Archived Marriage Records
Harry Lewis Mills
Harry Lewis Mills, 65, passed away on Sunday, November 23, 2003 in Challis at his home as the result of an accident.
Harry was born January 11, 1938 in Geneva, Nebraska the first of three children born to William Howard and Ruby Elva (Emerick) Mills. He attended East Side school in Idaho Falls and graduated from Bonneville High School in Idaho Falls with the class of 1956.
Harry worked for Bears Tire Shop and was a partner at Grays Landscaping for a few years. He attended Idaho State University majoring in mechanics and then entered the Army National Guard in 1960. Following his discharge from the Army he returned to Idaho Falls and while working with his dad ventured to Salmon on a job. He stayed for over 30 years.
Harry married Janet Fisher November 14, 1998 in Salmon and he worked at the Swahlen Ranch on Bohannon Creek until the ranch sold. Harry retired in June of 2003 and in July Harry and Janet moved to Challis to enjoy their retirement.
Harry had a passion for music, cars and flying. He could tell you anything about cars from the Model As to the new makes. He enjoyed working the land and helping others. He was a soft-spoken man with a big heart.
Harry is survived by his wife, Janet Mills of Challis; stepson Josh Fisher of Challis, Stephen Fisher and his wife Barbara of Camp Pendleton, California; granddaughter Brenna Fisher of Camp Pendleton; mother, Ruby Mills of Idaho Falls; two sisters, Jean Westergard and her husband, Jim of Idaho Falls, and Ilene Mills of Priest River; several nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his father William Mills and stepson Travis Franck.
Funeral services were November 26 at the Assembly of God Church of Challis with Pastor Billy Alder officiating. Interment was in the Challis Cemetery
following the services under the auspices of the American Legion Philip Kirk Post #109.
Memorials are suggested to the scholarship funds at the Challis or Salmon High Schools.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Jones & Casey Funeral Home of Salmon.
Barbara Amar
Barbara Amar, 75, passed away on Monday, November 24, 2003 at the Discovery Care Centre of Salmon.
Barbara Jean Sproul was born October 1, 1928 in La Puente, California. The older of two children born to Paul and Velma Paden Sproul, she grew up in La Puente and graduated from La Puente High with the class of 1946. After graduation she attended UCLA and received an associate degree in dress design.
During this same period of time, she started dating a young man, Fidele Amar who hung out at her Dad’s garage. They were married July 6, 1948. To this union five sons were born: Steve, Ken, Keith, Tom and Pete.
After a trip to Yellowstone Park, the Amars drove through Salmon and fell in love with the town. In March of 1958 they moved from La Puente, California to Williams Lake and Lake Creek Ranch. The family had to walk across a swinging footbridge. Tourists would drive to the ranch and Fidele would Jeep them to the lake. Barbara found herself cooking at the lodge. That winter Fidele and Barbara decided they would purchase Lost Trail Ski Lodge. That meant that every Saturday and Sunday Barbara would load the blue station wagon full of hot dogs, hamburgers and kids and head for the ski lodge.
In 1961, Pete was born and Barbara and Fidele left the lake and ski lodge to raise potatoes on Briney Creek south of Salmon. In the next few years, farms were purchased in Ellis and Challis. Amar Farms became the world’s largest Foundation Russet Burbank Seed Potato Farm. A total of 2,000 acres of potatoes were cultivated. When growing seed potatoes, one has to rogue out diseased plants. One time after rouging several rows, Barbara sat down to rest. To her great surprise she sat on a rattlesnake, after that her kids said they had the fastest Mom in the world.
During this time, Barbara was able to move her parents to Salmon and help them through their later years. This was a great move and made it possible for the kids and grandkids to get to know “Banna and Dada” better. Family reunions were very important to Barbara. For several years the family would meet at Redfish Lake for a fun-filled time of skiing, swimming, great meals, and some type of entertainment.
One year she decided that the family should try something different so she rented a house boat on Lake Powell and her family enjoyed each other’s company day and night.
Living in Salmon provided Barbara the opportunity to watch her grandchildren participate in baseball, football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling and other school activities. One activity that Barbara did not miss was cutting up animals during hunting season. She always pitched in without complaint when her boys brought in multiple animals each hunting season. However, when the next generation began hunting and animal numbers had the possibility to reach more than ten, she drew the line. She often reminisced when the hunting season would begin that she “sure was disappointed that she did not have to do that anymore.”
