Pomeroy Washington Downtown National Historic District

Pomeroy Washington city cemetery

1994 Funeral Notices and Obituaries for Pomeroy Related People


Hedvig Carolina (Persson/Pearson) Woody

POMEROY Hedvig C. Woody, a Pomeroy homemaker, died Sunday at Garfield County Memorial Hospital at Pomeroy of congestive heart disease. She was 88.

She was born Feb. 1, 1906, at Ostmark, Vermland, Sweden, to Per G. and Hilma Anderson Persson. When she was 4 the family moved to the United States and settled in Troy, Idaho, where she attended schools.

She married Ralph Woody Aug. 16, 1930, at Pomeroy.

The couple lived at Pomeroy after their marriage. He later became the Garfield County auditor and assessor. She was a foster mother and helped care for and raise many children.

Her husband died Dec. 24, 1987.

She was a member of the Pomeroy United Methodist Church and the Methodist Women's Society. She was a member of the Rebekah Lodge No. 16 and held the position of noble grand in 1966.

She also was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Vineland Chapter No. 84, and was an Eastern Star grand representative to South Carolina from Washington state. She enjoyed quilting, tatting, crocheting and sewing.

She is survived by three sons, Jerome Woody of Rolla, N.D., Charles Woody of Pomeroy and Gordon Woody of Cheney, Wash.; a daughter, Marjorie Bamford of Chehalis, Wash.; three sisters, Hildure Anderson of Clarkston, Agnes Glenn and Olga Swanson, both of Lewiston; seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A brother, Carl Persson, and two sisters, Marit Kitch and Julia Nelson, died previously. A daughter, Martha Woody, died in 1939, and a son, James Woody, died in 1988.

Visitation will be from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday at Richardson-Brown Funeral Home at Pomeroy. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the IOOF Cemetery at Pomeroy. The Rev. Jonathan Cortese of the Pomeroy United Methodist Church will officiate.

The family suggests memorials be made to the Cancer Society care of Marie Williams or the United Methodist Church care of Eileen Wimer, both of Pomeroy.

Denzil Lee Bartels (1927-1994)

Denzil Lee Bartels of Bothell, Washington, a former Pomeroy resident, died of cancer Tuesday [July 26, 1994] at Bothell. He was 66.

He was born Nov. 5, 1927, at Pomeroy and graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1944. He enrolled at Washington State College (now Washington State University) at Pullman in 1945. In 1948, he entered the U.S. Army, serving in Japan.

He married Beverly Danielson Aug. 25, 1950, and graduated from WSC with a degree in pharmacy in 1953. He worked at White's Pharmacy in Pullman for three years. He later managed Hulsey's Drug at Oroville, Wash., for two years.

From 1958 to 1979, he owned Brown's Drug at Pomeroy. He was employed by M & R Drug at Walla Walla until retiring in 1991. He and his wife later moved to Bothell.

Prior to graduating from college, he worked at the cannery in Pomeroy and in farming and television repair.

He enjoyed bowling, golf, gardening, reading, listening to Dixieland music, watching TV, snowmobiling, boating, spending time in the outdoors and traveling across the country with his wife in their mobile home. He also had a pilot's license and owned an airplane with his two brothers, Darrel and Duane.

He was a member of the Masons, Elks, and the Washington State Pharmaceutical Association.

Survivors in addition to his wife of Bothell are two daughters, Kathleen Ryan of Maple Valley, Washington, and Constance McLean of Sun Valley, Idaho; a son, Steve "Craig" Bartels of Spokane; two brothers, Darrel and Duane Bartels, both of Pomeroy; a sister, Phyllis Stallcop of Pullman; and three grandchildren.

A memorial service was held Monday [August 1, 1994] at Pomeroy Christian Church.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the American Cancer Society or Memory Manor Nursing Home in Pomeroy.

Philip R. Wolf

Philip R. Wolf, retired Peola farmer and rancher and resident of Pomeroy, died of cancer Friday[, June 17, 1994,] at his home in Pomeroy. He was 69.

He was born Jan. 9, 1925, at Lewiston to C.C. and Alice King Wolf.

