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Patricia Mae Bettis
Former Libby resident Patricia Mae Bettis, 66, of The Dalles, Ore., died at the home of her daughter on March 11, 2004.
She was born on Jan. 15, 1938, at Lewistown, the oldest of the four daughters of Leonard Walter and Martha Ellen Henneman Ellis.
Patricia grew up in the Libby area and married
David L. Taphouse in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in August 1957.
They lived for a time in Michigan before returning to Libby.
They moved to The Dalles in October 1963.
In the late 1970s Patricia married
Walter Francois and he preceded her in death on April 1, 1984.
She married
William Bettis on April 25, 1990.
Patricia was a homemaker, a member of the American Legion, Moose and Eagles Auxiliaries and enjoyed crossword puzzles, the outdoors, camping, relaxing on her deck and feeding the birds.
Survivors include her husband William Bettis, her children and their spouses, Vicki Jean and Anthony Fricano, Sharon Orean Martinez, David Russell and Kellie Taphouse and Michael Carl and Nancy Taphouse, all of The Dalles; nine grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and sister Jean Poole and her husband Blaine, The Dalles.
She was preceded in death by sisters Sharon and Joyce and son-in-law Andy Martinez.
Memorial services were conducted at 10 a.m. March 20, at the Spencer, Libby and Powell Funeral Home in The Dalles, with Asa Jenson officiating.
A gathering of family and friends followed at The Dalles American Legion Hall.
Memorials may be made to Hospice for the Gorge, 751 Myrtle St., The Dalles, Ore. 97058.
Arleen Kester
Arleen Joyce Kester, 84, of Plains and Troy, died on March 17, 2004, at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.
She was born on Jan. 23, 1920. to August and Elsie Krueger on a homestead near Adrian, N.D.
Arleen married
Charles Kester on Sept. 1, 1941.
Their marriage was blessed by eight children and they lived at various locations in Montana and North Dakota, including four years on the Blackfoot Reservation near Browning.
Arleen was known for her homemade kuchen and bread and for sharing her flowers with others.
They moved to Paradise in 1967 and in 1980 Arleen bought a home in Plains. She moved to Troy in 1996 to live with daughter Charleen and her family.
She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Ilea, brother Roland, infant children Leroy, Ilea and David and son Larry.
She is survived by daughters Coraelsie Kester, Minneapolis, Minn.; Betty Kester, Lincoln, Me.; and Carrie Kester, Plains; daughter and son-in-law Charleen and Robert Boren Sr., Troy, and three grandchildren, Robert Jr., David and Katie.
Services were conducted at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 20, at the Church of God in Paradise with Pastor Gary Kelly officiating. Burial followed at the Plains cemetery.
Memorials may be made to KALS Christian Radio, Box 9710, Kalispell, the station that gave her so much pleasure.
Helen Roberts
Longtime Libby resident Helen R. Roberts, 87, died on March 18, 2004, at the Helena home of her daughter Karen.
Karen and her husband Bob Enhelder had cared for Helen in their home since September 2003.
Helen was born on April 25, 1916, at Dickinson, N.D., to John and Karen Robertson.
John Robertson, born in Denmark, homesteaded in North Dakota in 1909, when he was 42. His wife was Norwegian.
Helen rode a horse to a one-room schoolhouse and had to board and room in Beach, N.D., to attend high school. The importance of education was recognized by her parents and the homestead was profitable enough to enable Helen to attend Concordia College.
She earned a teaching degree, came to Libby to teach, and met fellow-teacher and future husband Don Roberts.
Having grown up on the plains, they appreciated the mountains of western Montana.
They were married
on the family homestead in North Dakota on Christmas Day 1941, not long after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.
By the time son Gary was born in 1942, Don was in the Army Air Corps and the new family was able to be together in Louisiana and Texas during World War II.
They returned to Libby in 1946 and founded Don’s Men’s Store. Joe was born in 1947 and Karen in 1949.
An active member of Christ Lutheran Church, Helen was in the choir, played the organ and worked with the church ladies. In later years she enjoyed the quilting group and the morning coffee groups. She also enjoyed the activities of the local bird watching club and was a lifelong member of the 4-L Club.