Barbara always enjoyed traveling. She and Fidele would travel to sell seed and spend time in Mexico. After her husband’s death she traveled extensively with her little dog. She decided the trailer was too large so she traded it in on a motor home. After several years of traveling around in the motor home, she bought a park model trailer and became a snowbird, spending the warmer months in Salmon and traveling back to San Diego when the snow began to fall. As time went by, she began to extend her travels across the globe, even traveling to Berlin, where she brought home a piece of the wall for each of her grandchildren. Some of the places she visited included Russia, Norway, Mexico, Canada and even a cruise to Alaska. No matter where she traveled, she took time to find something representative of her travels to bring home. She might be on the other side of the world, but her family was always close to her heart.
Barbara kept busy throughout her travels volunteering in both locations. In Salmon she volunteered at Wags & Rags, Hospice, Meals on Wheels and the Mahoney House. While in California, she thought nothing of driving the freeways to help at Villa View Hospital, Claremont Recovery Center, or the United Way. Her dedication throughout the years brought her great joy, and plenty of stories to share with her family. She was even honored as volunteer of the year by the United Way. Barbara had volunteered for 15 years, and they introduced her at a Padres Game for the presentation.
Barbara also enjoyed nothing more than to sit out on her deck and bask in the fresh mountain air. It didn’t matter if there was a beautiful sunset, a couple of deer in the yard, or just a typical day. She would sometimes even call her friend Joyce or one of the family to come and enjoy with her. She also treasured sitting on the deck at Williams Lake where she would bring her needlepoint to work on while the family played in the water. She loved the mountains; while the boys were young they had many an adventure in the Land Rover. Fidele and Barbara would load up the boys, head into the mountains and explore where no roads existed. These roadless expeditions sometimes required the use of toilet paper just to find the trail back out, in fact rumor has it that somewhere up Hat Creek is a trail appropriately name Toilet Paper Hill.
Another joy of her life was Beta Sigma Phi. She was an active member in both Salmon and San Diego and just received her 25-year pin. The local duck race was always a big part of her summer. During June, no one would get away without hearing “Do you have a duck ticket yet?” Even the family was not exempt. In fact, the grandkids often helped set up tables in different locations around town where she would set up her ticket sales. Few could do it better.
Some say that when Barbara and Fidele came to Idaho, they were on adventure. To this end, it can be said that the adventure never ended.
She is survived by four sons, Steve and Judy Amar of Meridian; Keith and Sheryl Amar of Salmon, Tom and Gretchen Amar of Challis, Pete Amar of La Mesa, California; nine grandchildren, Kevin and Elizabeth Amar of Nampa, Jeremy and Laura Amar of Ogden, Utah, Kymberly Amar of Boise, Mica Johnson and Jerry of Ridgecrest, California, Andrea Shirt and David of Nampa, Paul Amar of Salmon, Nick Amar of Moscow, Alex and Addison Amar of Challis; four great-grandchildren, Tanner, Mason, Luke and Parker.
Barbara was preceded in death by her husband Fidele, her parents Paul and Velma Sproul, and her son Ken. She will be sorely missed.
Funeral services were conducted November 29 at the United Methodist Church of Salmon with the Reverend John Farquhar officiating. Interment was in the Salmon Cemetery.
Arrangements were under the direction of the Jones & Casey Funeral Home of Salmon.
Bruce Fuller
Bruce Fuller passed away November 13, 2003 in Sandpoint, Idaho of Alzheimer’s disease.
He has been in a nursing home in Sandpoint for the last two years.
He was a long time resident of the Challis area and owned the Royal Gorge Motel and RV Park until his illness forced the sale of his property.
He is survived by a brother Gary Fuller of Texas and a daughter, Linda of Coeur d’ Alene.
He had two grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Hazel.
Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Colleen Reed
Colleen Jeanette Miller Reed slipped away in the arms of the angels on November 4, 2003 after a valiant battle with breast cancer.
She believed in living life with energy, passion and hope, without complaint or regrets.
She was born in Norfolk, Virginia and later moved to McCall where she grew up in a large blended family of 13 children.
She joined the U.S. Forest Service when she was 17. Her 26 years of federal public service carried her to many locations and a variety of assignments. She retired in 1999 as a budget analyst in fire management in the Intermountain Regional Office in Ogden, Utah.
She will be greatly missed by her many friends and family, but especially by her loving husband, Billy, who grew up in Challis, her two daughters, Kari Davis and Celeste (Dan) Critchfield, her two granddaughters, Brittany and Skylee Critchfield, her mother, Mary Dorris and Billy’s mother, Marie Reed, Challis. Others who were important in her life include three stepdaughters, Denise Reed, Reneé (Robert) Miller and Michelle (Robert) Moore and their families; her brother Clyde Miller (Franceska), her two sisters, Mary Tinsley (Bruce) and Kathy McCoy (James). Other survivors include her step brothers and sisters: Ann Giberson (Gary), George Dorris (Susan), Joe Dorris, Linda Dorris, Mike Dorris (Leslee), Pat Dorris (Terry), Karen Morrow (Robert), Bill Dorris (Susan), Kippy Born and their families.
