Obituaries

Elmer ‘Joe’ Josephsen

Spokane

Memorial service for Elmer Ward Josephsen, 82, will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home.

Mr. Josephsen, who was born in Spokane, died Sunday.

He married his high school sweetheart, Marion, in 1942.

He moved to Bremerton at the start of World War II and began working in the shipyards.

He enlisted in the Army and was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division as a machine gunner and a paratrooper. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded twice on Jan. 7, 1945, within an 11-hour period. When night fell, he crawled to an aid station and was transported to England, later returning to finish the war. He was awarded two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star.

Upon his return home, he purchased a large tract on Waikiki Road and built a home. He grew potatoes and raised hay, cattle and several racehorses.

Mr. Josephsen worked in many trades, including as an upholsterer, in a metal foundry, as a metals tester for Kaiser Aluminum. He retired as a special delivery mailman.

He an avid collector of guns and was a marksman.

He was a member of Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Eagles Lodge and the National Rifle Association.

His wife died in 1989.

Survivors include three children, Nancy, Sandra and Steve; a brother, Robert of Bremerton; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Ogden Hall.

Harold Johnson

Spokane

Memorial service for Harold M. Johnson, 89, will be Sunday at 4 p.m. at Shadle Park Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Neptune Society is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Johnson, who was born in Ogilvie, Minn., died Thursday. He was a resident of the Spokane area for 25 years.

He worked as a mechanic for 30 years and had been an elder with the Shadle Park Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the past 25 years. He was an avid gardener and woodcutter.

Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Joyce; two daughters, Susan Williams of Stillwater, Minn., and Sandra Johnson of Minneapolis; three sisters, Lillie Jones of Mora, Minn., Anna Oleson of Seattle and Lois Alexander of Pillager, Minn.; a brother, Ralph Johnson of Ogilvie, Minn.; and two grandchildren.

Jack Warbrick

Ritzville, Wash.

Memorial service for Jack Warbrick, 81, was Tuesday at Zion Philadelphia Congregational Church in Ritzville.

Mr. Warbrick died Thursday.

Born in Wallace, he moved with family at a young age to Paradise, Mont., where he attended school. At 17, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, and then during World War II he worked in the shipyards in Seattle.

In 1946 he married Opal Hatfield. They lived in Springfield, Ore., where he owned his first grocery store and worked for the Springfield Police Department.

His wife died in 1967. Mr. Warbrick then moved to Elk, where he owned Millers One Stop grocery store.

In 1971 he married Carroll Black, and in 1982 they moved to Ritzville, where they owned and operated Jacks Empire Food in downtown Ritzville. They moved to Kettle Falls, Wash., in 1995 and then back to Ritzville in 2002.

Survivors include his wife; six children, Anna Kinch of Veneta, Ore., Betty Rowcliffe of Ritzville, P.J. Farance-Rabel of Valley, Wash., and Valorie Jackson, Robert Jackson and Jody Jackson-Cummins, all of Elk; a sister, Helen Walbridge of Las Vegas; two brothers, Robert of Hayden Lake, Idaho, and Gyme of Barnville, Ga.; 11 grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Memorial contributions be made to the Macula Vision Research Foundation, 5 Tower Bridge, 300 Barr Harbor Drive, Suite 600, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2984.

Marian (Giese) Morgan

Spokane

No service will be held for Marian E. (Giese) Morgan, 75, at her request. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Morgan, who was born in Lind, Wash., died Dec. 6.

In 1947 she met and married her husband, Clarence Morgan, as part of a promise Clarence had made to her brother. Clarence and Mrs. Morgan’s brother had both been in a POW camp during World War II and made a pact that when they returned home they would meet each other’s sister. Her brother died, but Clarence fulfilled his promise to meet his friend’s sister. They were married for 40 years.

Mrs. Morgan retired from the accounting department of The Spokesman-Review.

Her husband died in 1987, and there are no surviving family members.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Humane Society or Veterans of Foreign Wars.

William Tawater

Elk, Wash.

No service will be held for William Alexander Tawater, 83. Neptune Society handled the arrangements.

Mr. Tawater, who was born in Rockwall, Texas, died Dec. 7. He was a resident of Elk for 15 years.

He served in the Marine Corps during World War II in the China Theater as part of the Sino American Cooperative Organization. He achieved the rank of technical sergeant and received a Bronze Star.

After the war he graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and the University of Texas at Arlington.

Mr. Tawater was an electrical engineer for more than 50 years and retired from Hughes Aircraft as a staff engineer in 1985. He previously worked at General Motors in Kansas City, Mo., and North American Aviation in California.

He was a member of Institute of Electrical Engineers Inc. and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Survivors include his wife of 26 years, Mary; a son, Bill Tawater Jr. of Sunnyvale, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Terry Kelley of Elk.; three stepsons, Kris Ogle of Woodland Hills, Calif., Stan Ogle of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and Alex Ogle of Kalispell, Mont.; a brother, Bob Tawater of Fort Worth, Texas; 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Philip Samek

Nine Mile Falls

Visitation for Philip J. Samek, 78, will be today from 9 a.m. until the vigil service at 7 p.m., both at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. Interment will be at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Mr. Samek, who was born in South Heart, N.D., died Saturday.

He grew up in South Heart and worked for numerous farms beginning at age 7 to help his mother after his father’s death. He also worked for the Dickinson (N.D.) Department of Agriculture, B&B Railroad in Montana, and the Billings County Road Department in Medora, N.D., until he moved to Spokane in 1952.

In Spokane he worked for Murphy Brothers and N.A. Degerstrom until he became disabled and retired in 1975.

He was a member of Deer Park Eagles Lodge, Disabled American Veterans, Engineers Trust Fund Local 370 and St. Francis of Assisi Parish.

He enjoyed living on his farm with his peacocks, dogs, cats and chickens. He also enjoyed playing cards, dancing, going on trips with his dogs.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Minnie; two daughters, Bonita Cobb and Judy Samek, both of Nine Mile Falls; a son, Kelvin of Reno, Nev.; and six grandchildren.

Mary Hulbert

Liberty Lake

Visitation for Mary Alice Hulbert, 60, will be today from noon to 5 p.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home. Funeral will be Thursday at 10 a.m. at the Riverside Mausoleum, with a committal service at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.

Mrs. Hulbert, who died Sunday, was born in Moorland, Okla., and spent most of her childhood in Naples and Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

She graduated from Bonners Ferry High School in 1962 and moved to Spokane, where she met her husband, Darrel Hulbert.

Mrs. Hulbert most recently worked at Liberty Lake Elementary School, where she greatly enjoyed her position as lead cook.

She enjoyed traveling and was a Washington State University Cougar fan.

Survivors include her husband; a daughter, Penny Hulbert of Wenatchee; a son, Paul Hulbert, and her mother, Mary Ramey, both of Spokane; and two brothers, Benny Ramey of Spokane and Allen Ramey of Republic, Wash.

Gene Dondanville

Spokane

Service for Gene (Bell) Dondanville, 79, will be at a later date. Neptune Society is in charge of arrangements.

Mrs. Dondanville, who was born in Prosser, Wash., died Dec. 13. She was a longtime resident of Spokane.

She attended Prosser High School and a business college in Spokane. In 1945 she married Joe Dondanville.

Mrs. Dondanville was a manager in the licensing department for the Benton County Auditor’s Office for 25 years.

She was active in many clubs and enjoyed playing cards and reading.

Her husband died earlier.

Survivors include two daughters, Denise Potter of Spokane and Diane Starbuck of Richmond, Va.; a sister, Janet Davis; and six grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Horizon Hospice.

Alta Vietzke

Spokane

Private service for Alta Helen “Sally” Vietzke, 94, will be today at 2 p.m. at Fairmount Memorial Park.

Mrs. Vietzke, who was born in Honaker, Va., died Saturday.

She grew up in Freeman and Spokane and graduated from high school in the Spokane Valley. She married Clyde Vietzke in 1933, and they owned an excavating business and mobile home park in Airway Heights.

In 1943 she became one of the first women in Spokane to drive a city transit bus. She also worked in greenhouses and for Golden Age Brewery.

Her husband died in 1976.

Survivors include a son, Ron Vietzke; three grandsons and four great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.