Pierce County WA

Biography of Hon. James P. Stewart

HON. JAMES P. STEWART. – In a notice of the Honorable James P. Stewart by the local press, when his name was presented for the suffrages of his fellow-citizens for a seat in the legislature of Washington Territory, it was most truthfully said: “he is a man of affairs, – a big, bronzed, broad-shouldered man, who moves about among his fellow-men with that quiet consciousness of strength that carries conviction and wins. He has been a winner all his life; and people applaud his winning. He has been as honest as he has been progressive. Mr. Stewart is a native … Read more

Fix, Phillip William – Obituary

Phillip W. Fix was born in Decatur County, Indiana, in 1835, and died at his home in Orting, January 16, 1924, aged 89. Mr. Fix was a Civil War veteran, having enlisted in Co. “A” Fourth Minnesota Regular Volunteer Infantry in 1861 for three years. He re-enlisted at Huntsville, Alabama in the winter of 1864 and served until the close of the war when he was mustered out at Louisville, Kentucky, on the 26th of July, 1865. He was married to Susan Bowman in 1856 and ten children were born to this union; Susan Bowman Fix died in 1899 and … Read more

Champ, Clifford – Obituary

Clifford H. Champ, 79, of 9924 Waller Road, died Saturday [February 7, 1976]. Born in Winlock, he came to Tacoma in 1921 from Hoquiam. Mr. Champ was a crane operator for St. Paul Lumber Co. until his retirement in 1962. He was a member of the First Baptist Church. Survivors include his wife, Edna; a son, Stanley of Tacoma; a brother, Jay of Tacoma; two sisters, Mrs. Retha Longuet of Portland and Mrs. Brace (Florence) Leland of Seattle; two grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Mountain View Funeral Home is in charge. [Clifford was born September 12, 1896. His parents were … Read more

Fix, Earl George – Obituary

Earl George Fix, 50, of 1417 So. 44th St., died Friday [March 25] en route to a local hospital. He was born in Steilacoom and had lived in Tacoma for 23 years. He was a carpenter and a member of Carpenters’ Union No. 470. In addition to his wife Alice R., he is survived by a daughter, Linda Jane; three sons, Leslie W., Randal R. and Dennis W., all of the home, and his mother, Mrs. Olive A. Fix, Sumner. Services will be held Monday at 1 p.m. in the C. C. Melinger memorial Funeral Church, Charles Summers officiating. Burial … Read more

Eaden, Myrtle Dixon – Obituary

Funeral services will be held at the Honeycutt Chapel here at 3:00 Wednesday afternoon for Myrtle Dixon Eaden, former valley resident, who died in Tacoma on Sunday [April 21, 1946] Born in Ellensburg on February 16, 1899, she was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Dixon, valley pioneers. She attended local grade schools and high school and spent the most of her life here until she moved to Tacoma 15 years ago In 1922 she was married to William Eaden, who survives her. She is also survived by a brother, Archie Dixon of Vancouver, Wash.; a half brother, … Read more

Sturm, Robert Charles, “Bob” – Obituary

Flora, Oregon Bob passed away at his home in Puyallup, Washington on January 2, 2002, held by his wife and soul mate Susan and surrounded by his 4 furred children. He was born in Walla Walla, Washington on 12/20/49 to Jack and Wanda Sturm. Growing up on a farm in Flora, Oregon and involved in 4-H, he met a young lady by the name of Susan Benson when he was 14 and did some serious flirting for a week at 4-H summer school. Bob attended Enterprise High School and then dated his young 4-H friend for a summer. After high … Read more

Biography of Esdras N. Ouimette

Explore the remarkable life of Esdras N. Ouimette (1838-), from his roots in St. Eustache, Quebec, to becoming a cornerstone of Tacoma, Washington’s early business community. This biography highlights Ouimette’s journey westward, his transformative contributions to Tacoma’s development, including the construction of the city’s first three-story brick building, and his success in real estate. Ouimette’s story is a testament to the enduring impact one individual can have on a city’s economic and social fabric, inviting readers to uncover the details of his legacy and Tacoma’s ascent as the City of Destiny.

Fix, Thomas Arthur – Obituary

Thomas Arthur Fix, 60, died Sunday [October 31, 1936] at his home at Dash Point where he had lived for 17 years. Mr. Fix was a former member of the Tacoma Fire Department, but had been retired a number of years. He was a member of the Methodist Church of Orting and of Fairweather Lodge, F. & A. M. He is survived by his wife, Stella Y.; a daughter, Mrs. Genevieve Baker of Tacoma; three brothers, William W. and George S., of Orting and Samuel E. of Kapowsin, and a sister, Mrs. Grace E. Baker of Tacoma. Mellinger will announce … Read more

Allen, Ella L. – Obituary

Funeral Services will be held Thursday, Feb. 28, 1991, at 2 p.m. at Bollman Funeral Home for Ella L. Allen. Burial will follow in the Lostine Cemetery. Miss Allen died Tuesday, Feb. 19, 1991, at a Gresham nursing center from causes related to age. She was 93. She was born near Lostine, on Jan. 30, 1898, the youngest child of Wallowa County pioneer parents, William H, and Annie B. Allen. She was a graduate of Lostine High School and Oregon State University (then Oregon Agriculture College) in 1921. She taught home economics in Joseph, Wallowa and Elgin and in Tenino, … Read more

