Obituaries
Robert Eller
Spokane
Visitation for Robert C. Eller, 89, will be today from 2 to 8 p.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home. Memorial service will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Millwood Community Presbyterian Church. There will be private burial.
Mr. Eller, who was born in Spokane, died Tuesday.
He attended Millwood Grade School, and in 1933 graduated from West Valley High School. He attended Spokane Junior College, Washington State University and Montana School of Mines in Butte.
Mr. Eller was a retired photogrammetric engineer of the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Va., and a former editor-in-chief of the technical journal “Surveying and Mapping.”
He was also an emeritus member and former news editor of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the author and editor of many technical publications.
He was a Boy Scout leader in Manassas, Va., for 15 years.
He later returned to Spokane.
Survivors include his wife, Sedoris; a stepdaughter, Ellen Kennedy; a stepson, Dale Johnson; a brother, Richard Bazard of Eureka, Calif.; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Union Gospel Mission or Millwood Presbyterian Church.
Bessie ‘June’ Babcock
Spokane
Memorial service for Bessie “June” (Newton) Babcock, 81, was Friday at Ridgeview Christian Church.
Ms. Babcock, a 24-year Spokane resident, died last Monday. She was born in Tonasket, Wash.
She graduated from Tonasket High School in 1941 and from the University of California at Davis in 1958 with a degree in education. She received a master’s degree in psychology in 1981 from Eastern Washington University.
In 1945 she married Allen Babcock.
Ms. Babcock taught kindergarten and elementary school in California for 25 years, retiring in 1983. After retiring, she taught English in the South Pacific, Japan and Latvia.
She also did volunteer charity work with organizations in Brazil, Japan, South Africa, Botswana and Spokane. She was a member of Alpha Kappa Gamma.
Her husband died in 1980.
Survivors include a daughter, Karel McElfish of Spokane; a sister, Mildred Hougan of Marysville, Wash.; two brothers, Dan Newton of Oroville, Wash., and Clarence Newton of Tonasket; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Healing the Children of the Inland Northwest, 1323 S. Browne St., Spokane, WA 99204.
Bruce Salberg
Spokane
No service will be held for Bruce Salberg, 65, at his request. Spokane Cremation and Burial Service handled the arrangements.
Mr. Salberg, who died Nov. 30, was born in Fargo, N.D. He was a longtime resident of Spokane.
He graduated from Rogers High School in 1957 and attended the Browne Institute for Broadcasting in Minneapolis. He operated a radio station in Princeton, Minn., for many years as an announcer and sales director.
Survivors include two sons, Scott Salberg of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Chris Salberg of Cranberry, Pa.
Donald Hansen
Coeur d’Alene
Private service for Donald C. Hansen, 92, will be held. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Hansen, who was born in Seattle, died Friday.
He married Tillie Gabelein in 1938, and they lived in the Seattle area.
Mr. Hansen worked as a marine engineer on his family’s fishing boat, American Star, and during the winter months he installed and repaired furnaces and was a marine electrician in the shipyards.
He and his wife moved to the Coeur d’Alene area in 2001.
He was a member of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Seattle and was a past member of the Elks Lodge.
Mr. Hansen enjoyed tinkering, fixing things and golf.
He was a volunteer, teaching English as a second language, and supported various charities.
Survivors include his wife; three children, Robert Hansen of Camano Island, Wash., Barbara Hansen of Coeur d’Alene and Linda Sawicki of Tucson, Ariz.; a sister, Florence Beiahn of Seattle; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Carol Clark McIntyre
Sandpoint
Private service for Carol Clark McIntyre, 88, has been held.
Mrs. McIntyre, who was born in Haxtun, Colo., died Dec. 5.
She grew up in Brawley, Calif., and attended college in Pasadena.
She married Donald McIntyre Sr., and the couple lived in Pasadena for many years.
They moved to Van Nuys, Calif., in 1953 and to Sunnyvale, Calif., in 1963.
Mrs. McIntyre was active with the Sunnyvale Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and sang with the LDS Palo Alto Stake Choir for many years.
She moved to Sandpoint in 1994 to be near family.
Mrs. McIntyre enjoyed music and gardening and had a great sense of humor. She was an accomplished musician on the violin and piano in her younger years.
Her husband preceded her in death.
Survivors include a daughter, Marilyn McIntyre of Bonner County; a granddaughter; and four great-granddaughters.
Memorials may be made to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sandpoint Ward, 602 Schweitzer Cut-off Road, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Frances Melchert
Spokane
Memorial service for Frances R. Melchert, 82, was last Monday at the Good Samaritan Village.
Mrs. Melchert, who was born in Spokane, died Nov. 30.
A lifelong resident of Washington and Idaho, she attended Garden Springs Grade School and graduated from Lewis and Clark High School.
She worked as a retail clerk for West Valley Pharmacy until it closed.
Mrs. Melchert enjoyed gardening, traveling and fishing. She and her husband particularly enjoyed summers spent at Bull Lake in Montana, and in their travel trailer at Trestle Creek, Idaho.
Her husband of 59 years, Leslie, preceded her in death.
Survivors include two daughters, Judy Thrawley of Otis Orchards and Sandra Griffith of Spokane; a son, Robert Melchert of Harrisburg, Pa.; 10 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to Good Samaritan Village Extended Care Unit.
Grover Black
Cheney
No service will be held for Grover Roy Black, 90, at his request. The Neptune Society is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Black, a longtime Cheney resident, died Dec. 3.
