Obituaries
Aaron Simmons
Spokane
Memorial service for Aaron L. Simmons, 86, will be today at 2 p.m. at Pines Mausoleum. Hazen and Jaeger Valley Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Simmons, who died Friday, was born in Ahoskie, N.C.
He served in the Army and retired from Kaiser Aluminum inTrentwood.
He enjoyed fishing, spending time at Deer Lake and taking trips to the East Coast by train to visit family.
His wife of 48 years, Florence, died in 1993.
Survivors include two sons, John and Norman Simmons, both of Spokane Valley; a daughter, Linda Matthews of Fair Oaks, Calif.; a sister, Juanita; three brothers, Levi, Leon and Walter; eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Paul Staudenmayer
Spokane
Family service was held for Paul Staudenmayer, 81.
Mr. Staudenmayer, who died Aug. 19, was a resident of Spokane for 26 years.
Born in McKeesport, Pa., he graduated from high school there.
He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, receiving a presidential commendation for the longest B-24 bomb raid in that war. He was a hump pilot (China, Burma, India) during the war.
Mr. Staudenmayer then was a member of the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a captain.
After the war he received his Bachelor of Science degree from Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. He worked for Northrup Aerospace as a process engineer until retiring in 1978.
He was an amateur radio operator.
His wife, Ruth, died in 1987.
Survivors include five daughters, Karol Staudenmayer, Mary Lee and Jean Age, all of Spokane, Donna LeBeau of Flagstaff, Ariz., and Paula Dawson of Oregon City; a brother, Carlyle Staudenmayer of Phoenix; two sisters, Faye Teemer of Phoenix and Lois Minncks of Fort Meyers, Fla.; 11 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Richard Kellberg
Superior, Mont.
Memorial service for Richard L. Kellberg, 75, will be Saturday in Montana.
Mr. Kellberg, who was born in Plummer, Idaho, was a lifelong resident of the Northwest. He died Aug. 2 in Superior, Mont.
He attended school in Troy, Idaho.
In 1948 he married Doris Collins.
Mr. Kellberg worked as a miner and rancher. He worked at the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg at the time of the famous disaster.
He later was employed as foreman of a Spokane boat company. He retired in the 1970s and lived on his five acres of land near Bayview, Idaho, on Lake Pend Oreille.
He later moved to Superior.
His wife died in 1995.
In 1997 he married Peggy Trope. She died in 2001.
Survivors include four children, Kathy, Danny, Rick and Devra; 18 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Valda (Florence) Cox
Spokane
Memorial service for Valda Jane (Florence) Cox, 88, will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home.
Mrs. Cox, who was born in Valdez, Alaska Territory, died June 30.
In 1917 her family moved to Kitsap County in Washington. She graduated from Bremerton High School in 1934.
She married Harvie Cox in 1935. The couple lived in Colville, Chewelah and Bremerton. She was a homemaker.
She and her husband moved to Moscow, Idaho, in 1949, and in 1958 they moved to Spokane.
Mrs. Cox was a longtime member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Spokane.
Her husband died in 1990.
Survivors include three sons, Darrel Cox of Aiea, Hawaii, Clyde Cox of Hanapepe, Hawaii, and William Cox of San Rafael, Calif.; a brother, Albert Florence of Blaine, Wash.; three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Helen Spangle
Spokane
Visitation for Helen E. Spangle, 95, will be Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Funeral is planned for Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Hazen and Jaeger Funeral Home, with burial to follow at the Spangle Cemetery.
Ms. Spangle, a lifelong area resident, was born in Spangle.
She graduated from high school in Spangle and worked for Sears in Spokane for 29 years as a receiving department clerk.
She was a member of Fowler United Methodist Church and the Rebekah Lodge.
Survivors include nieces and nephews Margaret Moore, Joanne Grytdal-Medhus, Earl Spangle and Lois Molter, all of Spokane, and Keith Spangle of Quincy, Wash.
William Harper
Evans, Wash.
Local memorial service for William John Harper, 89, will be at a later date. Burial will be in Chippewa Falls, Wis. Danekas Funeral Home in Colville is in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Harper, a 28-year resident of northeast Washington, died Sunday. He was born in Dunn County, Wis., near Chippewa Falls.
He attended the Notre Dame Schools in Chippewa Falls and completed two years of college at the University of Wisconsin. He worked in textile mills for three years before being called from reserve duty into the Army in 1940. He served in Australia, Burma and the Philippines and was discharged in 1945.
He returned to work in the mills until joining the U.S. Border Patrol in 1949. He served at various stations in the United States, and in the early 1960s was assigned as the senior officer in the Colville area. He retired from the Border Patrol in 1973.
His hobbies included fishing, hunting, swimming and sailing.
He was a member of the Last Man’s Club of World War II veterans, the Fraternal Order of Retired Border Patrol Officers and the National Association of Retired Federal Employees and was an honorary member of the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office.
Survivors include his wife, Margaret; a stepson, Ken Alexander of Evans; a stepdaughter, Lori Flikke of Spokane; three sisters, Patricia Cherrier, and Frances and Barbara Harper, all of Chippewa Falls; three grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the U.S. Border Patrol Museum, 4315 Trans Mountain Road, El Paso, TX 79924.
Maxine (Gillan) Murray
Sandpoint
Service for Maxine Lenora (Gillan) Murray, 82, will be today at 2 p.m. at Sandpoint First Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Sandpoint. Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Murray, who was born in Osage City, Kan., died Saturday.
She grew up in Osage City and moved to Sandpoint in 1941 after seeing North Idaho while visiting relatives.
She worked at Lee’s Cafe, and in 1942 married Y. Lee Eng. Together they operated the cafe.She later worked at Don’s Drive-In for 14 years.
After her first marriage ended, she married Roy Murray in 1962. They lived in Potlatch, Idaho.
Both husbandspreceded her in death.
In 1987 Mrs. Murray returned to Sandpoint to be near family.
She was involved with Senior Companions and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include five children, Larry Eng of Sacramento, Marvin Eng of Ritzville, Wash., Dixie Kent of Ponderay, Idaho, Bonnie Sanborn of Sandpoint, and Leroy Murray of Post Falls; 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Wendell Peck
Spokane
Funeral for Wendell E. Peck, a retired Air Force master sergeant, will be Friday at 11 a.m. at Thornhill Valley Funeral Home.
Mr. Peck, who was born in Beloit, Wis., died Sunday. He was 79.
He served in the Air Force for 22 years and was a supporter of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
He also spent 11 years working as a security officer for Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Alice; a daughter, Terri Pearson of Bristow, Va.; a sister, Mary Jane Barnes; a brother, G.W. Peck of Fayetteville, N.C.; and two grandsons.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Disabled American Veterans, 3207 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane, WA., 99202, or to the Paralyzed Veterans of America, 7 Mill Brook Road, Wilton, NH 03086-0918.