Obituaries - Aug. 20, 2009

Letha Ellen Merry

A memorial service for Letha Ellen Merry, 92, will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, at the Palouse Federated Church on Bridge Street in Palouse. Mrs. Merry died Aug. 3, 2009, in Pullman. She has been cremated.

Born Sept. 2, 1916, near Palouse to Charles and Marry Mingus, she was raised in the Palouse area and graduated from Palouse High School as valedictorian of the class of 1936. She moved to Pullman and was employed in the food services department of Washington State College.

She met her future husband, Reuben Merry at WSC and they were married in April of 1940. They made their home on Harrison Street in Pullman. She enjoyed cooking and canning produce from their garden. She enjoyed camping and her favorite places were the Sam Owen Campground near Sandpoint and Kalaloch Beach on the Washington Coast.

Her husband survives at the family home. Also surviving are a son, Ronald Merry, Spokane; one sister, Ametta Tomplins, Palouse; one brother, Charles Mingus, Clarkston; five grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

The family suggests memorials go to the Whitman County Council on Aging and Human Services, Box 107, Colfax, Wash.

Norma Jane Hamilton

A remembrance service for Norma Jane Horton Hamilton, 82, LaCrosse High graduate who lived much of her adult life in Portland, will be Saturday, Aug. 29, at 2 p.m. at Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, Ore. She died July 24, 2009, from complications following a heart attack.

Born to Worley and Lena Horton Aug. 12, 1926, in LaCrosse, she grew up with her sister Willene and brother Warren on the family ranch in the LaCrosse area.

She attended LaCrosse schools and graduated with the LaCrosse High School class of 1944. She graduated from Washington State College in 1948 with a bachelor of arts degree. She was a soprano in the college choir, recognized as one of the most outstanding choral groups in the northwest.

Norma married George Walter Hamilton June 6, 1948. Their union lasted 60 years.

In 1950, Norma and George moved to Portland to open a sports equipment store called Oregon Athletic Equipment, which eventually had locations in Eugene, Seattle, and Spokane. They retired from the athletic equipment business in 1980. They worked for Timberline Software, Softworks Data Systems and then owned Meridian Software. They lived at Sahalee, near Seattle, and in Vancouver, before moving to Sun City West, Arizona, in 2000.

She was predeceased by her husband in 2008 and her youngest son, Mark, in 2001.

Surviving are three children, Steve, Wilsonville, Ore .; Jayne, Glendale, Ariz., and Gayle Bonta, Vancouver; her sister, Willene Daniel, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and brother, Warren Horton, Dusty; seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Charles Clark

A graveside service for Charles (Chuck) Evans Clark, 95, was at Oakhill Cemetery in Eugene, Ore., Aug. 18. Mr. Clark died Aug. 13, 2009.

Born May 28, 1914, in St. John, to Ray and Nellie Clark, he graduated from Steptoe High School. He married Bertha Lubben in 1935. They resided in Colfax until 1955, where he worked in the lumberyard, and as a plumber and carpenter. They had a ranch near Yoncalla, Ore., for 17 years. They moved to Pleasant Hill, Ore., where he was the custodian for Emerald Christian Academy.

His first wife died in 1982.

In 1984 he married Faye Sanders of Yoncalla and they moved to Enterprise, Ore., in 1990. She died in 2007. He was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Survivors include two daughters, Barbara Wassom of Sisters, Ore., and Carolyn Lipscomb of Arabi, Ga .; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Streib rite Saturday

A memorial service for Marie Ryan Streib, 94, retired Colfax teacher who died Feb. 11, 2009, in a care home at Walla Walla, will be Saturday, Aug. 22, at 2 p.m. at Bruning Funeral Home chapel in Colfax. Mrs. Streib retired in 1978 after teaching at Jennings Elementary since 1953. She also taught at Quincy for three years. She was known for introducing puppetry, a class learning activity which became a tradition at the Colfax school.

Born in Colfax, Feb. 28, 1914, to Lawrence James and Fannie Earnest Ryan Bakala, she attended Hamilton Grade School in Colfax and graduated from Colfax High School in 1932. She earned her teaching certification at Cheney Normal and later completed studies for a BA degree. Her husband, Ernest George Streib, whom she married in 1938, died in 1960.

Surviving are a daughter, Judy Gylling; a son, John Streib; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; three step-grandchildren and six great-step-grandchildren. Memorials are suggested to the Shiners Hospital in Spokane or the Whitman Hospital Foundation.

James D. McMannis

James D. McMannis, former Colfax attorney, died Monday night, Aug. 17, 2009, at the Waterford Rehab Center in Spokane. He was 88. Mr. McMannis retired in 1984 and sold his law practice to Al Schauble. A graveside service is planned at the Colfax Cemetery. Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is in charge of the arrangements. A full obituary will follow in next week’s Gazette.