John William Stover Todd of Seattle WA

John William Stover, b. Aug. 8, 1901, he also has lived in a dozen of the states, but received his earlier school training in Alabama, Ncbraska and Virginia. He had a diploma from the Normal Grade or School of Pedagogy, at Central Academy and from the High School of Aplington, Iowa two months before he was fifteen years of age. He was then employed for two years part of the time in Iowa at garage and band work, then later with the office force of a great commercial and banking company at Butte, Montana, where sometimes with a reliable revolver … Read more

Biography of Hon. John P. Hoyt

HON. JOHN P. HOYT. – “Every man has two educations, – one which he receives from others, and one more important, which he gives himself.” Very early in life the subject of this sketch learned this important lesson; and the fruits of its strict observance are being enjoyed by him at present. He owes his advancement to no accident of birth or fortune, but has earned success through the toilsome avenue of study and hard work. His early education was acquired at a country district school during the winter months, when the plow used on his father’s farm stood idle … Read more

Storey, George Charles – Obituary

Funeral services for George C. Storey, Sr., 80 years old, of 1136 W. 64th St., will be held at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon at E. R. Butterworth & Sons Funeral Parlor. Burial will be in Mount Pleasant. Mr. Storey, a retired coal miner, was born in Viola, Ill. He had lived in Seattle fifty-three years. Survivors include the widow, Emma Jane; four daughters, Mrs. Emma Cooke, Mrs. Alice McIntyre, Mrs. Blanche Hyde, all of Seattle, and Mrs. Daisy Cooke, Ellensburg, and three sons, William W. and John M. Storey, both Seattle, and George C. Storey, Jr., Elk City, Idaho. Mr. … Read more

Wright, Emma Louella Edd Mrs. – Obituary

Emma Louella Wright, 91, of La Grande, a former Baker City resident, died June 15, 2005, at a La Grande care center. A graveside service and celebration of her life will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at Abbey View Memorial Park in Brier, Wash. Arrangements are under the direction of Loveland Funeral Chapel in La Grande. Emma Louella Wright was born on Nov. 21, 1913, at Glasgo, Mont. She was the oldest of eight children born to Pete and Minnie Hill Edd. The family moved to Williston, N.D., where she was raised and educated. Emma married Leland Stroud at Williston, … Read more

Wiester, Emily Irene Street Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Emily Irene Wiester, 88, of Issaquah, Wash., a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 24, 2003, at her home. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Madeleine Sophie Roman Catholic Church in Bellevue, Wash. Irene was born on Jan. 26, 1915, in Prineville to Mary and Edward Street. Her parents moved to California shortly after she was born. Irene attended the University of Washington at Seattle as a freshman. There she met Harold Wiester. After graduation from the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics, she returned … Read more

Storey, John M.

John M. Storey, 81, of Entiat, died in a Wenatchee hospital Monday [December 1, 1969] evening following a brief illness. Born in Washington near Frank, Sept. 19, 1888, he grew up in the Renton-Seattle area. During World War II he worked as a boilermaker and was a meat cutter prior to moving to Entiat in 1966. On Sept. 26, 1968, he married Maude Ingersoll in Seattle and they made their home at Entiat. Surviving are his widow; three stepsons, Albert Bickford, Kooskie, Idaho, Ivan Fulwiler, Leavenworth, and Floyd Ingersoll, Entiat; two stepdaughters, Mrs. Cletus Crone, Wenatchee, and Mrs. Loretta Jensen, … Read more

Brunn, Marie Hertz – Obituary

Mrs. Marie Brunn, the wife of Dr. C. Brunn, died at her home, 3124 South Seventh Street, early Sunday morning [June 3]. Mrs. Brunn has suffered from asthma for a number of years, and about two months ago the disease developed alarmingly, causing her death yesterday. She was 45 years of age and had come to Tacoma from Seattle two years ago. Mrs. Brunn is survived by her husband and eight children. The funeral services will be held at her late residence on Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. Mr. Walker of the Sixth Avenue Baptist Church conducting the services. Interment will … Read more

Van Ocker, Virginia Mary Wilson Mrs. – Obituary

Virginia Mary Wilson Van Ocker, 90, of Baker City, died Jan. 29, 2005, at Boise after a long illness. Her memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Ralph Holcomb will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the funeral home. Virginia was born at Seattle, Wash., on June 3, 1914, to Otis and Hulda Wilson. She was the second of five children. At the age of 2, she moved with her family to Milton-Freewater. She attended all 12 years of school at Milton-Freewater, graduating from Mac-Hi in 1932. She married … Read more

Lee, C. Melvin – Obituary

C. Melvin “Mel” Lee, 86, a four-year resident of Olympia, died of cancer Saturday, May 27, 1995, in Mother Joseph Care Center, Olympia. He was born Nov. 15, 1908, to William and Geneva (Hodges) Lee in Ellensburg, where he graduated from Ellensburg High School. Mr. Lee graduated from Washington State University with a bachelor’s degree in education. He married Claudia (Swenson) Lee on April 3, 1947 in Seattle. Mr. Lee was in the Army from 1943 to 1946, serving in the Philippines and the United States. Mr. Lee taught and coached athletics for several schools in Washington. He was superintendent … Read more

