Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, July 5, 1951 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, July 5, 1951 Funeral Services Held For Harry Martin, 85 The City of Ritzville paid its final respects Thursday to Harry Martin, banker and civic leader here for half a century. Funeral services were conducted at 1 p.m. for the widely-known and beloved "Sage of Adams County," as he was known to old timers, at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel. Burial was to be at the Greenwood cemetery in Spokane. W. H. Martin, who left Ritzville last year for retirement in California, died Sunday in Pasadena, two days after his 85th birthday. The body was brought here by his daughter, Mrs. Marjorie Weston, of Los Angeles. For nearly 50 years, beginning in 1901, Martin was in the banking business in Ritzville and during that time he became one of the community's leading forces in economic activity and civic betterment. As much as any single man, he was responsible for the development of Ritzville as a progressive business town and as a pleasant place to live. Martin's interest in civic affairs was continual and unflaging. In 1924 he revitalized the old Ritzville Commercial club and became the first president of the Ritzville chamber of commerce. He was an active member of the chamber for many years thereafter. He was largely responsible for the Ritzville swimming pool and was continually interested in the upkeep and beautification of the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. He was an early county chairman of the Anerican Red Cross and served as Red Cross fund-raising chairman during World War I. Martin was city treasurer for many years and was chairman of the Ritzville school board. There was in fact, hardly any phase of civic development in Ritzville, which, at one time or another, didn't find Harry Martin taking an active and determined part. Longtime friends recall he frequently took the trouble to seek out owners of vacant lots and ask if the property couldn't be cleaned up a bit. Martin became widely-known throughout banking circles in the Pacific Northwest. He was one of the early presidents of the Washington Bankers' association, heading the group in 1913 and he served as secretary from 1914 to 1922. He was vice president of the Adams County Abstract company from 1910 to 1928 and president from 1928 until January of this year. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, Masonic lodge, IOOF and Modern Woodmen lodges. Harry Martin was born in Sunbury, Ohio, on June 29, 1866. His father, a Presbyterian minister, wanted his three sons to become ministers and his daughter to become a foreign missionary. "I couldn't tell you why," Martin recalled a few years ago. "But for some reason all three sons wound up as bankers and my sister married a banker." The elder Martin and his son spent some years in Delafield, Wisc. Harry attended Coe college for two years before graduating from Grinnell college in Iowa in 1890. His first job before he went to college was with the Cedar County Non Pareil, a weekly newspaper at St. Helena, Neb. Harry Martin had been married Aug. 30, 1893, to Harriet E. Caldwell. She died May 4, 1918, and is buried in Greenwood in Spokane. Besides his son and daughter, Martin is survived by a grand- daughter, two grandsons and two great-grandsons. Alice E. Howton Buried Near Homestead Alice Estes Howton, who died July 1 at the age of 76 at Lind, was born in Globe, N. Car., Dec. 26, 1874, and pioneered to Cottonwood, Ida., at the age of 11. Funeral services were held Friday from the Lind Methodist church with the Rev. W. H. Ritchey and the Rev. Waldo Pierson of Connell officiating. Burial was in the Sandhills cemetery beside her late husband in a plot located near the old family homestead. After her marriage to John Howton, member of a pioneer family in Genesee, Ida., they moved to Sandhills where they homesteaded in 1901. They had two sons and seven daughters. Mrs. Howton was postmaster at Kahlotus for 13 years. She was a member of Margaret Wadsworth chapter No. 225 Order of Eastern Star, Euphemia Rebekah Lodge No. 225 at Connell, the Kahlotus Grange and the National Association of postmasters. Survivors include two sons, Norman E. of Solvang, Calif., and Lloyd L. of Ione, Ore.; five daughters, Mrs. Ruth Reeve and Mrs. Eunice Shimek of Lind, Mrs. Lois Leavell of Lynden, Mrs. Geneva Pepiot of Connell; and Mrs. Florence Bumgarner of Spokane. Other survivors include three brothers, Homer E. Estes of Moscow, Ida., Jesse G. Estes of Burbank, Calif., and Grover R. Estes of Berkeley, Calif.; and 27 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren. Funeral Held for Fred Metzner Funeral services were held Saturday for Fred W. Metzner, 56, who died the previous Thursday in Ritzville General hospital. The Rev. Edwin Zimbelman officiated at the services. Burial was in Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Metzner was born in Illinois but came to Adams county with his family at the age of seven. He had lived in this area for 49 years. Metzner served three months in the army during the Mexican campaign in 1916. During recent years he had been doing odd jobs around the town. His last steady employment is believed to have been caretaker at the city dump. He worked there for three months during 1949. Survivors include four sisters, Mrs. Anna Etheredge, Pullman; Mrs. Marie Buscher, Newport; Mrs. Grace Fuller, Spokane; and Mrs. Caroline Nissen, Ione; and one brother, Herbert, of San Francisco. Funeral rites were conducted in the Danekas and Duncan chapel. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, July 12, 1951 Funeral Conducted for Mrs. Davidson LIND - Funeral services for Mrs. Irma Davidson, 65, of Lind were held in the Methodist church at two o'clock Thursday with the Rev. W. H. Ritchey officiating. Burial was in the Lind cemetery. Mrs. Davidson was born in California April 17, 1886. She died July 9 at the Sacred Heart hospital in Spokane. She had lived in Lind for 45 years. She is survived by her husband, William T., at the home; one son, Roland, and one granddaughter, both of Lind. Funeral Is Held For Mrs. Morgan WASHTUCNA - Funeral services for Mrs. Melissa Morgan, 64, former Washtucna resident, were held July 7 at 1 p.m. at the Home funeral parlors in Seattle. Burial was at Acadia Park cemetery there. Mrs. Morgan died July 3 from a lingering illness just three hours after her daughter, Mrs. Daisy M. Kutas, had left for Washtucna. Melissa Ann Kirby was born at Bloomfield, Mo., on Sept. 25, 1887. She came to Washington and was married at Lind to Luther A. Morgan of Washtucna. They made their home here until 20 years ago when they moved to Seattle. Survivors include her husband at the home; one son, Harry L., of Seattle; one daughter, Mrs. Kutas, six grandchildren and one great-grand- child, and two sisters. Funeral Friday for Eiseman, 70 Funeral services for John Eiseman, 70, farmhand employee at the R. A. Bierman ranch near Ritzville, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel with the Rev. Aaron Wagner officiating. Burial will be in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Eiseman's body was found Tuesday afternoon hanging from a rope tied to a rafter in the machine shop at the Bierman ranch. Dick Whitmore, deputy coroner, labeled the death suicide. No motive was given, though Eiseman left a note for his brother, Joe E. Eiseman, employed at the Everett Bierman ranch. Another brother, August, is in Germany. Eiseman was born in Germany in 1880 and came to the United States in 1902. He had lived in this area 49 years. Besides the brothers, he is survived by a sister, Mrs. Christine Reifschneider of Portland. Funeral Is Held for Mrs. Rogers Word has been received by Mrs. J. P. Johnson of the death of her sister, Mrs. Cora Savage Rogers, of Richmond, Calif., on July 9 after a brief illness. Funeral services were held in that city Wednesday. Mrs. Rogers was born near Dana, Ill., 75 years ago, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Allen Savage. She came west and spent her childhood near Paha, attending school there. She moved away about 1910. She leaves two sons, Roy of Oakland, and Arthur of Richmond; one sister, Mrs. Johnson, and one brother, Allen Savage of Glen Ellyn, Ill. Mrs. Rogers and her brother visited Mrs. Johnson for three weeks in March of this year. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, July 19, 1951 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, July 25, 1951 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, August 2, 1951 Funeral Services Held Monday for Con Hofferber Funeral services were held Monday for Conrad Hofferber, 68, one of Ritzville's widest-known ranchers who died last Thursday in a Spokane hospital. The Rev. A. K. Anderson of Ralston officiated over the rites in the Danekas and Duncan funeral home chapel. Burial was in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Hofferber died after a long illness which had sent him several times lately to hospitals in Ritzville and Spokane. Born in Russia on April 27, 1883, he had been in the United States 62 years and in Ritzville 50 years. Survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Henry Heinemann and Mrs. Sol Bauer, both of Ritzville; and three step-brothers, Fred and Edwin Schaefer of Ritzville and Joe Schaefer of Spokane. Also surviving are a step-sister, Mrs. Albert Pinnow of Ritzville; and three step-brothers, Will and Jake Schaefer of Ritzville and Conrad Schaefer of Post Falls, Idaho. Hofferber was a member of Trinity United Methodist church. Nephews who served as pallbearers at the funeral were Bill Schaefer, Jack Schaefer, Robert Schaefer, all of Seattle, Robert Heinemann, Milton Heinemann of Seattle and Everett Schaefer. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, August 15, 1951 County Worker is Found Dead in Parked Auto A man identified as W. E. Namur, 57-year-old county employee, was found dead about 7 a.m. Monday in a car parked at the entrance to Ritzville Memorial cemetery. An old gasoline hose about 12 feet long was connected to the exhaust into the car. Deputy coroner Dick Whitmore prounounced the death a suicide. Namur had been a contractor in Walla Walla for the Harold T. Mast construction company on the Ritzville-Paha highway rebuilding project. He had been driving trucks and tractors for Adams county for the past three months. Sheriff Frank Lucas is attempting to contact either of two sons or a brother working in Alaska. Dugger Funeral Will Be Friday Funeral services for John Dugger, who died Tuesday evening at the age of 88, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday from the Danekas and Duncan funeral chapel. The Rev. Edwin Zimbelman will officiate. Burial will be in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Dugger came to the Ritzville area in 1889. The retired farmer had lived in Ritzville for 10 years. Survivors include his wife, Mrs. M. M. Dugger of Ritzville; two daughters, Mrs. Carey Tyson of San Francisco, and Mrs. Mollie Triebwasser of Portland, Ore.; a son, Alfred, 18 grandchildren and many great-grand- children. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, August 23, 1951 Funeral Monday for Mrs. Miller Funeral services for Mrs. Amalie Miller, who died last Thursday at her home were held Monday at the Emanuel Lutheran church. The Rev. F. J. Ahrendt officiated. Burial was in the Lutheran cemetery. Mrs. Miller was born in Kolb, Russia, and came to the United States 49 years ago. She had lived in Ritzville for 34 years after her husband retired from farming in the Ritzville area. She was a member of the Lutheran church and the Lutheran Ladies Aid. Survivors include her husband, Alex; two daughters, Mrs. Rose Myers of Pasco and Mrs. Evelyn Horch of Ritzville; one brother, Jacob Koch; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, August 30, 1951 Mrs. Mann Dies Tuesday at 77 Funeral services for Mrs. Julianna Mann, who died Tuesday at the age of 77, will be held Saturday, Sept. 1, from the Philadelphia Congregational church. The Rev. R. Kirschenmann will officiate. Burial will be in Ritzville Memorial cemetery with Danekas and Duncan funeral home in charge. Born Dec. 12, 1873, in Leipsig, Russia, Mrs. Mann came to the United States 44 years ago. She had lived in the Ritzville area for 16 years. She was a member of the Philadelphia Congregational church. Survivors include two daughters, Mrs. Clarence Warden of Portland and Mrs. Emma Kessler of Ritzville; and two step-daughters, Mrs. Matilda Fiedler of Mott, N. Dak., and Mrs. Mary Grams of Ritzville. Other survivors are one son, Emil of Harrington, Michael of Cashmere, William of Spokane and Daniel of Sprague; one sister, Mrs. August Braun of Brazil; 26 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren. Reynolds Rites Held Thursday At Presbyterian OTHELLO - Funeral services for Mrs. L. V. Reynolds, who passed away at the family home Sunday afternoon were held at the Presbyterian church Thursday afternoon. The Rev. Clarence Blazer officiated. Burial was in the Lind cemetery. Mrs. Reynolds was a member of