Obituaries
Norman Travis
Pullman
Funeral for Norman Travis, 81, will be today at 1:30 p.m. at the Pullman Church of the Nazarene. Kimball Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Travis died Sunday.
He was born at the family home outside of Pullman. He attended Bearvidelle School and Johnson School and graduated from Colton High School.
He married Marilyn Nelson in 1952, and the couple made their home in Pullman.
He went to work with his father and brother farming southwest of Pullman.
Mr. Travis later went to work at the Washington State University in the food and housing department, retiring in 1980 after 23 years.
He enjoyed building and collecting model cars.
He was preceded in death by his wife.
Survivors include seven children, Terry Travis of Pullman, Sandy Travis of Anchorage, Alaska, Michelle Travis of Lewiston, Lisa Travis of Spanaway, Wash., Tamela Ranicke of Anchorage, Cheri Travis of Colfax and Todd Travis of Lewiston; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pullman Church of the Nazarene.
Thomas Williams
Clark Fork, Idaho
Memorial service for Thomas Edwin “Tom” Williams, 58, will be today at 6:30 p.m. at Hope Elementary School in Hope, Idaho. Coffelt Funeral Service in Sandpoint is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Williams, who was born in Bloomington, Ill., died July 16.
He moved to Alaska more than 20 years ago and worked as a gold miner, bartender, salesman and entrepreneur in Hope, Alaska.
He later settled in Clark Fork.
Mr. Williams owned many businesses over the years, including an auditing business where he worked with Nations Insurance Co.. He most recently helped set up the Clark Fork Economic Development Corp.
During the late 1970s he served as a pro-gold miners activist in support of a person’s right to legally mine for gold without interference from outside interests.
He enjoyed helping those in need and was a Christian.
Mr. Williams will be remembered as a modern-day pioneer with a hardy spirit and a permanent smile.
Survivors include two sons, Robert Williams of Italy and Douglas Williams of Anchorage, Alaska; a sister, Carol Williams of Virginia; and two grandsons.
Lila Barker
Spokane
Viewing for Lila Mae Barker, 83, will be today and Friday from noon to 5 p.m. at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with committal service at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Mrs. Barker, who died Saturday, was born in Molson, Wash.
She graduated from Central Washington College and taught first grade for more than 30 years in Okanogan, Spokane and Moses Lake.
She served as president of Alpha Theta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, Moses Lake Retired Teachers Association and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary in Moses Lake.
She was a member of Alpha Xi Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma.
Mrs. Barker enjoyed traveling and was an active member of Good Sams and Loners of America recreational vehicle clubs.
Her husband of 34 years, Robert Barker, died earlier.
Survivors include a son, William Barker of Spokane; two sisters, Eleanor Veltri of Spokane and Doris Rubini of Eugene, Ore.; and two granddaughters.
Yuriy Fomenko
Spokane
Funeral for Yuriy G. Fomenko, 51, was Saturday at the Slavic Christian Church.
Mr. Fomenko, who died July 14, was born in Kishinev, Moldova. He was a longtime resident of Spokane.
He was an associate pastor and Bible teacher for the Slavic Christian Church.
Survivors include his wife of 28 years, Larisa; four sons, Misha, Victor, Sasha and Daniel Fomenko; three daughters, Svetlana Kopets, Mila Secrieriu and Tanya Fomenko; his mother, Sinaida Fomenko; a brother, Edward Fomenko; four sisters, Svetlana Bozu, Raisa Tokun, Liliya Oleynik and Lyuba Chekota; and four grandchildren.
Shirley Stockwell
Post Falls
Visitation for Shirley Leilani Stockwell, 72, will be today from 5 to 8 p.m. at Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene. Service will be Friday at 2 p.m. at the funeral home with burial at Fort Rosecrans Cemetery in San Diego.
Mrs. Stockwell, who was born in Honolulu, died Monday.
She grew up and attended school in Honolulu and settled in California after World War II.
She married James David in 1951, and their marriage later ended.
She married Howard Stockwell, and the couple lived in San Diego.
Her husband died in 1963, and she later moved to Rose Lake, Idaho.
Mrs. Stockwell moved to Post Falls in 1980.
Survivors include two sons, Preston Stockwell of Bonners Ferry and Howard Stockwell of Napa, Calif.; a daughter, Darla O’Bryan of Turlock, Calif.; two brothers, Charles Ward of California and Bob Ward of Texas; seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Ellen Boots
Spokane
Visitation for Ellen B. Boots, 82, will be today from noon to 8 p.m. at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home. Service will be Friday at 1 p.m. at Pines Cemetery Mausoleum in Spokane Valley.
Mrs. Boots, who died Monday, was born in Miles City, Mont. She was a resident of Spokane for 62 years.
She was a homemaker.
She enjoyed traveling and square dancing and was a former member of the Star Shooters square dancing club.
Her husband, Ray Boots, died in 2002.
Survivors include three children, Ron Port of Spokane, Colin Port of St. Maries and Sue Riddle of Deer Park; two stepdaughters, Susan Fleming and Pam Boeck; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Spokane Guilds’ School, 2118 W. Garland Ave., Spokane, WA 99205.
Floyd Funderburg
Bonners Ferry, Idaho
Service for Floyd Cody Funderburg, 83, will be today at 1 p.m. at the Bonners Ferry Funeral Home, with burial at Moravia Cemetery near Bonners Ferry.
Mr. Funderburg, who was born in Portales, N.M., died Sunday.
He lived in New Mexico until moving to Arizona with his parents in 1939 and lived there for one year. He then lived in California for two years before the family settled in Oregon in 1942.
He moved back to California in1950 and married Betty Jane Hudson in 1951.
The couple had five children, and in 1967 the family moved to Bonners Ferry.
His wife, Betty, died earlier.
Survivors include four children, Nina Saunders, Lloyd Funderburg, Patricia Walls and Jessie Funderburg; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Nicholas Fry
Spokane
Memorial service for Nicholas J. Fry, 52, will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Fry, who died Monday, was born in Spokane.
He attended West Valley High School and graduated from Spokane Community College and Gonzaga University.
Mr. Fry worked for several loan companies and a bank.
He was involved for many years with Alcoholics Anonymous and enjoyed gardening and flowers.
Survivors include a daughter, Leah Harding of Ohio; his parents, Lois and Steve Fry; a brother, Daniel Fry; and two grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Zion Lutheran Church.
Emma Wyatt
Spokane
Graveside service for Emma M. Wyatt, 88, will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Spokane Memorial Gardens. Thornhill Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Wyatt, who was born in Lind, Wash., died July 13.
She graduated from Lind High School and moved to Spokane in 1948 from Portland.
She worked for several jewelers for 45 years, retiring in the 1980s.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Henry Meske in 1979 and Robert Wyatt in 1995.
Memorial contributions may be made to Love Your Neighbor Ministries, P.O. Box 1886, Gresham, OR, 97030-0569 or Emmanuel Lutheran Church.
Kenneth Roos
Sandpoint
Funeral for Kenneth Deward “Ken” Roos, 92, will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Sandpoint Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Stake Center. Visitation will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church. Coffelt Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Born in Afton, Wyo., Mr. Roos died July 16.
He married Edna Louise Taysom in Salt Lake City in 1930, and they moved to Sandpoint in 1937.
During World War II, Mr. Roos served in the Alaskan Command with the Army Transportation Corps on Unalaska Island.
He later worked as a carpenter and worked on the Cabinet Gorge and Albeni Falls dams and Sandpoint High School. He was superintendent of construction with the Peter J. Young Construction Co. of Spokane, where he spent five years building three high schools and a National Guard armory in Washington.
In the 1960s Mr. Roos and his wife spent three and a half years on a church mission trip to Korea, where he built a chapel and other buildings. The couple returned to Korea later and built a chapel in Pusan.
Mr. Roos was involved in the Mormon Church.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Edna Louise.
Survivors include his wife, Dorthea Ann Roos; a daughter, Marilyn Jaggi of Ogden, Utah; two sons, Carl Roos of Caldwell, Idaho, and Daniel Roos of Spokane Valley; four stepchildren, John Seiber of Crescent City, Calif., Tom Reynolds of Ogden, Utah, and Kathryn Reynolds and Northa Muirhead, both of Riverton, Utah; and 12 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren and 13 stepgrandchildren.
Memorials can be made to the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Robin (Messenger) Johnson
Pine City, Wash.
