Monday from stab wounds he suffered Monday in west Spokane.

Survivors include his parents, Virginia Brown and William Hedges; and a brother, Samuel Brown.

Memorial contributions may be made to Crime Victims, P.O. Box 44520, Olympia, WA 98504-4520.

Marguerite Hunton Spokane

Rosary service for Marguerite M. Hunton, 94, will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South. Funeral Mass is planned from 10 a.m. Monday at The Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes. Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Mrs. Hunton, who was born in Wallace, Idaho, died Wednesday.

She grew up in a Catholic orphanage in Wallace.

Mrs. Hunton moved to Spokane after graduating from high school in 1924. She graduated from Sacred Heart School of Nursing in 1927.

She was a registered nurse for several years and worked for Dr. Robert Rotchford, the Spokane Naval Supply Depot and Sacred Heart Hospital.

Mrs. Hunton was a member of St. Aloysius, Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral parishes.

Her husband, John, preceded her in death.

Survivors include three sons, Robert, William and Thomas Hunton, and a daughter, Marguerite Lattanzio, all of Spokane; 21 grandchildren, 56 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the House of Charity or Of Our Lady Of Lourdes Cathedral.

Paul Garcia Granite Bay, Calif.

Memorial service for Paul Garcia, 51, was held in California. Mr. Garcia, who was born in Spokane, died May 27 at his vacation home in Coeur d’Alene.

He lived in Spokane until moving to the San Francisco area in 1957, and returned to the family’s summer cabin on Coeur d’Alene Lake nearly every year.

Mr. Garcia received an engineering degree and a business degree from Oregon State University, and then began a career as a real estate developer and investor.

Mr. Garcia also owned a summer lake cabin at Echo Bay on Coeur d’Alene Lake, and participated in the Coeur d’Alene Inland Empire Wooden Boat Show. He won many awards for his 1957 Century Coronado wooden boat, “Daughter Serra.”

Survivors include his wife, Sue (Stoeven); two daughters, Serra and Peri; his mother, Edmee Garcia of California; a sister, Brenda Garcia of Coeur d’Alene; and a brother, Geoffrey Garcia of Oregon.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Special Olympics.

Glen Nirk Post Falls

Memorial service for Glen Edward Nirk, 78, will be June 17 at 1 p.m. at the home of Ron and Janie Nirk in Potlatch, Idaho. Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Nirk, who was born on the family farm in Potlatch, died Sunday.

He attended Deep Creek School, then graduated from Potlatch High School in 1939 and served with the Army infantry during World War II.

Mr. Nirk married Opal Brandt in 1946. She died in 1963.

He then married Janet Foster in 1964, and they later divorced.

Mr. Nirk worked as a farmer, a cattle buyer for Y-J Packing Co., was a carpenter for Boise Cascade and a realtor with Brian Bacon and Realty World until retiring in 1989.

He was active in gardening and fishing.

Survivors include three sons, Jim and Dwayne Nirk, both of Post Falls, and Jeff Nirk of Athol, Idaho; a daughter, Carolyn Janzen of Spokane; a brother, Ron Nirk of Potlatch, Idaho; three sisters, Cleora Strong of Moscow, Idaho, Leola Barner of Post Falls, and Norma Jean Crydebring of Potlatch; 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Elta Wykoff Spokane

Memorial service for Elta M. Wykoff, 96, will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Fowler United Methodist Church. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Wykoff, who was born in Kent, Ill., died Tuesday.

She was a 30-year Spokane resident and a homemaker.

Mrs. Wykoff was a member of Fowler United Methodist Church and Spokane Chapter No. 163 of Order of Eastern Star.

Her husband of 50 years, Loren, died in 1987.

Survivors include two sons, Alfred and Edwin Wykoff; a daughter, Barbara Lister; six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross or Fowler United Methodist Church.

Loyd Atkerson Lind, Wash.

Graveside service with vault burial for Loyd T. Atkerson, 76, will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Lind Cemetery. Memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. at Lind Zion Congregational United Church of Christ. Danekas Funeral Home in Ritzville, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Atkerson, who died Wednesday, was born in Sallisaw, Okla.