Dague, Irene Rogers Mrs. – Obituary

Irene Rogers Dague, 105, of Seattle, Wash., a former Baker City resident, died May 10, 2001, at Seattle. There will be a family gathering in her memory and inurnment of her ashes Tuesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Gray’s West & Co. There was a memorial service at Magnolia Presbyterian Church in Seattle earlier. Mrs. Dague was born on Feb. 3, 1896, at Azusa, Calif. She graduated from Occidental College in 1918 and worked as a teacher and later as a social worker. She was a lifelong Presbyterian and a member of the PEO Sisterhood. … Read more

Ferguson, Susan Matilda Carver – Obituary

Susie Matilda Ferguson, native pioneer resident, passed away Wednesday May 24, 1967 at the Burien General Hospital in Seattle at the age of 87 years. She was born October 18, 1879 in Ellensburg, the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. George Washington Carver [mother Rosetta Curtis] and was married to James Harvey Ferguson on December 25, 1898. They farmed for several years in the Kittitas Valley, moving 17 years ago to Kent. She is survived by her husband, James Harvey Ferguson, Kent; one son, Lester J. Ferguson, Lynnwood; one daughter, Mrs. Bertha Wright, Seattle; four grandchildren, including Marvin Rutledge, … Read more

Low, Archie E. – Obituary

Archie E. Low, well-known young man of Union, who served some time with the A. E. F. in France, died at his home in Union Saturday night, after a long illness. Mr. Low was gassed while overseas, and never regained his health. He came home to Union last summer, but upon the advice of physicians went to Seattle and entered the government hospital there. His condition did not improve however, and he was brought home by his father last week. Deceased was a member of Union Post No. 50, American Legion, and the funeral took place in Union, with interment … 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

Biography of Robert Moran

ROBERT MORAN. – Among the many who have risen to prominence in the Pacific Northwest, the Empire state furnishes a considerable proportion, one of the number being the subject of this sketch. He was born in New York City January 26, 1857, and in that metropolis secured his education, and also mastered the trade of a machinist. In 1875 he concluded to come West, and following up the idea found himself in San Francisco in the fall of that year. Not seeing any opening then for a man possessed with no capital but integrity and push, he soon left that … Read more

Biography of David Thomas Denny

DAVID THOMAS DENNY. – Mr. Denny was the first settler of Seattle, Washington. He was born in Putnam county, Indiana, on March 17, 1832, of sturdy pioneer stock, his parents having settled in Indiana as early as 1819. His father, John Denny, lived in Indiana till 1835, when he removed to Illinois, and in 1851 to Oregon. He was a volunteer in the war of 1812, and served under William Henry (Tippecanoe) Harrison at the Battle of the Thames. David T. Denny was a lad of only nineteen years when he joined a party of emigrants with his older brother … Read more

Biography of Arthur A. Denny

ARTHUR A. DENNY. – With the history of the early settlement of Puget Sound no name is more intimately blended than that of Arthur A. Denny, the pioneer, the founder of one of its chief metropolitan cities, the volunteer in the suppression of Indian outbreaks, the legislator, the politician, the office-holder, the congressman, the successful banker, the liberal philanthropist, the honest man and good citizen. Like many more of those who were his contemporaries in rescuing Washington Territory from the wilderness, he has seen the newcomers who are enjoying those comforts of life, not to say luxuries, to which his … Read more

Bratton, Sophia R. – Obituary

Bratton Rites Set Saturday Funeral services for Sophia R. Bratton, 56, will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in Ellensburg. Mrs. Bratton, a former Ellensburg resident, died Wednesday in Seattle. She was born January 16, 1909 in Tacoma and spent her childhood years in Ellensburg. She had lived in Seattle and Tacoma the past 43 years. She is survived by a son, Frank Frost of Chicago, Ill., a brother, W. R. Johnston, Tacoma; a sister, Mrs. Fred Lundstrom of Ellensburg; two half sister, Mrs. Margaret Hinkle of grand Coulee and Mrs. Dorothy Buroker, Renton; a granddaughter, Miss Deborah Frost, Seattle; and … Read more

Biography of Hon. Henry L. Yesler

HON. HENRY L. YESLER. – There are two very distinct types of men – those that think, and those that act. One of the former class finds his satisfaction in reaching a conclusion. One of the latter class finds his satisfaction in performing a deed. The man of thought must of necessity act more or less; but his acts are characterized by hesitation, doubt, or perhaps carelessness. He may be borne along by the activity of others, his choice of this or that being overruled by the general stream of the world’s or the community’s business. His performances may turn … Read more

Leggett, Billy R. – Obituary

Billy Robert Leggett, 89, of La Grande died Sept. 11 at Valley Creek Adult Foster Home in La Grande. Visitation will run from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday at Coles Funeral Home. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday 15 at Coles Funeral Home with burial following at Mount Hope Cemetery. A reception will be held at the Baker City United Methodist Church with the Rev. Juanita Bergacker officiating. Billy was born April 26, 1918, to Robert Lee and Mary Virginia (Shaver) Leggett in Seattle. He was raised in Seattle and went to school there. Billy worked as … Read more

Schmidt, Altafae Zimmerman Mrs. – Obituary

Altafae Zimmerman Schmidt, 77, died Aug. 15, 2001, at Scottsdale, Ariz. Mrs. Schmidt and her husband, Richard Otto, recently relocated their home from Seattle to be near their daughter, Susyn Corrine, and son, Karl Otto, and grandson, Otto Jordan. Mrs. Schmidt was always able to make friends easily and she will be missed by all of those who knew her. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions to the Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, Ariz., 85104. Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, August 24, 2001 Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor