Pierce County WA

Saunders Phyllis Jane – Obituary

Cove, Oregon Phyllis Jane Saunders, 80, of Cove, died Aug. 12 at her home of natural causes. A funeral service will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth St., La Grande. Phyllis was born Sept. 9, 1926, to Clyde and Virgie (Bell) Robinson in Tacoma, Wash., one of eight children. She was raised and educated all over the Northwest. Her father worked for Pacific Fruit and traveled throughout the Northwest, so she attended several schools. She eloped with Grant Saunders on Oct. 23, 1944, to Weiser, Idaho. After Grant returned from the Air Force and got … Read more

Champ, Edna Johnson – Obituary

Mrs. Edna W. Champ, 82, a long-time Tacoma resident, died Saturday [April 5, 1980]. Mrs. Champ, of 7235 Pacific Ave., was born in Winlock and resided in Tacoma almost 60 years. She was a member of First Baptist Church. Survivors include her son, Stanley of Tacoma, two grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Mountain View Funeral Home was in charge. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

Poland, Jesse C – Obituary

Jesse C. Poland, 58, a resident of the valley for nine years, died suddenly at his home on Stewart Road, Sunday night [February 23, 1935]. Besides his widow, Cora, he is survived by 10 children, Arthur, Len, Elmer and Lester of Seattle, Anna of Montana, Glen of Wenatchee, Mrs. Edna Wells of Tacoma, Mrs. Loleta Doyle of Spanaway, Mrs. Nellie Morrow and Dolly of Sumner and five grandchildren, one brother, C. E. Poland of Ellensburg, and a sister, Mrs. Jacob Litterer of Ellensburg. Funeral services will be held Wednesday from the Elmore chapel at 2 o’clock with Rev. Charles Alborn, … Read more

Biography of Hiram Doncaster

HIRAM DONCASTER. – No one seems to operate so much in the capacity of a creator as the shipbuilder. The products of his brain and hand have a life of their own, are given a name, and have their own personality. Shipbuilding on the Sound is, moreover, an important business; and the masters of this craft are men of distinction. One of these is the man whose name appears at the head of this sketch. He was born in Nova Scotia in 1838, and first came to this coast via Panama in the year 1856, mining in Plumas county two … Read more

Bowerman, Lois “Larrie” Mrs. – Obituary

Halfway, Oregon Lois “Larrie” Bowerman, 82, a longtime Halfway resident, died March 11, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. Her memorial service will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church in Halfway. Lois was born Sept. 30, 1921, in the high altitude of Victor, Colo., to Washington Denver and Gwendolyn Honeycutt. She was the second-eldest of four girls. Lois received good grades in school and received her eighth-grade diploma in Spokane in 1935. However, the Great Depression had set in and she opted not to continue her education because she could not afford new clothes. Her … Read more

Cooke, Alta Mae Hill Mullen – Obituary

Funeral services will be held Friday at the Buckley Undertaking Parlors, Tacoma, at 3 p.m. for an early-day Kittitas Valley resident, Mrs. Alta Mae Cooke, 77, who died Wednesday morning in Tacoma, following eight days in a hospital there. Cremation will follow the service and the ashes will be brought to Ellensburg at a later date. The family requests no flowers, but those who wish to may make a contribution to the Cancer Fund. Mrs. Cooke was the widow of the late Jay Cooke, son of the late Charles P. and Susan Cooke, valley pioneers. Alta Mae Hill and Jay … Read more

Baker, Grace Edith Fix Bakken – Obituary

Grace Edith Baker, 69, 231 So. 79th St., and a resident of Tacoma for several years, died at the home of her daughter, Mr. C. E. Moore, Hoquiam, Tuesday [May 22, 1951] following an extended illness. She was born in Minnesota and had lived in Washington almost all of her life. She is survived by her husband, G. A. Baker, Tacoma; two daughters, Mrs. Ruth D. Hinthorne, Alderwood Manor, and Mrs. Esther Moore, Hoquiam; one son, Harold A. Baker, Tacoma, and six grandchildren. Services will be held at the chapel of the Orting Funeral Home, Saturday at 1:30 p.m. with … Read more

Fix, Samuel Edgar – Obituary

Samuel Edgar Fix, 80, who came to Orting in 1890 and who later built the Kapowsin School and the Eatonville gymnasium, died Tuesday [April 3, 1951] at a Puyallup Hospital. He was born in Minnesota, son of Mr. and Mrs. P. W. Fix. His father was a Civil War veteran. S. E. Fix attended schools in Minnesota and Orting, then went to Alaska in 1901, engaging in placer mining for two years. He returned to Kapowsin in 1903 to work in various sawmills. He then became a contractor and constructed many of the buildings in Kapowsin, Eatonville, Orting, and Sumner. … Read more

Lee, Mary O’Conner O’Farrell – Obituary

This community was saddened on Christmas day when the news reached here of the passing of Mrs. Mary C. Lee [December 25, 1926], at the home of her son in Tacoma. She had made her home for the past few years with her son Daniel. Mrs. Lee was born in Ireland and spent her early life in Melbourne, Australia, being married in New Zealand. In September she met with an accident and broke a hip and since that time had been confined to her home and with her advanced age, she soon grew weaker, quietly passing in the great beyond, … Read more

