Obituaries: Jan. 4, 2018

Beverly Jean Murray, age 71, a resident of

Oakesdale since 2007, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 31st, at her Oakesdale home, surrounded by her loving family.

Beverly was born October 11, 1946 in Fremont, Nebraska, to William and Lotus (Utterback) Thayer. She attended schools in Fremont and graduated from Fremont High School. Following her schooling, Beverly married Carl Cooper on November 16, 1973 and the couple made their home in the Renton, Washington area where they raised their family. Her husband Carl died in May of 1991.

Beverly married David Murray in January of 1996 and the couple continued to live in Western Washington. Beverly worked as a cook at the Lee Restaurant in Enumclaw until she retired in August of 2007. Following her retirement, David and Beverly moved to Oakesdale. Beverly’s hobbies included researching her family history on the computer. She loved spending time with her grandchildren, and was a caring and loving grandmother. She had a passion for her family. She was very much loved, and will be missed by her family and friends.

Survivors include her husband, David Murray, at the Oakesdale home; her daughter, Lynn (Gary) Weber of Spokane, Wash .; her son, Keith (Kristina) Cooper of Oakesdale, Wash .; four grandchildren, Kassandra Weber, Brooke Weber, Karl Cooper and Kellen Cooper; and one great-granddaughter, Abigail Wallett. Also surviving are her siblings, William (Ava) Thayer of Fremont, Neb., Shirley (Gene) Adams of Tucson, Ariz., Linda (Danny) White of Pipestone, Minn., and numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, Carl, her son, Scott Shellard; a grandchild, Victoria Weber; brothers, Raymond and Millard Thayer; and a sister, Wanda Miles.

At her request, no public memorial service will be held. An urn burial will be held at Greenwood

Memorial Terrace in Spokane.Kramer Funeral Home of Tekoa, WA is caring for the family. Online condolences may be left at http://www.kramercares.com.

Katherine “Katie” Lucille Powell, longtime Colfax resident, passed away Saturday, December 30, 2017 in Colfax. She was 94. Funeral services will be held Friday, January 5th, at 2:00 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church in Colfax, with Pastor Jeannette Solimine officiating. Viewing will be Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Bruning Funeral Home.

Katie was the youngest of five children to bless the home of German immigrants, Gus and Mary Selonka on December 16, 1923 in Metaline Falls, Washington. Katie graduated from high school in Metaline Falls and then attended nurse’s training at Sacred Heart in Spokane. Following completion as a registered nurse, Katie was sent by the nuns to Colfax to work as an R.N. at the St. Ignatius

Hospital there. One evening while playing slot machines at the Colfax Athletic Club, Katie met Harold Powell, a young businessman in town. They married March 10, 1946 in Spokane.

Harold owned and operated Powell Plumbing in Colfax, a business he acquired following the untimely passing of his father in 1941.Harold and Katie made their home in Colfax and she kept busy raising a family and running their home. She was an excellent cook and was well-known for her delicious home-baked pies. She enjoyed her flower gardens, bowled with Harold on a co-ed league, and they were “stadium builders” for Cougar athletics and were frequently seen at football and basketball games where they held season tickets. Katie did some private-duty nursing for people she knew, but her main focus always

remained on her kids, her husband and her home.In later years, Katie worked with Harold in the business doing bookkeeping or selling appliances from the showroom.

She and Harold were privileged to take several trips abroad with Westinghouse, their appliance brand. They liked to travel and enjoyed a trip to Europe in 1976 with their daughter and son-in-law, and the family recalls a few trips that Katie took with them by train as well. She and Harold made annual trips to the Oregon Coast with four other couples where many good times were had by all. Good friends and good fun were a common theme throughout Katie’s life. She and Harold always had a cat and they were members of the Methodist Church. Harold passed away in 2009 and Katie remained in her home until just over three years ago when she moved to the Cityview Adult Family Home on Valleyview.

Katie’s family wishes to thank everyone at Cityview for their tender, loving care of their mother these last years and to Dr. Singh for his excellent care as well.

Katie will be missed by many in the community, but especially by her children; David and wife, Kathy Powell of Burlington, Wash., and Peggy and husband, Jon Kehne of Colfax; her three grandchildren, Brian Kehne of Spokane, Jennifer (Matt) Powell Zylstra of Monroe, Wash., and Tristan (Jodi) Powell of Redmond, Wash .; and by two great-grandchildren, Brayden and Wyatt Zylstra. In addition to her husband, Katie was preceded in death by a son, Roger Alan in 1952; her brother, Tommy; sisters, Flora, Ethel and Margaret; and by her parents.

The family suggests memorial gifts in her memory be given to the Colfax Fire Department or to the Whitman Hospital Foundation. On-line guest book is at http://www.bruningfuneralhome.com Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is caring for the family.

Bruce C. West, Endicott resident, passed away Friday, December 29, 2017 at the Whitman Hospital in Colfax. He was 77. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held Friday, January 5th, at 11:00 a.m., at Trinity Lutheran Church in Endicott. Pastor Philip Misner will officiate.

Bruce was the youngest of eight children born to Marvin and Agnes Herron West. He was born March 31, 1940 in St. John and spent his early years there before moving with the family to Colville, Washington. He graduated from the Colville High School in 1957.

Bruce moved to Yakima, Washington where he started working on a cattle ranch. He married and began raising a family of four children with his wife, Joyce. Bruce and Joyce later divorced and Bruce began work as a long-haul truck driver. Always a hard worker, he did general contracting and construction work as well. Bruce met Caron Buchanan in the Yakima area and they soon began dating. They married on an extended trip they took to Alaska in Fairbanks, Alaska, July 16, 1995. They lived in Wapato for a brief time before moving to Endicott in 1997.

He worked as a contractor in the Endicott area and they lived near Grove Road northwest of town, where Bruce loved raising meat goats there along the Palouse River. He enjoyed spending time with Caron and they did nearly everything together. He liked western movies and reading. He loved to visit with his family and always looked forward to spending time with his son, Jeff. Bruce loved his life and was full of life.

He is survived by his wife, Caron, at their home in Endicott; his three children, Pam (Terry) Stampler of Soap Lake, Wash., Carolyn (Tom) Poague of Olympia, Wash., and Jeff West of Spokane; Caron’s children, Dee (Mike) Burke of Tulsa, Okla., and Patrick (Tina) Spurgeon of Pullman; 18 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; by his sister, Ruth Brown of Rosalia, Wash., and by numerous nieces and nephews. Bruce was preceded in death by a son, Dale, by his parents, and by six brothers and sisters. The family suggests memorial gifts be made to the St. Jude’s Hospital for Children, in Bruce’s memory.

On-line guest book is at http://www.bruningfuneralhome.com Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is in charge of the arrangements.