Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 5, 1950 Adams County, Ritzville, WA ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ************************************************ ==================================================================== This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Sue Gardner sueboo18@hotmail.com ==================================================================== Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 5, 1950 Longtime Local Blacksmith Dies of Pneumonia Funeral services for Frank M. Morris, 80, one of Ritzville's oldest surviving blacksmiths, were held Tuesday afternoon at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home with the Rev. Clifford Knight officiating. Burial was in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Born in Iowa in 1869, Morris traveled extensively through the U.S. following his graduation from parochial school, and in his middle twenties settled on a homestead near Moses Lake. After proving up, he sold the land and moved to Adams county. At the turn of the century Morris owned a threshing outfit and worked on many Adams county farms during harvest. About 1905 he built a blacksmith and woodworking shop at the site of the present municipal garage in Ritzville. He retired when the shop was destroyed by fire in 1945. Morris was married in 1903 to Anna Lenore Stevick. Two sons were lost at an early age but a daughter, Mrs. Albert c. Severtsen of Gig Harbor, Wash., survives him. Morris was visiting Mrs. Sivertsen for the holidays when he was fatally stricken by pneumonia. Other survivors are his youngest sister, Mrs. Louis Hitzler of Dubuque, Iowa; a grandson, Albert Morris Severtsen and a granddaughter, Carlee May Sivertsen. Funeral Held In Washtucna for Beckner Victim of Fatal Shooting Raised In 'Tucna Area WASHTUCNA - Funeral services for James Beckner, 20-year-old farmer who apparently was murdered early Saturday morning in Whitman county's second violent crime in less than two weeks, were held Thursday morning in the Washtucna Community church. Beckner, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Beckner of the Washtucna- Kahlotus area, grew up near Washtucna and was widely known through this area. His funeral came five days after 27-year-old Grant Rio, a farm hand at Beckner's ranch between Hooper and Riparia in Whitman county, had surrendered himself to law officers in Washtucna. According to Sheriff Frank Lucas, Rio gave himself up with the words, "I guess the officers are looking for me." Rio has been charge with the shooting and killing of Beckner early Saturday morning. A hired hand, Joseph Roberg, 25, was shot at the same time. Rio has admitted being drunk that night, but denied any knowledge of the shootings. Sheriff Lucas said he and Deputy Sheriff Lawrence Borch were called out about 2:15 a.m. Saturday by the Whitman county sheriff's office, which informed them a murder or possible double murder had been reported in the Hooper area. It was still uncertain, Colfax said, whether the reported murders occurred in Whitman or Adams county. Sheriff Lucas and Borch joined the net of law officers which cautiously closed in on the Beckner farm house and discovered the two bodies blasted with a shotgun. The Adams county officers then alerted night officer Barge Wachtel of Washtucna and combed Adams county roads looking for a pickup missing from Beckner's place. About 8:30 a.m. Saturday, according to reports from Washtucna, Rio walked into Sitton's Grocery in Washtucna and ordered a bottle of pop. Then he strolled over to the George and Bob Service Station where he gave himself up. Marshal Wachtel was quickly summoned. He placed Rio in the town jail. Beckner's survivors include his widow, Della Mae; his parents; three brothers, Dale and Bobby of Washtucna, and Ted of Spokane; and a sister, Helen, of Washtucna. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 12, 1950 Funeral Held for 67 Year Resident of Ritzville Area An 84-year-old woman who had lived in the Ritzville area since she was a girl of 17 died last Friday. Funeral services were held Monday for Mrs. Helen Victoria Lewis, one of the city's oldest and most widely known early-day pioneers. As a young bride, Mrs. Lewis came to Adams county in 1887 on an immigrant train that took from Monday noon until midnight Saturday to travel from Chicago to Pendleton, Ore. Her first child, Harriet, the present Mrs. L. D. Emerson, was born that same year in the old Exchange hotel while the doctor was still on his way from Sprague. The Lewis homestead home, about 18 miles from Ritzville, was considered luxurious for its day. It contained two bedrooms, a kitchen with a small hole under it for a cellar and wallpapering of newspaper later used to teach reading to the children, all surrounded by a quarter section of unbroken bunchgrass. While her husband toiled in the fields to "prove up," Mrs. Lewis gathered cow chips from the prairie for her cooking fire, drew water by the bucket from a crude cistern and one day traded a good featherbed for a young heifer and calf so her growing children could find out what milk tasted like. Traveled Alone Mrs. Lewis also rode her saddle pony around the ranch early in the morning, to spread squirrel poison. Ocassionally she traveled to Ritzville or Lind alone in a two-wheeled cart drawn by a plow horse. She would keep her youngest baby in a box at her feet, and often reached home late at night with coyotes howling alongside the road. Four other children were born on the ranch without benefit of a doctor. With wheat at 19 cents a bushel one year, her husband, Will, secured a job as schoolteacher at Fletcher. He arose before dawn, did the chores, and walked two miles to school because it was too cold to leave a horse outside, handled his own janitor work, and arrived back home often after dark, because school didn't let out until 4 p.m. His salary was $35 a month. While he was gone, Mrs. Lewis finished the chores, sewed, mended, knitted, cooked and matured, along the prairie with her children, in a way few present day women could understand. Learned Cooking She used to laugh when she recalled how it took a neighboring bachelor to teach her how to make good sourdough biscuits and pancakes. She laughed too, during a memorable picnic at the Big Falls of the Palouse in 1892. It took a day for the lumber wagons to reach the falls. There the men turned the wagon boxes on their sides to use as windbreaks. Men, women and children slept on the ground for two nights, picnicked for two happy days, used up a fourth day to drive home over the hot, dusty roads. But doubtless there was far more discouragement than laughter in Mrs. Lewis' life. After eight years on the ranch Mr. Lewis was elected county assessor on the Populist ticket, and the family moved to Ritzville. Lewis also owned the Ritzville newspaper for a short time, and later became an attorney. The husband died in 1944. When Mrs. Lewis followed him last Friday, she had lived in the Ritzville area for 67 years. Her survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Emerson and Miss Ruth Lewis and Miss Alice Lewis of New York City; and three sons, Oliver A. of Wallace, Raymond R. of Yakima, and Fred A. of San Francisco. The Rev. Clifford Knight conducted the funeral services at Trinity Methodist church. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery with Danekas and Duncan funeral home in charge of arrangements. Beckner Funeral Is Held From Washtucna Church WASHTUCNA - The Washtucna Community church was filled to overflowing last Thursday for the funeral service of James Beckner, 20 year-old murder victim. An estimated 400 attended, a large number being from out of town. There were more than 200 floral pieces. The Rev. A. K. Walborn officiated. James Bachman of Washtucna and his sister, Miss Annella Bachman, a student at WSC, who were soloist and bridesmaid at the Beckner wedding a little over a year ago sang for the funeral service with Mrs. F. R. West, Jr., as organist. Active pallbearers were Wayne Camppell, Boyd Peterson, Kent Herron, James Sitton, Harold Morton and Don Nave. Honorary pallbearers were Bob Braddock, C. R. Parish, Archie Staley, William Fisher, "Doc" Craig, Melvin Moore, Roderick Ross and Robert Rehn. Burial was in Colfax. James Alton Beckner was born in Washtucna on Nov. 29, 1929. He lived his entire life in the Washtucna-Kahlotus communities until his marriage on Oct. 24, 1948, to Della Mae Barr. Then he became engaged in farming in the Riparia district. He was a graduate of the Kahlotus high school and had attended Washington State College prior to his marriage. He was received into membership of the Washtucna Community church on March 29, 1942, by baptism. He assisted the pastor with midnight Christmas eve services this year. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 19, 1950 Two Children Frozen in Trek Across Fields The world was turned upside down for an Adams county farm couple last Friday when a blinding sub-zero blizzard claimed the lives of their two small children and delivered the father exhausted and nearly fozen to death himself. Fred Stumpf, farmer in the area between Ritzville and Odessa, is still in Ritzville General hospital this week after suffering from frozen feet and fingers. The two children who lost their lives were Ilene, 10, a fourth grader in the Ritzville elementary school, and Frederick, 6, who started kindergarten last fall. Frederick's body was recovered in a snowdrift on the Stumpfs own wheat fields early Saturday morning. Ilene's body was found about a quarter of a mile away, shortly before noon Saturday. Both were victims of a futile effort made with their father to reach home from where the family car had stalled about one mile to the northwest. Bodies of the two children are at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home. Mrs. Stumpf is staying with her sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Herschel Heimbigner, in Ritzville. The tragedy had its beginning Friday morning when Ritzville schools were let out when it became evident that the steadily increasing wind and snowfall might clog country roads by afternoon. Stumpf picked up his two children in his 1949 Buick sedan. According to Marvin Shadduck, grade school principal, the 38-year-old rancher was in the habit of delivering and calling for his children each day. Stumpf spent the rest of the morning in Ritzville. He and the children had lunch with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Stumpf. The blizzard was reaching a new peak of intensity when he started for his home, about 15 miles west of Ritzville, near the old Neppel road sometime between 11:30 and noon. Saturday morning, Stumpf, in his hospital bed told Dr. J. Colin Lindsay, it was about 1 p.m. when his car became hopelessly stuck in a snow bank along a county road about one mile from his home. Stumpf worked the vehicle frantically, but couldn't free it. According to Stumpf, he and the two children remained in the car about two hours. Then they struck out for the top of a knoll in an effort to determine whether they might be able to walk home. The three were instantly engulfed in the freezing blizzard. At first Stumpf carried both children on his shoulders. But soon realized they might keep warmer by walking. Stumpf had not gone far before Ilene collapsed from the cold. He decided to turn back to the car but was unable to find it. The trios only hope then, was to make it home a mile away. Stumpf knew where he was. He struck into the bottom of a coulee which headed in a semi-circle towards the home place. It is unlikely the father could see for more than 10 to 20 feet in any direction. Ilene fell again near the bottom of the coulee. At times Stumpf carried his son; during other stretches he must have dragged him by the hand.Their course led out of the coulee to a fence line post where a blanket was abandoned in the snow. Perhaps 300 feet farther lay the boy's body. Stumpf, probably half-blinded and losing all sense of direction, wandered generally toward the house but off to the right. He was shouting for help. His wife heard the shouts. She hurried into the blizzard, found her husband and led him to the house. Stumpf said it was about 7 p.m. when he reached home. That would give him four hours of wandering through the blizzard. The same frantic shouts were heard by Maudise Ferderer. Ferderer had left a stalled school bus, another victim of the drifting show to summon help. He fought his way two or three miles towards home. When he reached home, he telephoned Ritzville about the bus and conveyed his fears regarding Stumpf. In addition, some of the men rescuing the school children on the bus, observed a flickering light in the direction of the Stumpf home. It was learned later that Mrs. Stumpf - the farm has no telephone - had been switching the yard light off and on in hopes of attracting attention. As soon as the school children had been transferred to private cars, a county plow bullied its way to the Stumpf farm. The drivers were greeted with the sickening news that Stumpf had stumbled home and that both children were still out in the blizzard. About 1 a.m. a search party started out. The blizzard had died away but the temperature was dropping to a brittle 18 below. Headlights on the snow plows lit up the snowdrifts as searchers tramped back and forth. About 2:30 a.m. Frederick's body was found. The party search for another hour for Ilene, but finally gave up because of darkness and intense cold. Shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, Sheriff