Poland, Arthur Melvin – Obituary

Stricken by a heart attack on the local bus, Arthur Melvin Poland, 43, Collins school teacher, died Friday [June 8, 1945] in a shipyard hospital where he had been taken for emergency attention. Poland was a native of Ellensburg and had resided in Tacoma 10 years. He is survived at the home, 2356 South G Street, by his wife, Esther, and daughter, Patricia Poland; mother, Mrs. Cora [Grimm] Poland, Sumner; brothers, Elmer and Lynn Poland, Ellensburg; five sisters, Miss Ann Poland, Montana, Mrs. Clinton Morrow and Mrs. Edna Kenyon, Seattle; Mrs. Dollie Brown, Portland, and Mrs. Leta Doyle, Spanaway. C. … Read more

Biography of Hon. Jesse B. Ball

HON. JESSE B. BALL. – Twenty miles up the Skagit river, in the heart of one of the richest timber sections of Washington, is Sterling, a thriving young city, with high hopes for the future. The founder of the place is the man whose name appears at the head of this sketch. Mr. Ball is a pioneer of 1853, having crossed the plains in that year and stopped at Downieville, where he worked a short time for a company of miners, – his only work for anybody but himself on this coast. His career has had the restless activity and … Read more

Biography of Peter Dewar Forbes

PETER DEWAR FORBES. – In the gentleman whose name heads this brief memoir, and whose portrait appears in this history, we have one of the very earliest settlers of Tacoma, as well as one of her prominent business men and capitalists. Mr. Forbes was born in St. Johns, New Brunswick, February 18,1845, and is the son of William and Jesie Dewar Forbes. After his school days were passed, Peter learned the trade of a carpenter and shipbuilder, becoming a master mechanic. In 1868 he came to the United States, locating in Minneapolis, where he became a well-known architect and builder, … Read more

Biography of David Lister

DAVID LISTER. – David Lister of Tacoma, Washington, belongs to that class of men who have done so much for the material prosperity of our country by being the first to go into new places and build up new industries. He was born in England in 1821, and came to New York in 1847. He worked for steamboat companies in that city until 1854, when he went to Philadelphia and connected himself with the Delaware Canal Company, where he remained ten years. He then went to Pestico, Wisconsin, a town located among the pineries on Green Bay. In that place … Read more

Bunce, Kenneth LeRoy – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Kenneth LeRoy Bunce, 79, of Baker City, died Aug. 22, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. There will be a Celebration of Life service at 2 p.m. Thursday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Robin Harris of the Cornerstone Baptist Church at North Powder will officiate. Friends are asked to join the family for an ice cream social at Settlers’ Park Assisted Living Facility, 2895 17th St., after the celebration. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday at Gray’s West & Co. Ken was born to Vern C. Bunce of … Read more

Biography of Edward S. Smith

EDWARD S. SMITH. – The death of Edward Slade Smith, at San Francisco, California, on December 31, 1885, and incidents relating to his life gathered from recollections of Judge Charles H. Berry, Honorable John A. Mathews and Doctor James M. Cole. Edward Slade Smith was born in what was then Chemung, now Schuyler county, in the State of New York, February 28, 1827; and hence at his decease he was nearly fifty-nine years old. His parents were Joel and Anna Smith, both early settlers in Winona, Minnesota, and both of whom are now dead. There were born to them six … Read more

Coggan, Emma L. Mrs. – Obituary

Union, Union County, Oregon Died at Tacoma A telegram received on last Tuesday from Tacoma announced the death of Miss Emma L. Coggan, a young lady well known to many in this county. The news of her demise was sorrowfully received by many friends here in Union. Eastern Oregon Republican, Thursday October 24, 1889

Biography of Benjamin Brown

BENJAMIN BROWN. – Mr. Brown was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1831, and remained at his native place until 1857, receiving a common-school education. In this year he emigrated to American and settled in Michigan, remaining until March, 1858, when he came to California by way of New York and the Isthmus. From San Francisco he found his way to the Siskiyou mines, and operated until July of 1868, and thence came to the Frazer river mines. In the autumn of that year, he brought his journeyings to a close at Steilacoom, where he remained a year. Being favorably impressed … Read more

Noel, Clarissa Jane Farris – Obituary

Mrs. Clara J. Noel, 75, died Friday [October 9, 1942] at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Pauline Stalcup, 634 North Oakes Street [Tacoma]. She was a native of Fresno, Cal., and had been in Tacoma 12 years. She lived some years at Ellensburg and Snohomish. Her home was at 2603 ½ 6th Avenue. She was married Nov. 30, 1882 at Ellensburg to W. H. Noel who died in 1930. She was member of Glendale Camp Royal Neighbors in Tacoma and of the Epworth Methodist Church, Tacoma. Besides Mrs. Stalcup, she leaves daughters, Mrs. Myrtle Francis and Mrs. Stella Faithful … Read more

Fix, Stella Yates – Obituary

Mrs. Stella Fix, 64, of Rt. 6, Box 262, Dash Point, died Wednesday [July 17, 1946] in a local hospital. She had lived at Dash Point 40 years and was a native of Oregon. She is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Genevieve C. Baker of Tacoma, and one grandson. Private services were held Friday at Mountain View with cremation following. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

O’Farrell, Owen E. – Obituary

Owen E. O’Farrell, 74, Rt. 13, Box 650, died at his home Sunday. O’Farrell, a grocer, had lived in Pierce County all his life, having been born at Orting. He was a member of the St. John of the Woods Church and the Clover Creek Grange. He is survived by his wife, Anna; daughter, Mrs. Leo Fanning, Tacoma; sister, Mrs. William Swain, Tacoma, and three grandchildren. Gaffney’s will announce arrangements. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman