Obituaries - July 21, 2011

Sylvia Browning

A graveside service for Sylvia C. (Mitzie) Browning, 78, a resident of Moscow, was Monday, July 18, at the Mendenhall Cemetery in Potlatch with Pastor Kathy Kramer officiating. Mrs. Browning died late Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at the Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

Born May 22, 1933, at Moscow, to Walter and Sylvia Kottke Rueppel, she attended the Potlatch Schools and married Dock L. Browning July 3, 1949, at Asotin. They lived at Avery, Elk River and Bovill before moving to Deary where they lived for 40 years. She worked at the Helmer store and also did house cleaning for several families for several years. In 2002 they moved to Kendrick. Mr. Browning died in June of 2005, and she moved to Moscow in 2006 where she has made her home since.

She was involved with a bowling league in Moscow for 25 years. She also enjoyed ceramics, gardening and yard work. Survivors include one son, Douglas Browning, Spirit Lake, Idaho; two daughters, Sheryl (Jack) Bringman, Plummer; Vivian (Butch) Trout, Troy, Idaho; eight grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

Memorials may be given to the American Diabetes Association.

Fujiko Sakamoto

A family graveside service for Fujiko Sakamoto, 96, resident of Colfax for the past eight years, was Saturday, July 16, at the Colfax Cemetery. She died last Thursday, July 14, 2011, at Whitman Hospital in Colfax after suffering a heart attack at her home.

Born Aug. 27, 1914, in Parlier, Calif., to Kumazo and Mineru Yoshinaga, she moved to her parents homeland of Japan where she lived until she was 12 and the family returned to California and settled in Gardenia where Fujiko later met and married Hayata (Henry) Sakamoto. They made their home in the Los Angeles area where Fujiko worked as a housekeeper and Henry worked as a gardener.

During World War II their family was re- located to Utah for about five years and in 1946 they returned to Los Angeles.

She worked in factories for a time before they moved to Japan for several years.

In the early 1970s they returned to the United States and settled in Boise to be closer to family.

Henry died in 1982 and in 2003 she moved to Colfax to be closer to family.

She attended the Methodist Church in California and Boise.

She loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and she enjoyed her pet birds.

She is survived by her two children; son Sumio Sakamoto of Colfax and daughter Harumi (Jane) Kinoshita of Poway, Calif .; four grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.

On-line guest book:

http://www.bruningfuneralhome.com

Bob Olson

Bob Olson, 75, native of Colfax, died Saturday, July 9, 2011, at Whitman Hospital in Colfax. A celebration of his life will be July 25, 2011, at the Colfax Golf Club at 5 p.m.

Born Feb. 12, 1936, to Rudolph and Irene Olson, he was the third of eight Olson children in the family. He attended Colfax schools and was a avid athlete at Colfax High School. He once out-raced a horse in a 100-yard sprint.

Mr. Olson graduated from Colfax High School with the class of 1954 and served in the U.S. Army in Europe. He returned to Colfax where he was employed with the U.S. Postal Service, sold insurance for Aetna, and managed Wheatland Bowling. He also worked as a bartender and a carpenter.

Mr. Olson enjoyed bowling, umpiring baseball games and golfing. He earned a place in the Bowlers’ Hall of Fame in 1989. He was married twice, to Marilyn Smawley and Sharon Holmes.

Surviving are four children, Robbie, Santa Cruz, Calif .; Terry, Walla Walla; Tracy, Richland; and Mike, Rio Rancho, N.M. A son, Tyler, and daughter, Lauri, preceded him in death. Also surviving are three brothers, Ed, Dick and Ron Olson, all of Colfax; a sister Debra Allen, Albion; and 14 grandchildren.

Maida Whitmore

A memorial service for Maida Mae King Whitmore, 87, life-long Pullman resident, will be Friday, July 29, at 11 a.m. at the Pullman Presbyterian Church. Private family interment will be at the Pullman Cemetery. She died Friday, July 15, 2011, at the Avalon Care Center in Pullman where she had resided for the past month.

Born Feb. 19, 1924, in Davenport, to Ervin and Maybelle King, she grew up in rural Pullman and graduated from Pullman High School with the class of 1942.

She attended Washington State College where she was a majorette and later attended two years of art school in California.

She married Robert Whitmore, whom she met while at WSC, Aug. 6, 1946, at the Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee.

The couple moved to the family farm north of Pullman where Maida kept busy raising their three children.

She was an avid golfer, gardener, and painter.

From 1969 to 1979 she worked for the Palouse Soil Conservation District as a soil tester.

She was a lifetime member of the Whelan Grange, a member of the Lady Junior Chamber of Commerce, Moscow Elks, Moose Lodge in California and bowled on several women’s leagues.

She and Bob were also avid Cougar athletics supporters.

Mr. Whitmore died in 1997. She loved artwork and all types of crafts. She played the piano and organ and more recently the ukulele. She also enjoyed traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Surviving are her three children; Kirk (Robin) Whitmore of Spokane, Marla (Tom) Hammons of Spokane Valley and Mark (Cyndi) Whitmore of Pullman; seven grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

The family suggests memorials be given to the Pullman Senior Citizens Center. On-line guest book:

http://www.kimballfh.com

Lavina Kern

A private family graveside service for Lavina M. Kern, 69, was Friday, July 15, at Mountain View Cemetery in Farmington with the Rev. Kathy Kramer officiating. Mrs. Kern died Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at Aspen Park Healthcare in Moscow where she had resided since May.

Born May 9, 1942, at Colfax to Herman and Vesta Meredith Hatley, she attended the Potlatch Schools and married Harold Kern May 21, 1960, at Coeur d’Alene. They farmed east of Farmington in Latah County. She enjoyed the farm life and worked alongside her husband. She also enjoyed genealogy and gardening.

Survivors include her husband of 51 years, Harold Kern, Desmet, ID, and one son, John Kern, Potlatch.

Memorials may be given to the Humane Society at Pullman.

Marlene A. Reeves

A memorial service for Marlene Reeves, 79, Tekoa, will be Saturday, July 23, at 1 p.m. at the Tekoa Community Church in Tekoa with Pastor Hal Whitman officiating.

Mrs. Reeves died Wednesday morning, July 13, 2011, at her home in Tekoa from cancer.

Born June 28, 1932, in Seattle to Howard and Grace (Clark) Wiggen, she was raised in Seattle where she started school. She completed high school in San Francisco where she graduated from Galileo High School. Following high school, Marlene married Merlin Ohm in San Francisco. They lived in the Bay area where she was a homemaker and worked several years as a key punch operator for IBM. The couple later divorced.

In 1975, Marlene moved to Tekoa. She married Robert Reeves May 8, 1975, in Tekoa and they made their home there since. She worked as a waitress and a bartender.

A member of the Tekoa Community Church and a former member of the Whitman County Lady Shrine Club, she enjoyed playing the piano and served as pianist at the Tekoa Community Church since 2003.

Her music career started with violin, vocal and piano lessons in Seattle and later tried out for the Ted Mack Amateur hour while in San Francisco. She also performed in the Tekoa Slippery Gulch program for several years during the 1980s. She said her shinning hour was singing “New York” in the 1981 Slippery Gulch show.

Survivors include her husband Robert Reeves; two sons, Brad Ohm of Boise and Shawn Reeves of Tekoa, four daughters, Patti Colhoff of St. Maries, Idaho, Pam Brydahl of Oregon, Dawn Wade of Vacaville, Calif., and Rogene Mitchell of Spokane; 20 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

Memorial gifts may be given to the Tekoa Community Church.