Obituaries
Gary LaRose Everett
Private memorial service for Gary G. LaRose, 64, will be held at a later date. Purdy and Walters with Cassidy Funeral Home in Everett is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Spokane, Mr. LaRose died Sunday.
He graduated from Lewis and Clark High School, Whitman College in Walla Walla and San Jose (Calif.) State University.
Mr. LaRose was a teacher at Spokane Falls Community College, where he started the drug and alcohol counseling program. He also worked for a drug and alcohol treatment program in Spokane and as a peer counselor for the Spokane School District.
He and his wife, Barbara, moved to Bellevue in 1987 from Spokane and recently to Everett.
Survivors include his wife of 42 years; a daughter, Ann Christianson; a son, Kevin LaRose; four brothers, Bill, Jack, Howard and Dave LaRose; a sister, Doris Loffler; and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Overlake Hospital Foundation, Lang Oncology Unit, 1035 116th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 or Guide Dogs for the Blind, P.O. Box 151200, San Rafael, CA 94195.
John Doneen Tekoa, Wash.
Funeral Mass for John H. Doneen, 83, will be at 11 a.m. today at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church in Spokane. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A lifetime Whitman County resident, Mr. Doneen died Sunday. Born in Oakesdale, Wash., he worked as a farmer in the Tekoa area.
Mr. Doneen was a member of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Tekoa.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Grace; four sons, Lawrence and Tim Doneen, both of Carnation, Wash., Mark Doneen of Shoreline, Wash., and Byron Doneen of Laguna Hills, Calif.; two daughters, Kathleen Koons of Shoreline and Susan Caruso of Federal Way, Wash.; a sister, Doris Colvin of Tenino, Wash.; 15 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.
David Farris Spokane
Service for David L. Farris, 58, was Saturday at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Burial followed on the Colville (Wash.) Indian Reservation.
Mr. Farris, who was born in Spokane, died Sept. 13.
He worked in the wood products industry.
Mr. Farris moved back to Spokane 30 years ago.
Survivors include six sons, Lowell, Trevor and Derek Farris, Curtis Clark and Jim and Brian Phillips; five daughters, Amy Farris, Helen Reynolds, Geri Phillips, Shelly Boy and Tricia Gaunt; a brother, Butch Farris; four sisters, Shirley, Donna, Gloria and Carol; and numerous grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Diane (Hooper) Vigil Spokane
No service will be held for Diane K. (Hooper) Vigil, 61, at her request. Ball and Dodd Funeral Home-South is in charge of arrangements.
A lifetime Spokane resident, Mrs. Vigil died Monday.
She was a homemaker and a member of Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary 2218.
Survivors include a daughter, Marci Davis, and a son, Brad Vigil, both of Spokane; two sisters, Susan Rounsville of Spokane and Mary Noble of New Mexico; a brother, Ron Hooper of Spokane; and two grandsons.
Edward Watt Elk
Service for Edward Ole Watt, 65, was held Wednesday at Elk Community Church. Burial followed at the Elk Community Cemetery. Lauer Funeral Home in Deer Park was in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Watt, who was born in Inchelium, Wash., died Friday. He was a 34-year Elk resident.
He graduated from North Central High School in the early 1950s and after graduation served in the Navy Reserves.
He was a fire-hydrant repairman for the city of Spokane Water Division for 28 years before retiring in 1983.
Mr. Watt was a member of the Elk Community Church, the Inland Grange in Elk and the Spokane City Employees Union.
Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Virginia; a son, Mike Watt of Elk; his father, Paul Watt of Spokane; a brother, Paul Watt Jr. of Olympia; four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Lester Larsen Post Falls
Vigil for Lester Martin Larsen, 80, will be held today at 7:30 p.m. at English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls. Service will be Friday at 1 p.m. at the funeral chapel.
Mr. Larsen, who was born in Plymouth, Wis., died Sunday.
He moved to Idaho in 1954 from Wisconsin and worked for the Army Corp of Engineers quality control division as a concrete production inspector at Dworshak Dam.
Mr. Larsen married Lydia Candelaria in 1944, and the couple later settled in Post Falls. She preceded him in death.
He was a member of the Environmental Alliance and Idaho Rivers United.