Lucas led a 17-man party back to the scene. The second search lasted less than two hours when Ilene's body was located. Funeral services for the children are set for 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 23, at the Zion Congregational church. The Rev. P. Ruder will officiate. Burial will be in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Funeral Is Held For Walter Koch WENATCHEE - Walter N, Koch, first child of Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Koch, Ritzville pioneers, died suddenly of a heart attack while ice skating in Wenatchee last Wednesday. Mr. Koch was born in Ritzville on Oct. 13, 1904, and received his education in local schools. He was married here in 1930 to the former Irene Schweer, and that same year moved to Wenatchee, where they had lived ever since. He was in the bakery products distributing business, and was a member of the Grace Lutheran church. Surviving are his widow, three sons, Ronald, Barney and Daryl, all at the home; a daughter, Judy, at the home; three brothers, Fred of Spokane, and Ralph and Phillip of Ritzville; and three sisters, Mrs. Anna Koch and Mrs. James G. Morton, both of Wenatchee, and Mrs. William Doerschlag of Kirkland. The funeral was held Saturday afternoon in the Jones and Jones chapel in Wenatchee with the Rev. E. H. Kasten officiating. Burial was in the Wenatchee cemetery. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, January 26, 1950 Funeral Held for Mrs. Hildebrandt SPOKANE - Funeral services were held Jan. 11 for Lydia M. Hilderbrandt, mother of William P. Hilderbrandt of Ritzville and a sister of Mrs. Emma Amen and Mrs. Lillie Burghard, both of Ritzville. Mrs. Hildebrandt also was survived by her husband, William G. Hildebrandt of Colbert; four daughters, Miss Gladys Hilderbrandt at the home, Mrs. Irene Olsson of Spokane, Mrs. Ethel E. Lindsey of Colbert, and Mrs. Margaret Roloff of Spokane; and another son, Fred H. Hilderbrandt at the home. Survivors also include three other sisters, Mrs. Dena Simpson of Odessa, Mrs. Minnie Foote of Spokane and Mrs. Lizzy Fisher of Davenport; and four brothers, John, Pete and Alfred Luiten, all of Odessa, and William Luiten of Bellingham. Mrs. Hildebrandt was a member of the Lutheran church. Services were conducted at the Hazen and Jaeger funeral home with interment at Dartford, Wash. Pallbearers were her nephews, Harvey Burghard of Ritzville, Kenneth Fisher of Davenport, Herbert Burghard of Odessa, Roy and Lorin Westerman of Spokane, and Alvin Luiten of Odessa. Varnes' Relative Dies In Alabama Word was received here of the death of Mr. William Richardson of Birmington, Ala., a brother-in-law to Mr. A. H. Varnes. Mr. Richardson visited the Varnes last September and made quite a few friends here during his month's stay. He died of a heart attack Jan. 8. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Mrs. Mary Harris and Mrs. Martha Woods, both of Birmington, and a son, William Richardson, jr., of Boston. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 2, 1950 Graveside Rites Set For Donald Schwerin Graveside services for an Adams county airman killed in action in 1945 in the Pacific theater will be held this Friday afternoon at the Ritzville Memorial cemetery at 2 p.m. The flier is Donald Charles Schwerin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Schwerin of Ritzville. Schwerin's body was recovered on a South Pacific mountainside months after his plane had been reported "missing in action." Interred since then in a military graveyard in the Pacific area, the body was returned to Ritzville Sunday evening. The C. J. Newland American Legion post will conduct the services. Schwerin was born in Ritzville on Nov. 14, 1917. He was graduated from Ritzville high school and attended Washington State college where he was affiliated wtih Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. He enlisted in the army air force in 1942 but was not called into active service until February of 1943. Schwerin received his commission as a bombardier-navigator at Hondo, Texas. He also received training at Missoula, Mont.; Ellington field, Texas; Las Vegas, Nev.; and Carlsbad, New Mexico. His post flight training was taken at Tonapah, Nev. Lieutenant Schwerin and the other members of his crew left the United States on Dec. 4, 1944, in the face of a violent Pacific storm. They arrived safely at New Guinea where their B-24 heavy bomber went into action against the Japanese, concentrating on enemy airfields and shipping targets in the Philippines