Funeral for Robin Diane (Messenger) Johnson, 44, will be Friday at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in St. John. Burial will be at Pine City Cemetery. Schanzenbach Funeral Home, Rosalia, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Johnson, who was born in Spokane, died Saturday from injuries suffered in an automobile accident near her home in Pine City, Wash.
She graduated from Central Valley High School in 1978 and from the Intercollegiate Center for Nursing Education at Eastern Washington University in 1984.
She married Kris Johnson in 1984.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Cory and Bryce, and a daughter, Jamie Jo, all at the family farm; her parents, Ron and Gretchen Messenger of Spokane Valley; two brothers, Ron of Lakewood, Wash., and Don of Ramona, Calif.; and a sister, Heidi Messenger of Spokane Valley.
Memorial contributions may be made to the St. John School Foundation.
Ann (Pelowski) Koskimaki
Osburn, Idaho
Graveside service for Ann Catherine (Pelowski) Koskimaki, 73, will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Greenwood Cemetery in Kellogg. Shoshone Funeral Service in Kellogg is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Koskimaki, who was born in Winona, Minn., died Monday.
She married James Koskimaki in 1958, and they lived in the Philippine Islands, while he served with Navy.
Mrs. Koskimaki moved to the Silver Valley in 1971 after her husband’s military retirement.
She was a homemaker.
Mrs. Koskimaki was a member of St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Daughters, and the Kellogg Lady Elks.
Survivors include her husband, James; five sons, Steven Koskimaki of Coeur d’Alene, Gary Koskimaki and James Koskimaki Jr., both of Denver, Danny Koskimaki of Wallace and Andrew Koskimaki of Virginia; three daughters, Joan James of Kelso, Wash., Nancee Black of Denver, and Janice Holland of Spokane; two sisters, Ramona Brown of Oak Harbor, Wash., and Alice Bukovich of Minnesota; and 11 grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Mountain Valley Care and Rehabilitation, Kellogg, ID 83837.
Alta McMinimy
Post Falls
Memorial service for Alta M. McMinimy, 92, will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church in Post Falls, with a reception at the Odd Fellows Lodge in Post Falls. English Funeral Chapel in Post Falls is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. McMinimy, who was born in Lewiston, died Sunday.
She grew up in Attalia, Wash., before moving to Brookings, Ore., where she graduated from high school.
She then attended IBM school in San Francisco and worked for Kaiser Permanente shipyards in Richmond, Calif.
Mrs. McMinimy met and married Richard McMinimy in 1934.
She transferred to Spokane when Kaiser bought the aluminum rolling mill in Trentwood and was the first key punch operator in the office.
The couple moved to Post Falls in 1945. Her husband died in 1984.
She was a member of Community Presbyterian Church, the Royal Neighbors of America, the Grange, and theAmerican Legion, Eagles Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars auxiliaries.
Mrs. McMinimy joined the Carnation Rebekah Lodge in 1967 and was past president of the Idaho Rebekah Assembly.
Survivors include three children, Neva Moore and Patricia Edwards, both of Post Falls, and Richard McMinimy of Houston; 14 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, PMB 134, 212 Ironwood Drive, Suite D, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814.
Gregory Somers
Spokane
Visitation for Gregory Michael Somers, 46, will be today at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Otis Orchards. Funeral Mass will be Friday at 10 a.m. at the church, with burial at St. Joseph Cemetery. Hennessey Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Somers, who was born in Seattle, died Saturday.
He married Jill Zerr in 1984.
He was a resident of the Spokane area for 15 years and a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
Mr. Somers was a mechanical engineer.
Survivors include his wife; a son, Kyle Somers, a daughter, Anna Michael Somers, and his mother, Kathryn Somers, all of Newman Lake; and three brothers, Steven Somers of Mount Vernon, Wash., Scott Somers of Richland and David Somers of Texas.
Albert Erdman
Spokane
Remembrance potluck for Albert Erdman, 93, will be Friday at 1 p.m. at 633 W. Alice Ave. Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Erdman, who was born in Pasco, died Monday.
He worked the logging camps as a young boy and later was a body and fender worker until he joined the Boilermakers Union in 1940. His favorite job was being an iceman.
He played many softball games at Franklin Park.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Jenice.
Survivors include his daughter, Caryl Wenzel of Veradale; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Spokane.