Education was important to Helen and her three children graduated from Lutheran colleges.
After Don died in 1981, Helen traveled, making trips to Norway and Greece with college friend Minerva Jensen. She also went on a bus tour of Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., with friend Alice Anderson, and participated in Elderhostel programs in Minnesota, Yellowstone Park, Oregon and Washington.
Survivors include her three children and their spouses, Karen and Bob Enhelder and Joe Roberts and J. Anne in Helena, and Gary and Carol Roberts, Libby; grandchildren Brook and Jacob Enhelder and Kevin Roberts and his wife Christy, and a niece, Audrey Reimer in Minnesota.
Grandson Kevin, who went all through school in Libby, graduating from Libby High School, had a special relationship with his grandmother.
Helen’s only sibling, Roy Robertson, preceded her in death.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Friday at Christ Lutheran Church with interment to follow at the City of Libby cemetery.
Arrangements are under care of the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home, where viewing is from 1-8 p.m. on Thursday.
Mary Jane Grimesey
Mary Jane Grimesey, 64, died on Tuesday, March 16, 2004, at her home in Libby.
She was born on Dec. 19, 1939, at Klamath Falls, Ore., to James and Pauline Hornaday.
Mary Jane attended Spokane schools, graduating from Lewis & Clark High School in 1957.
She earned a bachelor of science degree from Blackburn College in Carlinville, Ill., in 1962.
Mary Jane married
Elbert Scouten in January 1964 and they had two daughters, Heather, born in 1967, and Holly, born in 1970.
Mary Jane came to Libby in 1971, working as a medical technologist in the lab at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital until retiring in 1999.
She married
Robert Grimesey on Aug. 31, 1997.
An active member of St. Joseph Parish, Mary Jane participated in the parish music ministry group playing guitar.
She was also a photographer, doing work on the wildflowers’ brochure for the Kootenai National Forest.
Survivors include her husband Bob, Libby; daughters Heather Scouten, Fort Meade, Md., and Holly Scouten, Spokane; sisters Barbara Young, Bloomington, Ind., Martha Killion, Aiken, S.C., brothers George Hornaday, Kettle Falls, Wash., Morris Hornaday, Dallas, Texas, and Charles Hornaday, Boise, Idaho; step-children Margaret Villa, Seattle, Eileen Reid and Rachel Grimesey, both of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Logan Grimesey, Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Andrew Grimesey, Pittsburgh, Pa.; her first husband Elbert Scouten, and grandchildren Nicolas Villa, Hannah Reid, Monica Reid, Isaac Grimesey and Isabel Grimesey.
Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Monday at St. Joseph Catholic Church with the Rev. Dan Driscoll as celebrant.
Interment will follow at the City of Libby cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1-6 p.m. on Sunday at Nelson & Vial Funeral Home Chapel, followed by a parish vigil service at 7 p.m.
Paul Collier
Former Libby resident Paul T. Collier, 68, died on March 2, 2004, near Yuma, Ariz.
He was born on Sept. 22, 1935, at Libby.
A retired logger, Paul loved the full-time RV lifestyle.
Survivors include his loving wife Connie; sons Lance and Mark, grandchildren Jessica and Paul J.; step-grandchildren Stacy, Eric, Constance and Doug, brothers Fred, Glen and Mike and sisters Betty and Ruth.
A ceremony in celebration of Paul’s life was held at Pilot Knob RV Resort on Sunday, March 7, with many friends and relatives in attendance.
Paul will be remembered as a person full of life and character. He will be missed by all those whose lives he touched.
Therese Vignali
Therese Ann Vignali, 83, of Libby, died on Thursday, March 11, 2004, at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital, “entering into well-deserved eternal rest.”
Therese was born on July 28, 1920, on her family’s homestead near Dickinson, N.D., to Theresa Marie Zastoupil and Anthony J. Oukrop.
Her early years were spent with younger brother Frank on the homestead and in Dickinson. When she was 14 years old, Therese moved to Merrill, Wis., living at Holy Cross Convent and training as a nurse at Holy Cross Hospital.