Fix, Cora Johnson – Obituary

Mrs. Cora Fix, 72, of Orting, passed on at her home Aug. 2 [1946] after an illness of several months. She had resided in Orting since 1889, moving there from her birthplace in Cawker City, Kas. Survivors include one daughter, Mrs. Gladys L. Berry of Orting, and two granddaughters, Mrs. Orpha Stone of Tacoma and Mrs. Shirley Rudnick of Orting. Also surviving are six great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Orting M. E. Church. Burial will be in the Orting Cemetery under direction of the Orting Funeral Home. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

Fix, Stella F. Hall – Obituary

Mrs. Stella F. Fix, 93, of 112 S. 36th St., Tacoma, died in a local hospital Wednesday [February 12]. She was born in Battle Ground, and had lived in this area all her life. She is survived by a son-in-law, Fred Ferritti of Tacoma; and a cousin, Bill Burt of Portland. Services are announced by Orting Funeral Home. [Interment Orting Cemetery] Tacoma News Tribune, February 14, 1969 Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

Bleakman, Owen Neal – Obituary

Owen Neal Bleakman, 88, a longtime Baker City resident, died May 3, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. There will be no burial service. Inurnment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Gray’s West & Company Pioneer Chapel. Owen was born Aug. 9, 1916, at Hardman to Bertrum Percy Bleakman and Hatty May Emery. He attended schools in Hardman and Heppner. When Owen was 18, he moved to Bates, where he worked at the Bates mill as a carpenter helper for one year. While in Bates, he met his wife-to-be, Katherine Taylor. They were married … Read more

Biography of Hon. William R. Downey

HON. WILLIAM R. DOWNEY. – There are few men who are more familiarly and favorably known to the old pioneers of Puget Sound than the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. His father was a Revolutionary hero, having followed General Washington in the battles waged by the colonists for freedom from the oppression of Great Britain. Mr. Downey was born in Mount Sterling, Kentucky, March 6, 1808. At the age of three years he accompanied his parents to Hopkins county, and while living there received his education. On February 12, 1829, he was united in marriage to Miss Emily S. … Read more

Smith, Harry – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Harry Smith, 81, a 50-year resident of Morton, Wash., and a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 7, 2003, at the Centralia Providence Hospital. There was a private family service. Arrangements were under the direction of Brown Mortuary at Morton. Harry was born on March 1, 1921, at Portland to Harry and Ruth Spencer Smith. He was raised at Baker City and joined the U.S. Army in September 1940. Harry saw action in the battles of Rhineland, Ardennes, Central Europe and the Aleutian Islands. He was captured and spent eight months in a prisoner of war camp … Read more

Biography of A. C. Campbell

A.C. CAMPBELL. – The respect Mr. Campbell commands in his community as a man of honesty and integrity, and as one who has acquired a very enviable competency by hard knocks and straightforward dealings, reminds one of Longfellow’s famous blacksmith; but, although Mr. Campbell has for years upon years listened to the “measured beat and slow’ of his hammer on the anvil, he no longer appears with leathern apron and bare, brown arms, because he is now settled down in a comfortable home, and in the midst of his loving family living happily by other and less arduous pursuits than … Read more

Gray, Nellie Frances – Obituary

Nellie Frances Gray, 91, formerly of Union County, died Tuesday, May 25, 1993, of natural causes in Spanaway, Wash. A funeral service will be held Wednesday at Unger Funeral Chapel in Silverton. Interment will follow in Belle Passi Mausoleum in Woodburn. Mrs. Gray was born Sept. 25, 1901, in Lenox County, Iowa, to George Washington and Alice Mae Wiley Lemon. The family moved to Lynden, Wash., when she was very young. Her father died there when she was six, and her mother moved the family to Union, where she received her education. She married Ernest Merrell Gray on May 28, … Read more

Biography of J. W. McCarty

J.W. McCARTY. – Mr. McCarty, whose phenomenal success as a hop-grower in the Puyallup valley is well known, was born in La Porte county, Indiana, in 1833, and lived with his parents until 1852. As a young man of ambition and sterling qualities, he, in that year crossed the plains to Oregon in company with George Belshaw, now of Lane county, Oregon, and his two brothers. With his brothers he went to Puget Sound in October, 1853, assisting himself to the beginnings of a fortune by working in logging camps and in the sawmills. In 1854 he secured the claim … Read more

Biography of Hon. Charles Eisenbeis

HON. CHARLES EISENBEIS. – This wealthy resident of Port of Washington gained his eminence by sturdy industry and sagacious investment during the pioneer days. He is a native of Prussia, was born in 1832, and the fifth in a family of ten children. Of his father he learned the trade of a baker, and was prepared upon his arrival in America in 1856 to earn thereby, in company with his brother, an independent livelihood at Rochester, New York. In 1858 he came via Panama to San Francisco, and in the fall of the same year arrived at Port Townsend. He … Read more

Lee, Robert Edward – Obituary

Robert Edward (Bob) Lee, manager of the Tacoma office of the General Electric Company and prominent in business, civic, and sports circles, died late Wednesday night [October 23, 1940] at his home, 825 North Yakima Avenue, of a heart attack. He appeared to be in good health during the afternoon and ate a hearty dinner Wednesday night. Following dinner, he sat down in his living room and fell into a sleep from which he never awakened. He had been at his office as usual Wednesday. About three years ago he suffered a slight stroke, from which he seemed to have … Read more

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