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James O’Donnell
James E. O’Donnell, 72, of Fountain Hills died March 9, 2000 at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea.
Born March 26, 1927 in Toronto, Canada, Mr. O’Donnell worked as a construction systems analyst during his adult career.
He also was a former member of the Scottsdale Kiwanis Club.
Survivors include his wife, Rita, of Fountain Hills; step-son, Duane Yule of Owatonna, Minn.; brother, Charles O’Donnell of San Francisco, Calif.; sister, Mary Jane Fulton, Beaverton, Ontario; granddaughter, Lisa Olsonowski; and great-grandson, Jacob.
He was preceded in death by a brother, John O’Donnell.
Services will be held in Canada at a later date. Interment will be at Mount Hope cemetery in Toronto, Canada.
Eric A. Bausch
Erick A. Bausch, 64, of Fountain Hills died Aug. 11 at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea hospital.
Mr. Bausch was born Aug. 11, 1936 in New York City and was a self-employed certified public accountant. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was a member of the Scottsdale Baptist Church and the ASPCA.
Mr. Bausch is survived by his wife, Barbara, of Fountain Hills; three sons, Eric G. Bausch of Manassas, Va., Brian Bausch (Tonya) of Louisville, Texas, and Richard A. Mathis (Beth) of Odessa, Texas. He is also survived by three daughters, Bonnie M. Bausch of Amarillo, Texas, Alisha J. Armsmeyer (Andy) of Scottsdale, and Tammy L. Chambers (Randy) of Odessa, Texas.
Five grandchildren also survive him.
Funeral services for Mr. Bausch were held Monday, Aug. 14, at Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary. Interment was a Paradise Memorial Gardens, Scottsdale.
The family is requesting memorial contributions to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 5377, Phoenix, AZ 85010.
Edward Denis
Edward E. "Buck" Denis, 75, of Fountain Hills died Aug. 11, 2000 at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn.
Born July 9, 1925 in Douglas, Ariz., Mr. Denis worked as a U.S. Geological survey engineer.
He was a U.S. Army veteran from World War II, member of the Episcopal Church and a lifetime member of the Douglas Elks Lodge.
Survivors include his wife, Dorothy of Fountain Hills; son, Michael Phillip Denis of Mesa; and a brother, Louis Phillip Denis of Albuquerque, N.M.
A graveside service will be held Thursday, Aug. 17, at 9:30 a.m. at the National Memorial cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.
Richard LaFever
Richard A. LaFever, 72, of Fountain Hills died Friday, Aug. 11, 2000.
Born May 26, 1928 in Ann Arbor, Mich., he attended General Motors Institute and worked for the General Motors Corporation for 38 years as a design engineer.
He served in the U.S. Army for three years during the Korean War. He earned his pilot’s license in the early 1970s and remained an avid pilot until his death.
He and his wife, Margaret, moved to Fountain Hills in 1990 upon their retirement. Mr. LaFever also was an active and loyal member of the Fountain Hills Sheriff’s Posse.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and her husband Keith; a daughter, Laura; and three grandchildren, David, Douglas and Rebecca.
No services are planned at this time. In his memory, contributions may be made to the Fountain Hills Posse, P.O. Box 17114, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269.
Alice K. Adams
Alice Kathryn Adams died July 11, 2000 at her residence in Lake Havasu City. She was the mother of Kay Kinder of Fountain Hills.
Mrs. Adams was born March 11, 1912 in Owensboro, Ky. She was a resident of Lake Havasu City for 36 years moving there from West Covina, Calif.
In 1933 she married Ralph Adamss. They lived in Colton, Calif. During their early years together Ralph was a football coach. Beginning as a licensed contractor in 1946, Ralph always had capable help from his wife who worked with him doing the clerical work and decorating the homes they built.
After the move to Lake Havasu City, he started the Ralph A. Adams Construction Company. Mrs. Adams continued to run the company for nine years after his death.
She is survived by her daughter, Kay Kinder and her husband Don of Fountain Hills; a companion, Clifford Thingvold of Lake Havasu City; a sister, Willamae George of Whittier, Calif.; three grandchildren, Sharilyn Ford, Richard Ford and Daniel Ford; and four great grandchildren, Justin Ford, Timothy Ford, Sharilyn Ford and Danielle Ford.
Mrs. Adams was preceded in death by her husband Ralph Adams and a daughter, Alice Ann Ford.
Services for Mrs. Adams were held July 14 at Green Acres Chapel in Scottsdale. Interment was at Green Acres cemetery.
The family extends its appreciation to Pastor Don Lawrence of Christ’s Church in Fountain Hills for conducting the memorial service and for the church members providing food at the Kinder home following the service.
Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home of Lake Havasu City made arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to Hospice of Havasu, P.O. Box 597, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86405-0597.
Anne Kriwer
Anne Kriwer died July 12, 2000 at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea hospital. She was 81.
Mrs. Kriwer was born July 18, 1917 in Hamburg, Germany and was currently a resident of Fountain Hills. She worked as a hospital nursery technician.
Mrs. Kriwer is survived by one son, Fred Kriwer, and his wife, Jennifer, of Fountain Hills; two grandchildren, Fire Capt. Eric Kriwer of Fountain Hills, and Denise Speight of Springfield, Mo.; and three great grandchildren, Preston, Brandon and Daniel, and one expected, Kaylee Anne.
The family is requesting memorial contributions to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, 1111 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006.
George Welch
George Welch of Fountain Hills died June 6, at Mayo Clinic Hospital. He was 81.
Mr. Welch was born Nov. 15, 1918 in Springfield, Ohio. He was a veteran of the U. S. Army during World War II. He was a member of The Club in Fountain Hills and the Church of the Ascension. He worked in management in the rehabilitation medicine industry.
Mr. Welch is survived by his wife, Mary of Fountain Hills; three sons, Michael (Lori) of Bedford, N.H., Patrick (Eleanor) of Westlake Village, Calif., and Timothy (Mary Ann) of Rochester, Minn.; one daughter, Mary Titterington of Kansas City, Mo.; one sister, Marion Dingeldine, of Springfield, Ohio; and 10 grandchildren.
Services for Mr. Welch were held June 9 at the Church of the Ascension, and interment was at National Memorial cemetery in Phoenix.
The family is requesting memorial contributions to the Church of the Ascension Building Fund, 12615 N. Fountain Hills Blvd., Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.
Sylvester Felling
Sylvester J. Felling, 75, of Fountain Hills, died April 13, 2000 at the Eckstein Center in Scottsdale.
Mr. Felling was born March 24, 1925 at Lake Henry, Minn. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked building semi-trailers before retiring.
Mr. Felling is survived by his wife, Violette, of Fountain Hills; three brothers, Ambrose Felling of Overland Park, Kan., Jerome Felling (Joan) of Osceola, Wis., and David Felling (Joyce) of Gold Canyon; five sisters, Lucille Kuehnl of Woodbury, Minn., Sylvia Meyer of Sauk Centre, Minn., Frances Felling of St. Paul, Minn., Elfrieda Kruse of Burnsville, Minn., and Henrietta Miller (Donald) of Vadnais Heights, Minn.
He will also be greatly missed by the David Kolonder family and his kind and caring neighbors.
Services for Mr. Felling were held April 17 at Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary. Interment was at National Memorial cemetery in Phoenix.
The family is suggesting memorial contributions to Hospice of the Valley, Eckstein Center, 9494 E. Becker Lane, Scottsdale, AZ 85260-6720.
Phyllis Samples
Phyllis Jean Samples passed away April 14, 2000 at Phoenix Baptist Hospital.
Funeral services and burial will take place at Rose Hills Mortuary, Hillside Chapel, Whittier, Calif. on April 20 at 3 p.m.
A memorial service is planned for Tuesday, April 25, at 7 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 10215 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills, and is open to the public.
Mrs. Samples was born April 16, 1928 to Roscoe and Jewel Byars Smith in Memphis, Tenn. She earned a degree in medical technology at the University of Tennessee and was a member of the Delta Zeta sorority.
She worked as a medical tech in Tennessee and later at Whittier Hospital in California. She married Frank Samples on March 25, 1950. They had four daughters and hosted multiple foreign exchange students throughout the years.
She and Frank moved to Arizona in 1989 and lived at various times in Flagstaff and Fountain Hills.
Mrs. Samples had a love for Christian missions; was a volunteer team member to Russia and twice to Brazil; was instrumental in the development of the Christian Women’s Club of Fountain Hills and Rio Verde; participated in various women’s Bible study and prayer groups; served in the Women’s Mission Union/Women on Mission for Southern Baptists; and was an active member at First Baptist Church, developing a vibrant prayer ministry that addressed international, national and local concerns.
At the time of her death, she was a coordinator, through the Arizona State Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, for the "Celebrate Jesus 2000" project, a nationwide interdenominational evangelistic effort to reach people for Christ with a special emphasis on the Valley of the Sun in the year 2000.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and sister, Beverly Smith.
She is survived by her children, Cary (Tom) Price of Flagstaff, Janice Samples of Fountain Hills, Bev "Sputz" Brenna of Fountain Hills and Sue Samples of Washington state; and five grandchildren, Jeremy Anderson of Anaheim, Calif., Jason Anderson of San Diego, Matthew Price of the U.S. Navy, Jennifer Samples of Fountain Hills and Willie Price of Flagstaff.
The family suggests memorial contributions be given to the Southern Baptist Cooperative Program Mission Work c/o of the First Baptist Church, 10215 N. Saguaro Blvd., Fountain Hills, AZ 85268.
Jeaneve Schaefer
Jeaneve E. Schaefer, 76, of Fountain Hills died April 15, 2000 at Scottsdale Heritage Court.
Born April 4, 1924 in St. Paul Minn., Mrs. Schaefer was an electronics factory worker for Micro Semi Company of Scottsdale.
Survivors include her husband, Ray of Fountain Hills; sister, Jeanette Carver of St. Paul; and many nieces and nephews.
Visitation and service were held at Messinger Fountain Hills Mortuary April 18. A private burial will be at the National Memorial cemetery of Arizona.
Peggy Jackson
Peggy Y. Jackson, 66, of Rockford, Ill., died March 15, 2000 at Rockford Memorial Hospital following a short stay.
Mrs. Jackson is a former winter resident of Fountain Hills and attended Fountain Hills Community Church.
Mrs. Jackson was born March 15, 1934 in Guin, Ala., the daughter of John Louis and Grace Youman Holloway. She was a graduate of Guin High School and Huntington College, Huntington, Ala. She received training as a lab technician at Charity Hospital, New Orleans, La.
Mrs. Jackson married Ernie Jackson at Guin Methodist Church on Dec. 22, 1956. She was a member of Temple Baptist Church, Sunday School teacher, church choir member, president of Perry Dept. of the Rockford Women’s Club and was an active member of her Bible Study Fellowship. She was an avid golfer, chairman of the Women’s Golf League, tennis player and mountain climber. She loved music and was a caregiver to many shut-ins.
Survivors include her mother, Grace, husband Ernie, children Sherry Lynn (Scott) Gaertner of Scottsdale, Stephen (Julienne) Jackson of Rockford, sisters Patricia McDonald of Jacksonville, Fla. and Norma Myara of Oak Park, Calif., nieces Simone Dorrough of Tempe, and Renee Myara of Oak Park, Calif. Her father preceded her in death.
Funeral services for Mrs. Jackson were held March 20 in Rockford. Interment was at Arlington Memorial Park, Rockford.
Lorne Pratt
Lorne Pratt, the man most credited with the early-day development of Fountain Hills, died early Sunday morning in Scottsdale.
He was 78.
As a senior vice president of McCulloch Properties, Inc., he identified the property as a future planned community site and negotiated purchase of 12,000 acres of former ranch land from Page Land & Cattle Co. in the late 1960s.
Many of his peers considered him to be a marketing genius. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Pratt was associated with the M. Penn Phillips Company in the development and promotion of Salton City and Hesperia in California. Shortly after, he joined Holly Corporation, the firm that purchased these projects. He became vice president of Holly which subsequently was retained by McCulloch Properties, Inc. for the development and promotion of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.; Pueblo West, Colo.; Holiday Island, Ark.; Silver Lakes, Calif.; Spring Creek, Nev.; and Fountain Hills.
He played a major role in bringing the London Bridge to Lake Havasu City and the tallest fountain in the world to Fountain Hills. He was also credited with initiating McCulloch’s "fly to see before you buy" marketing program whereby prospective property purchasers were flown to the various new community developments to see their lot selection before finalizing a contract.
"Fountain Hills as we know it wouldn’t be here today if not for Lorne Pratt," said Don Kinder, who served as Pratt’s national sales manager. "I was with Lorne when he saw the property for the first time. He had a vision that this place could be something special. He was right.
"Lorne was always fun to work with and he never had a bad word to say about anyone. The man was a genius when it came to marketing."
Another associate of Pratt’s, Bill Fisher, was Fountain Hills’ first project manager. He remembers him as "an active and intelligent developer of new towns. His passing marks the end of that new town development era. Those were interesting times."
Dave Dawkins, who is still active in Fountain Hills real estate, was hired by Pratt as McCulloch’s first outside broker for Fountain Hills.
"Lorne brought me to Fountain Hills," Dawkins said. "Had it not been for him, people may not be living in Fountain Hills today. While Bob McCulloch and C.V. Wood (co-founders of the community) were the backbone of McCulloch Properties, Lorne was the marketing genius that made it happen."
In the late 1970s when McCulloch got out of the land development business, Pratt acquired all of the McCulloch land holdings and operated Pratt Properties, Inc. for several years. The firm was headquartered in Fountain Hills. It was during this time that Pratt gave the Community Center (a former model home sales center) to the Civic Association. He also transferred a 15-acre site to the Civic Association for a future town civic center site. That land was later turned over to the Town of Fountain Hills and was the basis for a later land swap for the current town-owned site where the new Community Center and library/museum are to be built.
Pratt was born on March 3, 1922 in Long Beach, Calif. to Waverly and Lovetta Pratt. He was raised in Sierra Madre and the surrounding Los Angeles area. Before entering the land development business, he worked with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce during a time of great productivity. He was involved with the development of the Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
After MCO Properties acquired the former McCulloch land holdings from Pratt Properties, he continued to be active with other companies he started in several other states. Today his companies are still active in the sales and marketing of numerous projects in Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona.
An avid sports fan, he was a Phoenix Suns season ticketholder for 32 years and he was a major supporter of the Fiesta Bowl. He also loved horse racing and was a well-known race horse owner at Turf Paradise in Phoenix.
In recent years, his primary interest has been in his family particularly his grandchildren and great grandchildren, who knew him as "Papa P".
He is survived by his loving wife, Bobbi, and his children, Judy, Tim, Tom, Robin, Dave, Cheryl and Carolyn and their spouses, as well as 19 grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Son Dave, a Valley radio personality, said, "He was a very fun loving, humorous and optimistic man. He will be missed and thought of often by his family and friends who loved him very much. He is at peace and will live on in the memory of the many people he touched."
Private services will be held. Any donations can be made in the name of Lorne B. Pratt and sent to the Mayo Foundation, c/o Department of Development, 13400 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85259.