Survivors include two sons, Biron Larsen of Coeur d’Alene and Calvin “Tony” Larsen of San Jose, Calif.; two daughters, Theresa (Larsen) Woods of Coeur d’Alene and Linda (Larsen) Wozniak of Olympia; a sister, Verneda Hackner of La Crosse, Wis.; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Idaho Rivers United, P.O. Box 633, Boise, ID 83701, or the Kootenai Environmental Alliance.
Cheryl Clason Spokane
Service for Cheryl J. Clason, 55, will be at 10 a.m. today at Trinity Baptist Church. Burial will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Clason, who was born in Tacoma, died Sunday.
She was a 35-year Spokane resident and worked as a nurses’ assistant in adult family homes.
Survivors include her husband, Neal; a son, Kyle Doran of Tacoma; a daughter, Jodi Herman of Spokane; a stepson, Sevenn Clason of Denise, Wis.; a sister, Diana Januescheits of Spokane; and eight grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Rebecca Clacy Spokane
Memorial service for Rebecca L. Clacy, 43, will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Heritage Funeral Home.
Mrs. Clacy, who was born in Spokane, died Saturday.
She returned to Spokane more than 12 years ago.
Mrs. Clacy owned and operated A Kneeded Touch for five years, where she also worked as a massage therapist.
In 1994 she married Jeff Clacy.
Survivors include her husband; a son, Ryan Fatone of Spokane; two stepdaughters, Tia and Alyse Clacy, both of Spokane; her mother, Bobby Allen; and three sisters, Myah Allen of Spokane, Tina Bauer of Seattle and Lana Reynolds of Lakewood, Calif.
Bill Hopkins Deer Park
No service will be held for Bill J. Hopkins, 71. The holiday season Santa House in Deer Park will be held in his honor from Dec. 15 to 24. The Neptune Society of Washington is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Washburn, Mo., Mr. Hopkins died Sept. 7.
He graduated from high school in Exeter, Mo., and served in the Army for a short time before World War II ended.
He and his wife, Nancy, moved to Deer Park in 1975.
Mr. Hopkins owned and operated apartments for senior citizens in the Deer Park area. He also had worked in real estate, owned and operated a service station, and raised chickens and turkeys.
Mr. Hopkins established the Santa House in Deer Park in the mid 1970s. In conjunction with the Tri-County Association of the Arts, he sponsored the Santa House Art Contest.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years; three daughters, Janice Guernsey, Lian Hopkins and Ellen Altimaro, all of California; a stepdaughter, Debbie Poss of California; and five grandchildren.
James White III Oklahoma City
Memorial service for James Edward “Jim” White III, 40, will be held at a later date.
Mr. White, who was born in Spokane, died Sept. 9 from injuries suffered after being hit by an automobile while trying to cross a highway.
He was a former resident of Spokane and Clark Fork and Kamiah, Idaho.
He married Lynne Getz in 1987. They later divorced.
Mr. White worked as a carpenter. At the time of his death he was making guitars in Oklahoma City.
Survivors include a son, James White of Cheney; his father and stepmother, Jim and Connie White of Clark Fork; three sisters, Kathy Tomayko of Spokane, Jackie Arnett of Clarkston, Wash., and Judy Hoaglund of Kent, Wash.; and five brothers, Steve and Randy Hoaglund, both of Spokane, Gary Hoaglund of Clark Fork, Jay White of Osaka, Japan, and John White of North Carolina.
Joseph Dennis Spokane
Service for Joseph R. Dennis, 79, will be at 3 p.m. Friday at Heritage Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
Mr. Dennis, who was born in Colorado Springs, died Saturday.
He served in the Army during World War II and in 1947 married Helen. He had lived in Spokane for the past 53 years.
Mr. Dennis worked as a firefighter for the city of Spokane.
He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, the Southside Senior Activity Center and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.
Survivors include his wife; four daughters, Jody Hart of Wapato, Wash., Linda George of Tonopah, Nev., and Debra Kauffman and Diana Triesch, both of Spokane; a son, Joseph Dennis of Anchorage, Alaska; 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be to the St. Anne’s Children Home or the Shriners Hospital for Children.