area. On April 2, 1945, Lieutenant Schwerin's plane disappeared on an observation mission over Negros island in the Philippines. The craft, with its 11-man crew, faded into nowhere less than 45 minutes after it had been contacted by two American fighter planes. For some time after the crewmen were reported missing in action, hope was maintained that eventually they might be found alive on an isolated south Pacific island. It was discovered later, however, that the plane had crashed into a mountain in what was then Japanese held territory. All the crewmen had been killed. Lieutenant Schwerin was a member of the Fifth Bombing group of the 13th Air Force, held the Purple Heart and the air medal for his "courageous service in operational flight missions during which hostile attack was probable and expected." He was a member of St. Mark's Episcopal church. Memorial services for Lieutenant Schwerin were held in October of 1946. Besides his parents, survivors include a sister, Virgina, at the home, and a brother, Robert, of Walla Walla. Danekas and Duncan funeral home were in charge of local arrangements. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 9, 1950 Funeral Is Held for Mrs. Donley OTHELLO - Mrs. Lena Donley died early Tuesday morning at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Lylah Hodson, following a lingering illness of many months. Mrs. Donley had just observed her 75th birthday on Jan. 30. She was born near Abilene, Kans., on Jan. 30, 1875. She had made her home in Othello for the past 38 years. She was survived by three daughters, Mrs. Lylah Hodson, Mrs. Viola Lawrenz of California, and Mrs. Jeannetta Stromme, and one son, John Donley; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and two sisters. Funeral services were held at Ellensburg Saturday with the Rev. Dan Rueb of the Baptist church officiating. Interment was in the Ellensburg cemetery. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 16, 1950 Funeral Rites Conducted for Mrs. Telecky Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Wednesday for Mrs. Fannie Telecky, who died Sunday at the age of 78. The rites were conducted in the Trinity Methodist church with the Rev. Clifford Knight officiating. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Mrs. Telecky was a member of the Methodist church and the Grange. Her survivors include her husband, John, of Ritzville; a brother, Edward Hudec of Minnesota; and 59 nieces and nephews. Danekas and Duncan funeral home was in charge of arrangements. Funeral Is Held for John Fritchle LIND - Funeral services were held Tuesday for John Fritchle, 69, of Lind, who died last Thursday at the Ritzville General hospital. The rites were conducted in the Assembly of God church. Burial was in the Lind cemetery. Mr. Fritchle was born in Russia in 1880 and came to the United States 49 years ago. He had lived in the Lind area during the past 27 years. Survivors include the widow, Barbara, of Lind; two sons, Edward of Lind and Rudolph of California; and seven daughters, Mrs. Dale Starring, Mrs. Ben Maier, Mrs. Ed Deerheim, Mrs. Reinhold Englehart, and Mrs. Robert Davidson, all of Lind; Mrs. Marie Taylor of Tacoma, and Mrs. William Davenport of Missoula, Mont. He was also survived by 20 grandchildren and six great- grandchildren. Danekas and Duncan funeral home was in charge of arrangements. Rites Are Held for Rogel Infant Here Funeral services were held Saturday for William George Rogel, infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Rogel of Rizville. The baby died in a Spokane hospital two months and 21 days after his birth Nov. 18. Services were conducted by the Rev. R. Kirschenmann at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Besides the parents, the baby was survived by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Oestreich. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, February 23, 1950 Kautz Funeral Conducted Here on Friday Funeral services will be held for Michael Kautz, 90, at the Philadelphia Congregational church. The Rev. R. Kirschenmann will officiate. Burial is to be in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Mr. Kautz, who died Feb. 20 in the local hospital, was a retired farmer. He had lived in the Ritzville area 51 years, and was a member of the Philadelphia Congregational church. Survivors include two sons, William of Ritzville, and Fred of Spokane; two daughters, Mrs. Walter Teske of Ritzville, and Mrs. William T. Smith of Cheney; 16 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren. Danekas and Duncan funeral home was in charge of arrangements. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 2, 1950 Funeral Is Held for Mrs. Laib's Mother QUINCY - Mrs. Ed Laib of Ritzville is one of eight surviving step-daughters of Mrs. Babetta Stoller, 70, Quincy resident since 1928, who died last Monday at the Columbia Basin hospital in Ephrata. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at the Quincy Evangelical and Reformed church, with the Rev. Otto Schrodel officiating. The body was cremated. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 9, 1950 Two Lind Pioneers Die Recently LIND - Word has been received of the death of Myron (Ted) Elmore whose home was in Cheney. He was survived by a sister, Mrs. Florence Smith of Cheney; a brother, Gardener Elmore of Spokane; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held Wednesday, March 8. Mr. Elmore was an early Lind settler and owns the farm which russell Cline farms. Another long-time resident of Lind died recently. Frank Standish, whose home was at W. 427 Seventh in Spokane, died in a Spokane hospital March 5. He had lived in Spokane 25 years. He was survived by one daughter, Mrs. G. Erton of Medical Lake and one granddaughter. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 16, 1950 Funeral Is held For Mrs. Freiske Funeral services were held Monday for Mrs. Lydia Freiske, 53, who died March 9 in the Ritzville hospital. The rites were conducted at the Zion Congregational church with the Rev. P. Ruder officiating. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. A resident of this area for 40 years, Mrs. Freiske was a member of the Zion church. Survivors include the husband, Theodore, and a daughter, Delores, at the home; her mother, Mrs. Fredericka Klettke of Ritzville; four sisters, Mrs. Marie Thiel of Ritzville, Mrs. Anna Sackmann of Lind, Mrs. Edna Sherman of Walla Walla, and Mrs. Hulda Cain of San Diego, Calif.; five brothers, Robert, Alvin, John and Gust Klettke, all of Ritzville, and Albert Klettke of Richmond, Calif. Funeral Conducted for William Griffith SPOKANE - Funeral services were held for William Russell Griffith of Spokane, former Ritzville resident and a member of one of the pioneer families in this area. Mr. Griffith was the father of Loren Griffith of Ritzville. He is also survived by his widow, Helen, at the home, and four other children, Russel of Spokane, Arlene at the home, Olon of Cheney, and Harold of Twisp. The rites were conducted at the Hazen and Jaeger funeral home. Funeral Services Held for Early Warden Pioneer WARDEN - Funeral services were held at the Warden Congregational church on Tuesday, March 7, for Mrs. Magdelina Roloff of Freewater, Ore., formerly of Warden. She was born April 5, 1865, in Kulm, Russia, where she spent her childhood and youthful years until she married her now deceased husband. In 1901 the couple left Russia and came to the United States, homesteading near Warden. Seven children were born to this wedlock, of which one preceded the mother in death. In 1944 her husband died and since that time she spent the greater part of her life with her children in Freewater. She died Saturday, March 4, at the age of 84 years, 10 months and 29 days. She is survived by six children, Mrs. Lydia Huether, John, Ewald, Israel, all of Freewater; Gotfried in Spokane, and Dan in Tacoma; one sister, Mrs. Amelia Leischner, in Canada; 18 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. A service was held at the German Congregational church in Walla Walla Monday, March 6, with the Rev. E. A. Klein of Walla Walla officiating. Concluding services were held at Warden Tuesday with the Rev. E. G. Klein and Rev. C. Huber of Warden officiating. Interment was in the Warden cemetery. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 23, 1950 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, March 30, 1950 DeSpain Rites Are Conducted at Centralia CENTRALIA - Funeral services were held last Thursday for Harry Stuart DeSpain, 58, who died the previous Monday in his home in rural Centralia. Born in Ritzville Feb. 8, 1892, DeSpain had been a resident of Lewis county 35 years. He was employed by the state highway department, and was a member of the Masonic lodge at PeEll. He was survived by his wife, Stephanie, at the home; two sons, Donald, Chehalis, and Jean, Seattle; two daughters, Mrs. Blanche Decker and Mrs. Gordon Wilcox, both of Chehalis; a brother, Oliver, Coulee Dam; a sister, Mrs. Claire Norris, Chesterfield, Mo.; and three grandchildren.