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

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

Biography of Clinton P. Ferry

CLINTON P. FERRY. – Clinton P. Ferry was born at Fort Wayne, Indiana, May 24, 1836. Having lost his father, an uncle became his guardian to a great extent. At the age of seven years he removed to Indianapolis, where he attended a preparatory school and business college. For a short time, he engaged in learning the art of printing, and devoted his seventeenth and eighteenth years as a telegraph operator. He was a nephew of W.G.& G.W. Ewing, a firm then largely interested in trading posts on the then Western frontier of the United States. They had branches at … Read more

Biography of Boyd Elias Pollom

The men who came to Shawnee County in 1871 were of necessity patient plodders, content to await the rewards of a developing civilization. There were no short cuts to fortune such as fired the zeal of the argonauts of ’49, but there existed sane and practical opportunities for the man to whom labor was a beneflcent and necessary festure of his existence. To such a class belonged William Pollom, father of Boyd Elias Pollom, the latter one of the successful agrienlturists and substantial citizens of the vicinity of North Topeka. William Pollom was born in Ohio, in 1838, a son … Read more

Biography of Rev. John F. Devore, D. D.

REV. JOHN F. DEVORE, D.D. – Doctor Devore was a native of Kentucky, being born near Lexington, December 7, 1817. He was of French descent, as the name indicates, and owed very much to the pious example of religious parents, who urged him with their last words to be “faithful to his God.” The “Life of Bramwell” fell into his hands at an early date, was read with great relish, and had much to do in molding the shape of his after life. Entering the ministry, he joined the Rock river conference in 1842, Bishop Roberts presiding. He was ordained … 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

O’Farrell, Margaret – Obituary

Mrs. Margaret O’Farrell, aged 56 years, died at one of the city hospitals last evening [March 7, 1904]. She had been a well-known resident of Orting, coming there from Australia with her husband 34 years ago. A husband and five sons and a daughter survive her. The cause of her death was cancer, from which she had been suffering for more than a year. The funeral arrangements are not yet complete. Contributed by: Shelli Steedman

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

See, James B. – Obituary

La Grande, Union County, Oregon James B. See Pioneer of This County Dead James B. See who was born on June 25, 1869 near Island City, died this week in Tacoma. Funeral services were held Thursday afternoon at the Summerville Chapel under the auspices of the Moose Lodge. He is survived by his father, Benjamin See who resides in La Grande. Four brothers; Jefferson, Frank, George and Albert, and a sister, Anna Arthur living at Stanfield. The See families were early settlers of this valley and for many years made their home on the Summerville District. Source: The La Grande … Read more

Baum, Eva Mae Scott Mrs. – Obituary

Eva Mae Baum, 96, of Tacoma, Wash., a former longtime Baker City resident, died March 21, 2006, at her home in Tacoma. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Friday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Eva Mae Baum was born on July 29, 1909, near Pullman, Wash., to Charles and Edna Scott. She was one of three children. She lived most of her childhood at Spokane, Wash. In 1926, she moved with her mother to La Grande. It was there that she married Jack Stewart in … 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

Puyallup Indians

Puyallup Indians were located at the mouth of Puyallup River and the neighboring coast, including Carr Inlet and the southern part of Vashon Island in the state of Washington.

Pease, Edgar Bishop – Obituary

Edgar Bishop Pease died Sunday afternoon [August 10, 1930] at a local hospital at the age of 65 years. His home was at 6301 South Alder Street. He was a foreman at the Northern Pacific shops and had lived 31 years in Tacoma. He was a member of Afifi Temple of the Shrine; of Clover Lodge, F. & A. M., and of Whote Clover Chapter, O. E. S.; of Keystone Chapter No. 37, Royal Arch Masons and of the P. O. S. of A. and Northern Pacific Veterans’ Association and M. W. A. Surviving him are his wife, Mrs. Mattie … 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 Allen C. Mason

ALLEN C. MASON. – The well-known fact that a city presents, as a whole, the characteristics of the individuals who compose it, finds no better illustration than in the city of Tacoma, Washington. It is wide-awake, enterprising and progressive, and is such not only because of its unrivaled location and its commanding position as the terminus of the great Northern Pacific Railroad, but because its business men are themselves possessed of a spirit of progressive enterprise, are thoroughly imbued with confidence in the great destiny of their city, and are united in their efforts to promote its welfare. Prominent among … Read more

Swearingen, Vernise Augustus – Obituary

Vernise A. Swearingen, 43, former Ellensburg resident, died Friday in a Tacoma Hospital from injuries received earlier last week in an accident at the Seattle-Tacoma shipyards where he was employed as a rigger. Plant officials reported that he was crushed while unloading steel plates when he slacked off on a safety line too soon and the plates tipped over on him. A veteran of World War I, Swearingen had enlisted for service in this war WWII, but was discharged because of a physical disability. He was awarded the Silver Star, Order of the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster, and … Read more

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

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

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