The family lived on a farm near Peola, south of Pomeroy, where he attended the first few grades of school until the family moved to Pomeroy. He completed grade school at Holy Rosary School in Pomeroy and graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1942. During his senior year he was Washington state boxing champion in the 147-pound weight class. After graduation he worked on the family farm.

He joined the U.S. Marine Corps Dec. 10, 1943, served in the Pacific Theater and was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds he received during the invasion of Okinawa. He also served in China. He attained the rank of corporal and was discharged May 10, 1946.

He then returned to the family farm and married E. Arlene Triplett Sept. 6, 1947, at Clarkston.

The couple lived on the Peola farm for their first 25 years of marriage, then split the years between Pomeroy during the winter months and Peola in the spring and summer. He was named Washington State Cattleman of the Year in 1954.

His favorite hobby was raising quarter horses, and he also enjoyed hunting and fishing.

He was a member of Holy Rosary Parish, the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Clarkston Moose Lodge, the Pomeroy Eagles Aerie, the Lewiston Elks Lodge, AARP and the American Quarter Horse Association.

Survivors include his wife at the Pomeroy home; a daughter, Susan Perry of Walla Walla; a son, Tom Wolf of Spokane; four brothers, Joe Wolf and Bob Wolf, both of Clarkston, and Wilbur Wolf and Jim Wolf, both of Pomeroy; three sisters, Mildred Baden, Jeanne Price and Jeanette Fischer, all of Pomeroy; and three grandchildren.

A brother, Silvin (Sam) Wolf, and a sister, Helen Wolf, died previously.

A vigil service was held at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Pomeroy and his funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Rosary, with the Rev. John Sand officiating. Burial followed at the Holy Rosary Cemetery in Pomeroy.

The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Morningstar Boys Ranch, P.O. Box 8087, Spokane, Wash., 99203.

George Albert Ledgerwood

George Albert Ledgerwood, 63, a lifelong Garfield County resident, died of a massive heart attack Saturday afternoon. [May 23, 1994,] at Tri-State Memorial Hospital at Clarkston.

He was a self-employed farmer and real estate broker, and had served eight years as Garfield County commissioner from 1969 to 1976. He also served as commissioner and interim administrator at Garfield County Memorial Hospital at Pomeroy and helped establish Memory Manor Nursing Home there.

He tried unsuccessfully to unseat incumbent state legislator Eugene A. Prince from the District 9 House seat in 1984.

Ledgerwood was born July 6, 1930, at Pomeroy to Fred and Anna Geiger Ledgerwood. He attended Holy Rosary school and Pomeroy High School, graduating in 1947.

He and Dorothy Prater were married June 3, 1950, at Pomeroy and had five children. They divorced in 1976.

He and Glenna Jacoby were married December 8, 1977, at Coeur d'Alene. They lived and farmed on Alpowa Ridge.

In addition to his other civic activities, he enjoyed acting as master of ceremonies for many events, and liked to play pool and garden.

Survivors include his widow, Glenna, at their Alpowa Ridge home; three daughters, Barbara Donaldson of Kennewick, Karen Baxter of Benton City, and Molly Dixon of Spokane; two sons, Steve Ledgerwood and Ken Ledgerwood, both of Pomeroy; a stepdaughter, Val Jacoby of Spokane; three stepsons, Bud and Tom Jacoby of Spokane and Ken Jacoby of Marysville, Wash.; a brother, Dick Ledgerwood of Pomeroy, and 12 grandchildren.

A Rosary was recited on May 19, with at the funeral Mass celebrated on Thursday, May 20, at Holy Rodary Catholic Church in Pomeroy.

His family suggests that any memorials be made to the Garfield County Ambulance Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 967, Pomeroy, Wash. 99347.

Betheen Naomi (Read) Beale

Betheen N. Beale, a Garfield County homemaker and farmer, died of causes related to age Monday at Garfield County Memorial Hospital at Pomeroy. She was 91.

She and her husband, Marion E. Beale, lived and farmed in the Valentine area of Garfield County, about 19 miles northeast of Pomeroy, for many years.

