Obituaries
Jeannette Whitford
Veradale
Funeral Mass for Jeannette E. Whitford, 75, will be today at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Mission in DeSmet, Idaho. Burial will be at DeSmet Cemetery.
Mrs. Whitford, who was born on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation, died Monday.
She grew up in a home where three languages were spoken - French, English and Spokane Indian, and spent five years at the DeSmet Boarding School.
She attended Worley (Idaho) High School, where she was active in drama, wrote for the school paper and was editor of the 1947 yearbook.
At age 16, she founded the Rose Creek Circle, a tribal social and cultural organization on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation.
Mrs. Whitford attended Kinman Business University and later attended the University of Mexico and the University of Nevada.
She was active in the Parent-Teacher Association, served on the board of the United Way for seven years and was selected for a community service institute at Eastern Washington University. She also served on the national board of the YWCA for many years.
She was active with initial efforts to form an Indian Community Center and was a board member.
Mrs. Whitford was also active with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and was a planner, adviser, committee member, political leader and tribal judge.
She was on call for the Kootenai Tribe and took a seat on the Kalispell bench in 1988.
She was awarded the YWCA Outstanding Achievement Award in Government and Politics in 1982.
Her husband, Al Whitford, died in 1993.
Survivors include three children, Peter Whitford of Greenacres, Steve Whitford of San Diego and Suzette Whitford of Veradale; and four grandchildren.
Clara Reinert
Spokane
Visitation for Clara Trapp Reinert, 95, will be Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. at Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home. Vigil will be Monday at 7 p.m. at the funeral home. Funeral Mass will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church, with entombment at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Mrs. Reinert died Tuesday.
She was born in Colton, Wash., where she attended grade and high school.
She entered nurses training at Sacred Heart Hospital in 1928 and graduated in 1931.
In 1932 she worked in the operating room and in 1933 she took a post-graduate course in anesthesia and worked at the hospital until 1941, when she married John Reinert.
They made their home in Bremerton.
Mrs. Reinert continued giving anesthetics at Harrison Memorial Hospital and several doctors’ clinics until she retired in 1975.
She was a member of the Star of the Sea Altar Society, life member of an anesthesia society, worked at the blood bank during war time, and was involved in Ladies of Elks and various other organizations.
In 1977 they moved back to Spokane.
Her husband died in 1997.
Survivors include two sisters, Helen Keith and Bernadine Kinzer of Spokane.
Memorial contributions may be made to Monastery of St. Clare, 4419 N. Hawthorne, Spokane, WA 99205-1399 or Hospice of Spokane.
Enid (Soper) Janni
Auburn, Wash.
Funeral for Enid Marguerite (Soper) Janni, 86, will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Sunset Chapel, Fairmount Memorial Park. Yahn and Sons Funeral Home in Auburn, Wash., is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Janni, who was born in Valley, Wash., was a Spokane-area resident for 80 years. She moved to Auburn, Wash., six years ago.
She graduated from North Central High School in 1936 and married John Janni in 1940.
Mrs. Janni was a homemaker. She enjoyed crocheting, embroidering and gardening.
Her husband died in 1996.
Survivors include two daughters, Saundra Tesseyman of Leander, Texas, and Pamela Powell of Auburn; a stepdaughter, Sharon Haffner of Spokane; three brothers, Loren Soper of McMinnville, Ore., Dan Soper of Boise and David Soper of Auburn; two sisters, Dorothy Gilliam and Lorna Cantly, both of Spokane; four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Parkinson Disease Association, P.O. Box 356465, Seattle, WA 98195.
Ray Derrick
Corbett, Ore.
Service for E. Ray Derrick, 70, will be Sunday at 4 p.m. at the Corbett Community Church in Corbett, Ore. Graveside service will be Aug. 8 at 2:30 p.m. at Peone Cemetery in Spokane.
Mr. Derrick, a former longtime resident of the Spokane area, died last Friday.
He was born in a log cabin near Priest Lake, Idaho, and attended Rogers High School, Eastern Washington University and Gonzaga University.
He served in the Navy during the Korean War.
Mr. Derrick was well-known in the recreational vehicle industry for many years and had spent the past 25 years as an antique dealer having owned Third Avenue Antiques.
He moved to Corbett nearly two years ago.
Survivors include seven children, Debra, Darren and Mitchell Derrick, all of Maxwell, Calif., Kevin Derrick of Arlington, Wash., Cameron Derrick of Portland, Margo Mossburg of Spokane and Stephanie Rickert of Corbett; a brother, Wayne Derrick of Spokane; and six grandchildren.
Dennis Mitchell II
Gushikawa, Japan
Viewing and visitation for Pfc. Dennis Mitchell II, 19, will be Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Monday from 9 to 11 a.m. at Heritage Funeral Home. Funeral will be at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, and burial will be at Riverside Memorial Park.
Mr. Mitchell died July 22 in Gushikawa, Japan, while serving in the Marine Corps. He was born in Spokane.
He graduated in 2003 from North Central High School, where he was drum line captain of the NC Band.
Mr. Mitchell joined the Marine Corps in September 2003.
He enjoyed karate, baseball, bowling and paintball.