She spoke often of the rigors and rewards of working with the nuns of the order, two of them her sisters.
It was at Holy Cross that Therese learned the gentle art of nursing, ministering to the sick, comforting the dying and welcoming new babies into the world. It was also at Holy Cross Hospital, in 1941, that Therese met her future husband Fred Vignali as he and his brother Emil lay recovering from tonsillectomies.
Fred and Therese were married
in Little Rock, Ark., on July 11, 1943, shortly before Fred shipped out to Europe. After he was discharged from the U.S. Army in 1945, they hooked a small mobile home trailer to the back of their Model A Ford and moved to Libby.
In 1947, Cathy, the first of eight children, was born. Therese spent the next 16 years working at home, raising her children and caring for Fred.
She returned to her nursing vocation in 1963 and spent the next 34 years working with friends at the job she loved at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.
As a licensed practical nurse, Therese worked in all facets of patient care, but especially loved her work in the nursery where hers was one of the first faces many a baby saw as it opened its eyes for the first time.
She loved every baby as if it were one of her own and was always overjoyed at the magical wonder of each new life as it entered this world. Therese spoke often and with great fondness of the deliveries she and Dr. Greg Rice made, both in and out of the hospital.
Therese was the last of her family, preceded in death by her parents, four brothers and two sisters. She was also preceded in death by her young son Paul, named after the late Paul J. Seifert, longtime Libby physician.
Survivors include her devoted husband of 60 years, Fred Vignali, Libby; their children Cathy and Chuck Prichard, Tacoma, Wash.; Chris and Steve Moon, Helena; Cindy and Jim Sutherland, Libby; Jim and Dee Dee Vignali, Bedford, Texas; Jerry and Geina Vignali, Vancouver, Wash; John and Annie Vignali, Libby, and Joe and Roxanne Vignali, Elko, Nev., 16 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Therese found her greatest joy in giving and doing for others, especially her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Even at the end of her long and courageous battle there were two things that could bring a smile to her weary face - her loving husband Fred and the presence of a little child.
Father Dan Driscoll celebrated the Mass of the Resurrection for Therese on Monday morning at St. Joseph Catholic Church. “Mom” was laid to rest at the City of Libby cemetery near her son Paul.
Marion Carson
Marion Carson, 76, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, died March 7, 2004, at Post Falls.
He was born on Aug. 30, 1927, at Wenatchee, Wash., to Forrest Morigeau and Leona Ruby Carson.
His parents separated and his mother changed his name to Carson.
Marion joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 18 years old, serving in Korea. He was wounded, spent a year in a hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, and received two Purple Hearts.
Marion married
Darlene Barnes at Enid, Okla., on May 1, 1950.
Marion worked for Northwest Timber at Coeur d’Alene for 36 years, retiring when the mill closed in 1990.
A lifetime member of the DAV, Marion was also a longtime union member. He often donated stuffed animals and toys to Christmas for All.
Survivors include sons Steven, Spokane; and David and Forrest, both of Post Falls; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife.
Visitation is from 12-1 p.m. on Saturday, followed by a funeral service at the Coeur d’Alene Chapel for Yates Funeral Home.
Burial will follow at Riverview cemetery in Coeur d’Alene. Memorials may be made to Christmas for All.
Harold Davenport
Harold Walton Davenport, 87, a former Libby resident, died Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, after a lengthy illness.
He was born on March 3, 1917, at O’Neill, Nev., to Opal and Frances Davenport.
He married
Helen Fickle on Aug. 19, 1949.
Harold was in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, serving in three theaters at Anzio, Italy, Abajan, Iran and the Burma Road.
Before moving to Libby, Harold lived at Caldwell, Idaho.
He worked for the J. Neils Lumber Company and St. Regis at Libby for 20 years.
A devoted father and loyal husband, Harold made friends wherever he lived and will be missed by all who knew and loved him.
Survivors include his wife, Helen, Coeur d’Alene, and son Craig, Spokane.
Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, at the Yates Funeral Home.
A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens.