the Othello Presbyterian church and the Ladies Aid and served in the Sunday school. She was born Daisy Sevella Rosevear Jan. 31, 1884, in Brom county, Illinois. With her parents, she came to Ritzville when she was five years old and later they homesteaded four miles south of Othello where she lived until she married Loren V. Reynolds Feb. 6, 1912. Survivors include her husband, three daughters, Mrs. Norton Palmer of Selah; Mrs. Clinton Anderson of Seattle; Mrs. Gilbert German of Quincy; three sisters and three brothers and four grandchildren. Funeral Is Held for Everett, 70, Retired Banker OKANOGAN - Funeral services were held here last Friday for Ritchie (Dick) Everett, 70, retired banker, who died the previous Wednesday. Everett was a frequent visitor in Ritzville during the years his son, R. R. (Dick) Everett, operated the Columbia Basin Motors garage here. Everett now has the Dodge-Plymouth dealership in Missoula, Mont. The elder Everett retired in 1947 as manager of the Okanogan branch of the Seattle-First National bank. For 20 years he had operated the Boston and Okanogan orchards near here, at the time of the largest irrigated apple tract in the world. A 1909 graduate of the University of Washington, he helped lay out the townsites of Omak, Okanogan and several other communities in the area. He was a former vice president of the Washington State Good Roads association. Mr. and Mrs. R. F. Everett and children, Susan and Richard, visited in Ritzville two weeks ago. Warden Sailor Dies in Tacoma Accident WARDEN - William C. Canaday, 18-year-old Warden sailor, was killed in an automobile accident on the Longbranch road near Tacoma early last Sunday morning. Canaday was a passenger in a car driven by another sailor. The vehicle smashed through a bridge guardrail. The driver was seriously hurt. Both were stationed at the naval torpedo installation at Keyport. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, September 6, 1951 Funeral is Set for 'Dan' Haase WASHTUCNA - Funeral services for Nathaniel (Dan) Haase, 34, who was found dead of natural causes Tuesday in his ranchhouse near Washtucna, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday in the Philadelphia Congregational church in Ritzville. The Rev. R. Kirschenmann will officiate. Burial will be in the Ritzville Memorial cemetery. Haase had been born in Ritzville and had lived in this area all of his life. He was a member of the IOOF at Washtucna. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Haase, live in Ritzville. Other survivors include four sisters, Mrs. Henry Rott of Ritzville, Mrs. Tom Smith of Lamont, and Mrs. William Conrath and Mrs. Hulda Biggs, both of Ellensburg; and three brothers, J. John and Joby, both of Washtucna and Gotthilf of Ritzville. Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, September 13, 1951 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, September 20, 1951 None Ritzville Journal-Times, Thursday, September 27, 1951 Woman Burns To Death As Flames Destroy Trailer While most of the town was attending the Lind-Ritzville high school county fair football game last Friday evening at the playfield, Mrs. Don Palmer died in flames which consumed her trailer home behind the Albert Schmidt residence at 309 East Alder Avenue. The trailer burned quickly. Mrs. Palmer's body was found lying fully-clothed on a couch at one end of the trailer. County Coroner Edward G. Cross and Deputy Coroner Dick Whitmore are investigating the tragedy. Dr. C. O. Granquist has performed an autopsy. Funeral arrangements have been held up pending an American Red Cross effort to contact Virgil McCrady, Mrs. Palmer's only son, who is stationed with the army somewhere in Japan. Sitton Funeral Held In Spokane WASHTUCNA - Funeral services for Merle R. Sitton, Spokane, former Washtucnan, were held Monday in Spokane from the Alwin Chapel of the Hazen and Jaeger funeral home with the Rev. Glen Soule officiating. Burial was in Riverside Park cemetery. Mr. Sitton died Thursday afternoon from a sudden heart attack. In addition to his wife, Thelma E., at the home, he is survived by one son, Jimmie E. Sitton, Spokane; his mother, Mrs. B. M. Sitton, Washtucna; two brothers, Virgil of Washtucna and Chester of Vancouver; and two sisters, Mrs. Belle Griffith, Spokane, and Mrs. Ruth Gillis, Washtucna. He was a member of the Liberty Park Baptist church in Spokane.