She was born Jan. 6, 1903, at Weston, Ore., to James T. and Emma O'Harra Read.

Her family moved to Athens, Ore., when she was young, then to Waitsburg, where she graduated from high school in 1921.

She moved the same year to Pomeroy and then attended Washington State University at Pullman for two years. After her college training, she was employed by the Garfield County Auditor's Office at Pomeroy and later as a legal secretary for the late G.W. Jewett, a Garfield County lawyer.

She married Marion E. Beale Sept. 29, 1926, at Pomeroy. After their marriage, they farmed in the Valentine area and then moved into Pomeroy in 1957. They continued farming until they retired some years later.

She was a member of the United Methodist Church at Pomeroy and a 50-year member of the Faith Rebekah Lodge and Order of the Eastern Star. She also maintained memberships in the Daughters of Pioneers, Philomatheon Home Economics Club and the Pleasant Grove Grange. She was a 4-H leader for many years and served as a secretary in the 1950s for the Pomeroy Planning Council.

In 1981, she and her husband were honored as Garfield County Citizens of the Year for their participation in community affairs and development of the Garfield County Historical Association and museum.

Her husband died Feb. 22, 1984.

Survivors include a son, Raymond Beale of Pomeroy; a daughter, Wilma Edwards of Baker, Ore., eight grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

A brother, Delbert Read, died in 1958.

Her funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday at Richardson-Brown Funeral Home at Pomeroy with the Rev. Jonathan Cortese of the Pomeroy United Methodist Church officiating. Burial will follow at Pomeroy City Cemetery.

Memorials may be sent to Garfield County Ambulance Fund, in care of Lisa Gingerich, or to the Garfield County Museum, in care of Muriel Bott, P.O. Box 33, Pomeroy, Wash. 99347.

Leonard "Swede" Herres

Leonard (Swede) Herres, a longtime Pomeroy grain dealer, died of cancer Friday [January 14, 1994] at his home in Pomeroy. He was 79.

He was born April 13, 1914, at Peola, Wash., in Garfield County, to Michael P. and Mary Kucklick Herres.

He attended schools at Pomeroy and graduated from Pomeroy High School in 1932.

He married Agnes E. Waldher at Uniontown Feb. 22, 1938.

For the past 56 years Herres had been an independent grain dealer, owning the Pomeroy Warehouse and Feed Co. and Herres Seed Inc. He was still active in the business at the time of his death.

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he also served as chief of the Garfield County Fire Department.

He was a member of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, both at Pomeroy, and was given a lifetime honorary membership in the Pacific Northwest Grain Dealers and Feed Association. He served as president of that organization in 1958. He also was a member of the National Grain Dealers and Feed Association and the Eagles Lodge No. 3060, serving as president in 1956.

He was active in many community and church organizations and was an active supporter of the Garfield County 4-H and FFA associations. He was a past member of the Kiwanis, Jaycees and the Chamber of Commerce.

Survivors include his wife at the family home in Pomeroy; two sons, Robert J. Herres and Andrew N. Herres, both of Pomeroy; seven daughters, Rose M. Mahar of Seattle, Alice A. Appel of Denver, Colo., Teresa E. Shervington of Sunnyvale, Calif., Diane M. Sison of Olympia, Wash., and Dorothy A. Baker and Constance R. Burke, both of Pomeroy; seven brothers, Mike, Hubert and Joe Herres, all of Walla Walla, and Herman, Ferd, Jim and Richard Herres, all of Pomeroy; a sister, Mary Ann Herres of Wapato, Wash.; 28 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

A brother, John Herres, died previously.

A Rosary was recited [January 16, 1994] at Holy Rosary Catholic Church with a funeral Mass celebrated the next day at the church, with the Rev. John P. Sand officiating. Burial followed at Holy Rosary Catholic Cemetery in Pomeroy.

The family suggests memorials be given to Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Pomeroy, Wash., 99347, or Home Health and Hospice of Southeast Washington, 549 Fifth St. Suite A, Clarkston, Wash., 99403.

Richardson-Brown Funeral Home in Pomeroy handled the arrangements.