He moved to Sunnyside, Wash., when he was 14 and helped to build the East High Canal. Mr. Atkerson worked at Hanford Nuclear Reservation during World War II and moved to Ritzville in 1946.

He owned and operated the Sunshine Diner in Ritzville for a few years. He later sold the restaurant and began working at the Circle T Inn.

In 1948 he married Erna Floether.

He later managed Hand’s Cafe at the Greyhound Bus Depot until 1953, when he and his wife moved to the Carl Harder Ranch near Ritzville. In 1957 they moved to the Alex Floether farm in Lind, and in 1960 they purchased a farm five miles north of Lind.

Mr. Atkerson was a member of Zion Congregational United Church of Christ and the Lind Lions Club.

Survivors include his wife; two sons, Bruce Atkerson of Wenatchee and Brian Atkerson of Kent, Wash.; a daughter, Brenda Michaels of Issaquah, Wash.; four sisters, Virginia Aaron, Evelyn Cockran, Pearl Copeland and Louise Mullenex, all of Oklahoma; and three grandchildren.

Memorial contributions be made to the Zion Congregational United Church of Christ in Lind.

Lucille Waterman Post Falls

Visitation for Lucille R. Waterman, 81, will be from 9 a.m. to noon Monday at English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls. Service will follow at 1 p.m. at the chapel with burial to take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Post Falls.

Mrs. Waterman, who was born in Tennessee, died Thursday.

She graduated from high school in White Bluff, Tenn., in 1936 and moved to Spokane in 1961.

She married Robert Waterman in 1974, and they settled in Post Falls the same year.

Mrs. Waterman was a member of the Post Falls Baptist Church, Royal Neighbors of America, American Legion and was a founder of the Post Falls Grandmother’s Club.

She had served as past commander of the Post Falls Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary, and was involved with Bible school and served as nursery director at Driscoll Baptist Church in Spokane. Mrs. Waterman had served 1,500 hours as a volunteer at the Spokane Veteran’s Hospital.

Her husband died in 1990.

Survivors include a son, Harvey Copeland of Post Falls; three stepsons, Robert Waterman of Anchorage, Alaska, Frank Waterman of Oldtown, Idaho, and John Waterman of Idaho; a daughter, Patricia Mayall of Post Falls; a stepdaughter, Beth Wood of Sandpoint; a brother, George Varden of Mount Juliet, Tenn.; a sister, Thelma Gaddis of Nashville, Tenn.; 21 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

Janet `Sissy’ McIntyre Spokane

Memorial service for Janet “Sissy” L. McIntyre, 34, is planned for 1 p.m. Monday at Minnehaha Covenant Church. A potluck will follow the service. Spokane Cremation and Burial Service is in charge of arrangements.

Miss McIntyre, who was born in Deer Park, died Monday.

Survivors include her parents, Jim and Betty McIntyre of Spokane; three brothers, John and Jim McIntyre, both of Spokane, and Jeff McIntyre of Avery, Idaho; and two sisters, Jessica and Joanne McIntyre, both of Spokane; Memorial contributions may be made to Shriners Hospital for Children.

Frank Rogers Spokane

No service will be held for Frank Rogers. At his request, a party will be held in his honor at 3 p.m. Sunday at 1707 W. Euclid. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Rogers, who was born in Fort Knox, Ky., died Monday from kidney failure. He was 34.

He graduated from North Central High School and attended Spokane Falls Community College.

He worked as a food server and bartender. He sang in two rock bands in the 1980s and later entertained in Hawaii, San Francisco and Spokane.

Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Jonni and Greg Hernandez of Grand Junction, Colo.; his father, John Rogers of Spokane; three sisters, Jonette Marshall of Avery, Idaho, and Brandy and Dawnele Hernandez, both of Phoenix; a brother, Brad Rogers of Bellingham; and his grandmother, Dorothy Rogers of Butte, Mont.