He was born in Umapine, Ore. He moved to Spokane at an early age and attended school there. In 1953 he married his wife, Bonnie, and they raised their children on a ranch just outside of Cheney.
Mr. Black was always busy, either inventing something, building or remodeling a house or fixing something in his shop, but his real love was farming, and in 1964 he and two of his sons started farming in Moses Lake.
Mr. Black and his wife also owned various restaurants, including A&Ws, in Cheney and Dayton, Wash. They retired in 1995 and built their summer home on Lake Pend Oreille in Bayview, Idaho.
Survivors include his wife; four children, Daryl and Dale Black, both of Moses Lake, Lynn Ham of Olympia and Terry Goodrich of Spokane; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Rilla (Johnson) Smith
Spokane
Memorial service for Rilla May (Johnson) Smith, 79, will be held in the spring and her ashes will be buried next to her husband at Vineland Cemetery in Clarkston, Wash.
Mrs. Smith, who died Tuesday, was a resident of Clarkston for more than 50 years before moving to Spokane in 2003.
She was born in Nampa, Idaho. When she was 16 she married James Sutton in Gooding, Idaho, and they had three children. They were divorced in 1946, and she married Walter Smith in 1947. He adopted the three children, and they had three more.
Mrs. Smith worked as a bookkeeper.
She was preceded in death by her husband.
Survivors include three children, John Smith of Spokane, June Gillespie of Grandview, Wash., and Edna Segan of Port Orchard, Wash.; two sisters, Jo Benham of Cusick, Wash., and Peggy Griswold of Modesto, Calif.; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
JoAnn (Colliton) Garvin
Grand Coulee
Memorial service for JoAnn G. (Colliton) Garvin, 73, will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Strate Funeral Home, Grand Coulee.
Mrs. Garvin died Thursday.
She was born in Spokane, where in 1949 graduated from Rogers High School.
In 1954 she married Thomas Garvin in Coeur d’Alene.
Mrs. Garvin worked in banking for 20 years in Spokane before moving to the Grand Coulee Dam area in 1974. She was a deputy clerk for the town of Electric City, Wash., for more than 20 years.
She was a member of the Eagles Lodge, and enjoyed gambling.
Her husband preceded her in death.
Survivors include three daughters, Cheryl Garvin of Electric City, Connie Fauble of Phoenix and Cindi Boyd of Sumner, Wash.; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Robert Schultz
Spokane
No service will be held for Robert E. Schultz, 62, at his request. His remains will be scattered at sea at a later date.
Mr. Schultz, a resident of Spokane for 15 years, died Nov. 25. He was born in Fort Benton, Mont.
He served in the Navy for 22 years. Upon retirement from the Navy, he and his family settled in Missoula, where he attended the University of Montana. In 1989 he moved his family to Spokane.
Mr. Schultz worked for Goodwill Industries of Spokane until 2000 when heart disease forced him into early retirement.
Survivors include his wife of 33 years, Patty; five children, Roberta, Timothy, Samuel, Jessica and Philip Schultz, all of Spokane; a sister, Jackie Schultz of Claymont, Del.; two brothers, James and Fred Schultz both of Alaska; and two grandchildren.
Kenneth Cameron
Spokane
No service will be held for Kenneth Stuart Cameron, 83, at his request. Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Cameron, who died Nov. 28, was born in San Leandro, Calif.
He served in the Air Force, retiring from Fairchild Air Force Base in 1964 after 23 years. He then went to work for Van Waters and Rogers, Division of Univac as an agricultural salesman, retiring in 1982.
His first wife, Evelyn, died in 1977.
Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Mary; five children, Catherine Comas, Margaret Krous, James and Kenneth Cameron, and Ellen Blomquist; five stepchildren, Craig, Karen, Janey, Scott and David Elkins; 18 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Spokane Veterans Home.
Joseph Gregersen
Spokane
Visitation for Joseph W. Gregersen, 81, will be today from 8 a.m. to noon at Riplinger Funeral Home. Funeral will follow at 2 p.m. at the funeral home.
Mr. Gregersen, who died Wednesday, was born in Sioux City, Iowa. He was a resident of Spokane for 69 years.
He served in the Navy during World War II. He was a former police officer with the Spokane Police Department before becoming a chiropractor and operating his own clinic for many years on West Francis.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Evelyn Winter Gregersen.
Survivors include two brothers, Donald Gregersen of Spokane and Charlie Gregersen of Stockton, Calif.; and a sister, Pearl Johnson of Spokane.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.
Irene (Junes) Bishop
Spokane Valley
Graveside service for Irene Ellen (Junes) Bishop, 87, will be today at 2 p.m. at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Hennessey Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Bishop, who was born in Menahga, Minn., died Wednesday. She was a resident of the Spokane area for 60 years.
She married Robert Bishop in 1956. She was a homemaker.
Survivors include her husband; a brother, Clifford Junes of Minnesota; and two sisters, Helen Wilson of Clayton, Wash., and Vickie Goodwin of California.
Max Delconte
Sandpoint
Private service for Max Emile Delconte, 57, was held.
Mr. Delconte, who was born in Ogden, Utah, died last Monday.
He moved to the Sandpoint area with his family in 1951.
He worked as a bander operator at Merritt Brothers Lumber in Athol, Idaho, for the past 15 years.
Mr. Delconte enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping.
Survivors include his wife, Linda; two children, Sarah of Sandpoint, and Jesse McEvers of Moses Lake, Wash.; a sister, Carol; two brothers, Michael and Dan; and two grandchildren.