Survivors include his mother and stepfather, Rosanne and Randy Love; his father and stepmother, Dennis and Becky Mitchell; a brother, Brandon Love; three sisters, Heidi Schaffer, and Jennifer and Ashley Love; and his grandparents, Gail Mitchell, Joni Love and Donna Kimmett.
Memorial contributions may be made to Jefferson Street Christian Church, 1201 W. Spofford Ave., Spokane, WA 99205.
Martie (Rathbun) Soss
Spokane Valley
Memorial service for Martie (Rathbun) Soss, 67, will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home.
Mrs. Soss, who was born in Weiser, Idaho, died Monday. She was a resident of Spokane Valley for 43 years.
In 1955 she graduated from Jenkins High School in Chewelah, Wash. She attended Eastern Washington University for a year.
She married Richard Soss in 1957.
Mrs. Soss was an office manager at Becker Property Management for 12 years, retiring in 1998. She had worked at Owens Corning Fiberglass as a customer service representative for 17 years.
Her hobbies included ceramics, gardening, cribbage and money investments.
Survivors include her husband; two sons, Michael Soss of Kent, Wash., and Ronald Soss of Spokane; a daughter, Kathi Hladik of Renfrew, Pa.; and five grandchildren.
Gwendolyn Davenport
Spokane
A gathering for Gwendolyn L. Davenport, 61, will be Saturday at 3 p.m. at 6126 N. Lacey St. Hennessey-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Davenport died Wednesday.
She was born in Spokane, raised in Troy, Mont., then returned to Spokane to raise her family.
She worked as a home health caregiver.
She is survived by four children, two sisters, one brother and four grandchildren.
Darlene Brown
Spokane
Memorial service for Darlene D. Brown, 68, will be Saturday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge, lower lounge, 315 E. Francis Ave. Heritage Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Brown, who died July 12, was born in Chicago. She was a resident of Spokane County for 27 years.
She owned a pet shop and was a member of Ladies of Oriental Shrine and the Eagles Lodge.
Survivors include four children, Louis, April, Robin and Dawn; nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Helyne (Kravik) Colver
Everett
Private service was held for Helyne M. (Kravik) Colver, 87.
Mrs. Colver, who was born in Richland, Mont., died June 24 in Everett, her home for a year.
She lived in Montana for many years, where she farmed. She moved to Spokane in 1967.
Mrs. Colver was a homemaker and a member of the Eagles Auxiliary.
Her husband of 27 years, William, died in 1983.
Survivors include a daughter, Wendy Iseman of Mukilteo, Wash.; a stepson, Eugene Colver of San Antonio; two stepdaughters, Arlene Volk of Atlantic, Iowa, and Linda O’Connor of Glendive, Mont.; a brother, Emil Kravik of Glasgow, Mont.; and five grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Hazel Ham
Greenacres
Memorial service for Hazel D. Ham, 81, will be today at 10 a.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home.
Mrs. Ham, who died Tuesday, was born in Windham, Mont., and grew up in Philipsburg, Mont.
She and her husband moved to the Spokane area in 1956.
Mrs. Ham was employed at Playfair Race Course and was a Spokane Sheriff’s Posse wife.
She volunteered at the Humane Society, walking the dogs, and enjoyed playing bingo.
Survivors include her husband, Ray; two sons, Jay Ham of Otis Orchards and Dee Ham of Greenacres; a brother, Otis Dennis; three sisters, Marjorie Page, Elleanor Lemons and Nellie Ebbeson; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Walter Blumhagen
Spokane
Visitation for Walter W. Blumhagen, 86, will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hennessey Valley Funeral Home, with a memorial service at 1 p.m. at the funeral home. Inurnment will be held at Pines Cemetery.
Mr. Blumhagen, who was born in Anamoose, N.D., died Tuesday.
He owned Walt’s Pick-Ups and Truck Lot on East Sprague Avenue for many years.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Letha; a son, Mark Blumhagen of Spokane Valley; two brothers Ben Blumhagen of Spokane and Otto Blumhagen of Milton-Freewater, Ore.; and two sisters, Violet Orr and Doris Griffith, both of Milton-Freewater.
Theodore ‘Ted’ Pytlewski
Hayden Lake, Idaho
Memorial service for Ted Pytlewski, 88, will be Friday , 4 p.m., at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene. English is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Pytlewski, who was born in Minneapolis, died Tuesday.
Mr. Pytlewski retired and moved to North Idaho 21 years ago from LosAngeles, where he had lived most of his life and worked as a ceramic tile contractor.
His hobbies included old cars and motorcycles.
His wife, Adlaide, died in 1987.
He is survived by two sons; Thomas Pytlewski of Hayden Lake and Walter Pytlewski of Post Falls; a daughter, Frances Pytlewski of LosAngeles; and three grandchildren.
Nicole Peyer
Coeur d’Alene
Memorial service for Nicole Dawn Peyer, 32, will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at English Funeral Chapel in Coeur d’Alene. English Funeral Chapel in Coeur dAlene is in charge of arrangements.
Ms. Peyer, who was born in Kellogg, died Wednesday.
She lived in Osburn, Idaho, until moving to Coeur d’Alene 14 years ago.
Ms. Peyer is survived by her parents, Ernie and Ellen Peyer of Osburn; a sister, Tracy Peyer of Silverton, Idaho; and grandparents, Ken and Gen Anderson of Kingston, Idaho. and Brayden Peyer, both of Silverton.