The family expresses deep appreciation for the care and services of Dr. Vincent Hansen and his medical staff. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Huntsman Cancer Institute at 2000 Circle of Hope, Salt Lake City, UT 84112.
A celebration of Colleen’s life was held on November 8 at 4:00 p.m. in the Anderson & Sons Mortuary Chapel, 49 East 100 North, American Fork, Utah.
Verl M. Jones
Verl M. Jones passed away on the morning of November 5 at his home.
Verl was 87 years old and carried out his life doing the two most important things in his life, raising a family and his life long passion of ranching.
Edward Benjamin and Nova Mildren were blessed with the birth of their second son Verl on February 13, 1916 on Morgan Creek where he was raised with his sisters Ida Faye, Vara, Velma and his brother Val.
Verl married Hattie Leora Murphy on October 30, 1955, with her three sons Orval, Neil and Miles. They lived on Morgan Creek throughout their time together with the daughter Nova and sons Ward, Lyle, Clay, Orval, Neil and Miles whom they lost to fate at an early age.
Verl loved his ranches which he worked with his family. He strived to maintain his families well being and heritage. Verl, well-known and respected throughout the community, earned his reputation with everyone who was lucky enough to have known him or met him.
He was preceded in death by his father Edward Benjamin, mother Nova Mildren, sister Vara Pyfer, brother Val Jones and son Miles Rice. He is survived by his wife Hattie, sisters, Velma Guay, and Ida Faye Sauvageau, sons Ward, Lyle and Clay Jones, one daughter Nova Hays, sons Orval and Neil Rice, 15 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and too many nieces, nephews and friends to mention.
Private graveside services will be held on November 22 at 11:00 a.m. Memorial services will be held at the Assembly of God Church in Challis at 2:00 p.m. with a potluck to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Salmon River Coalition or your favorite local charity.
Earl Crane
Earl Crane, 64 years of age, passed away Monday, November 3, 2003 at Mosquito Flats, doing what he enjoyed most, hunting and spending time with his family.
Earl Clifford Crane was born May 28, 1939 in Jerome, the second of five children born to Clifford and Vilena (Spencer) Crane.
He attended school in Jerome and in 1948 the family moved to Challis where they built a sawmill above Mosquito Flat Reservoir. The mill was moved in the 1950s to the mouth of Bruno Creek.
Earl graduated from Challis High School with the Class of 1957 and entered the U.S. Army in 1960, serving until 1962. He returned home to Challis and worked with his father for a few years.
Earl was united in marriage to Hazel Skeen of Challis on June 23, 1963 in Challis at the Congregational Church and to this union four children were born: Ben, Alfred, Rob and Patty.
In 1972 Earl and Rick Hussey bought a sawmill from Oregon and set up their Ruff Cut Saw Mill at Round Valley Lumber of Challis, where he owned and operated the business with his family for the past 25 years.
In his spare time you could find Earl dinking around with woodworking projects. He custom built his RV puller for use in his chinking and staining business he had operated the past few years. He remained self-employed for the purpose of spending time with family whenever he felt necessary.
Earl loved to hunt and fish with anyone willing to accompany him, especially his children and grandchildren.
Earl is survived by his wife Hazel of Challis, mother Vilena Crane of Jerome; three sons: Ben Crane of Eastsound, Wa., Alfred Crane and wife Kelli of Meridian, Rob Crane and wife Cindy of Challis, Patty Sensabaugh and husband Billy of Gooding, 12 grandchildren: Stephanie, Colleen, Jessica, Tiffaney Crane of Eastsound; Danelle and Dillion Crane of Meridian; Devin, Jordan and Dalton Crane of Challis, Courtney, Billy and Abby Sensabaugh of Gooding; sisters: Carol and husband Robert Sobotka of Jerome, Judy and husband John Coppage of Anaheim, CA., brother Art and wife Sylvia Crane of Washington D.C.; brothers-in-law: Melvin Skeen of Salmon, Dale (Karen) Skeen of Burley, Earl (Mary) Skeen of Challis; mother-in-law Georgia Skeen of Challis, numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Clifford Crane, brother Bob Crane, father-in-law Alfred Skeen.
Memorial services for Earl C. Crane of Challis were conducted Saturday, November 8 at the Challis Junior High School Gymnasium with Richard McDaniels officiating. Military Honors were provided by Philip Kirk American Legion Post #109 at the Challis Cemetery
following services.
Memorials are suggested to the Challis Athletic Fund of Challis.
Arrangements were under the direction of Jones & Casey Funeral Home of Salmon.
