Shawn Vestal: Obituaries paint portrait of community

One obituary is a portrait of a life.

Several taken together, though, create a portrait of a community. Recent obits in the S-R have told the stories of tavern owners and music professors, auto parts dealers and train engineers, full-time moms and construction workers.

Here are their stories, summarized from their obituaries.

Toward the end of his life, Gary Howard Benjamin frequently repeated: “I am so blessed.” A Spokane native, Gary graduated from Lewis and Clark High School and served more than two decades in the Air Force, retiring as a major. He had five children with his first wife, Susan, who died, and his second wife, Marcella. He earned a history degree while serving in the military, and after he left the service, he earned a law degree at Gonzaga. He practiced law, worked in local elementary schools and drove a bus. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1996 and served his church and community in many ways, including volunteering at City Gate. He died Jan. 12 at age 80.

Alice “Meem” McCarthy was born in Spokane, attended schools throughout Washington and California, and graduated from Shadle Park High in 1972. She made a career at bowling alley restaurants in Spokane, working for more than 40 years at Colonial Bowl, and later at North Bowl, as a bartender and restaurant manager. She had two children and five grandchildren. She loved lobster, iced coffee, balsamic reduction and cards, and never met a clearance rack she didn’t like. She died Jan. 11 at home, at age 65.

Bob Hall worked in auto parts all around the Northwest – he owned the Davenport NAPA store between 1963 and 1978, and worked at Coeur d’Alene Auto parts before and after that. His “final” retirement came in 1993. Born in Moscow, Idaho, he served in the Air Force and raised four children with his wife of 53 years, Helen. She passed away in 1994, and Bob married Helen De Wolf on Valentine’s Day 1999. Helen died in 2014, and Bob married Louise Sievers. Of his 94 years on Earth, Bob was married for 72. He delivered Meals on Wheels for more than 25 years, just one of the ways he served in his community and church. He died Jan. 2 at the Spokane Veterans Home.

A Spokane native, Jean Marguerite Davis-Johnson became an attorney, but left her practice to raise her three sons full time. She married her sweetheart from Lewis and Clark High, Stephen Johnson, and went on to earn degrees from Whitman College, the University of Washington, and Lewis and Clark Law School, in Portland. A member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Jean supported local education, art and music organizations, and was a bibliophile, history buff, master gardener and birdwatcher. She died Dec. 8 at age 69.

Thomas Tavener led a life filled with music. A native of Oakdale, Nebraska, he began singing in choirs while stationed in San Diego and Seattle in the Navy. He studied music at both Seattle Pacific College, where he met his wife, Jeannie Carper, and the University of Washington. In 1959, when he was 27, Tom was invited to teach at then-Whitworth College, the beginning of his 33-year career at the school. He taught, directed choirs and other musical groups, served in administrative posts, and took students on trips to hear and study music. A well-known tenor who performed with many local choirs and as a soloist, he especially loved singing songs of worship. He and Jeannie raised three children, and the family enjoyed outdoor recreation, sports and travel. He died Dec. 24 at age 88.

Darrell Paine worked in construction for more than 35 years. A native of Clarkston, he was employed most recently by Winkler Construction, of Newman Lake. An enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, Darrell enjoyed fishing, hockey and car races, and loved to travel in his motor home with his wife, Lisa, with whom he lived at Newman Lake. He died Jan. 6 at age 60.

Born in Ritzville, Carol Marie Lund graduated from high school in 1956 and married Sonny Lund shortly thereafter. They ran a dairy and started their family in the unincorporated town of Benge, until purchasing the Arrowhead Tavern in Washtucna in 1963. They renamed it Sonny’s Tavern, and Carol ran it for 33 years, at which time she retired to take care of Sonny until his death in 1998. She had four children, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She liked playing the slots at Northern Quest, and loved the Cougs, Zags and Seahawks. She died Jan. 7 at age 81.

Wilford “Gordon” Heath worked for 45 years as a train engineer for the Spokane, Portland & Seattle railroad and BNSF. Born into a Spokane military family that traveled a lot, he served in the Army and Air National Guard. He was an active member of New Hope Bible Church, the United Transportation Union and the NRA, and was a longtime volunteer serving meals at the Union Gospel Mission. He died Dec. 1 at age 86.

Donald Lee “Dusty” Rhoades was born in Tonasket, Washington, the second of 12 children. He graduated from Spangle High in 1957 and served in the Marines with his best friend, Jim. He married his wife, Galen, in 1960; they had four children and were married for almost 59 years until Galen passed away in 2019. They lived around the Northwest, settling in Spangle for their later years. He was a union construction worker and worked on both the Boundary and Grand Coulee dams. He liked Westerns, playing Texas Hold’em, working on cars, hunting and fishing, and his cat, Angel. He died Jan. 13 at age 81.