Obituaries

Memorial services for Ralph Trenton Heinlen, 87, will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at the Palouse Federated Church with Pastor Corey Laughary officiating with a luncheon to follow.  The United States Army Honor Guard and the Potlatch V.F.W. Post #10300 will participate in the service.  Mr. Heinlen passed away on February 26, 2019 at the Whitman Hospital in Colfax. Ralph was born on February 23, 1932 in Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio to LeRoy & Ermina...

James L. Kerns, 69, of Potlatch passed away at home on the family farm on May 20, 2019, of advanced Parkinson’s disease. Jim was born December 6, 1949, at Swalwell, Alberta, to James C. and Gladys “Tory” (Keay) Kerns. The Kerns family moved to Garfield, Washington, in September of 1950 and to the family farm at Potlatch in 1952. There, he grew up in the house built by his great-grandfather and attended school in Potlatch, graduating in 1968. He attended the University of...

Orrin Lee Kambitsch, 80, of Plummer, Idaho died on May 20, 2019. Orrin was born on November 5, 1938 in Moscow, Idaho to Frank "Hank" and Mary (Grieser) Kambitsch. Orrin was the youngest of three children, joining his sisters Maxine and LaVonne (Vonnie).  Orrin attended St. Joseph's Catholic School, Genesee High School, and graduated from Colton High School in 1957. He was very active in sports, playing baseball, basketball, football, and track . Following graduation, he...

Tom Barrett, 73, of Princeton, ID, passed away on Saturday, May 25, 2019, after a three-week battle with cancer. Tom was born on October 19, 1945, in Oakland, CA to Bill and June Barrett.  He graduated from Richmond High School in 1963.  Tom married the love of his life, his wife Sue, in 1966.  They raised one son, Danny Barrett of Dixon, CA. Tom worked for IBM, retiring after 25 years of service.  He went on to a second career as a corrections officer with the Lake...

Arnold (Butch) Ellsworth, 76, of Onaway died at his home on May 7, 2019, surrounded by family. Butch was born to Raymond and Ellen (Adams) Ellsworth in Lewiston, Idaho. He attended schools in Lewiston and Potlatch, then later served in the US Navy. Butch and Mary (Pollock) were married in Lewiston on July 19, 1963. The couple started their home in Lewiston, Idaho and later moved to Onaway in the Fall of 1964 where they raised their three children. He worked at Potlatch Corp. for 20 years,...

LaVonne Thomas, 90, a former resident of Rosalia, WA passed away on Tuesday, May 14, 2019 at the St. John Adult Family Home in St. John, WA.  LaVonne was born on April 24, 1929 at St. John, WA to Ezra and Sarah (Harman) Mitchell.  She attended her schooling at St. John, WA and Garfield, WA finishing her schooling at Garfield, WA. She married Harvey Weible and the couple later divorced. She married Joseph Thomas in 1969 and the couple made their home at Rosalia, WA where they...

A memorial service for Robert L. Watkins, age 84, will be held at the Palouse Federated Church at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 27, 2019.   Pastor Corey Laughary will officiate at the service and urn burial will be at Greenwood Cemetery in Palouse.  Mr. Watkins passed away January 13th at Whitman Health and Rehab in Colfax, WA. He was born August 25, 1934 at Red Cloud, Nebraska to Raymond Lee and Hazel Watkins.  Bob moved to Spokane with his parents when he was a...

William A. “Bill” Slocum, 85, long time Garfield resident, passed away following a stroke, on February 5, 2019 at Whitman Hospital in Colfax, WA. Bill was born in Shelby, Montana on April 1, 1933 to Baldridge A. and Frances L. Slocum. He was the fourth of six children. The family moved to Whitefish, Montana where he attended school and graduated from Whitefish High with the class of 1952. He joined the US Navy and was in the Naval Air Corp as an Aviation Electronics Technician...

Patty Lou Cook (Myott) was born on February 6, 1929 in her grandmothers back bedroom at the family farm in Pine Camp, Nebraska. Reports suggest that the local doctor was paid 2 cords (cut and split) of wood for his part in bringing her into the world. She was the 2nd child born to Zelda Stewart Cook and Kenneth Cook. Six more children would follow Patty. She started school at the age of 5 in order to accompany her elder sister. This allowed her to graduate in 1946 from Keya Paha County High...

Frank P. Walker, 76, a resident of Viola, ID passed away on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at his Viola home. Frank was born on March 9, 1943 at Potlatch, ID to Walter and Velda (Starner) Walker.  He attended the Potlatch schools and graduated from the Potlatch High School in 1961.  He started farming at an early age working for Hugo Walser for 12 years.  He started farming on his own and raised cattle on the Walker land from 1972 until he retired in 1990. Frank started working...