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Ruth Walker
Ruth Walker, 77, of Libby, died Sunday, Feb. 20, 2000, at St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.
She was born on March 7, 1922, at Reardon, Wash., to Harry T. and Sophia M. Zeimamtz Phillips.
She grew up in Davenport, Wash., where she attended school, graduating from Davenport High School with the Class of 1937.
After graduating from high school, Ruth worked in Spokane before moving to San Diego.
She met and married Charles Walker in 1944. They moved to Kalispell in 1945, to Spokane in 1947 and to Walnut Creek, Calif., in 1966.
They retired in 1978 and returned to Spokane. Ruth had lived in Libby since 1995. She enjoyed playing the piano, the out-of-doors, singing, dancing and telling stories.
Survivors include daughters Terrey Winkler and her husband Ed, Libby, and Sherrey Flodin and her husband Dick, El Sobrante, Calif.; four grandchildren, Katie Winkler, Seattle; Michael Winkler, Denver, Colo.; Stefanie Flodin, Sacramento, Calif., and Erik Flodin, Moscow, Idaho, and niece Shirley Gunning and her husband Richard, Davenport.
Services were conducted at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Christ Lutheran Church.
Interment will take place Wednesday in Davenport.
Local arrangements were under direction of Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.
Charlie Welch
Charles Mel ( Charlie) Welch, 78, longtime Libby resident, died on Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2000, at the Libby Care Center.
He was born on Jan. 13, 1922, at Marmarth, N.D., to Charles F. and Maude Welch, moving to a Montana homestead in Carter County as a child.
Charlie attended rural schools and graduated from Carter County High School in Ekalaka in 1941.
As a teenager Charlie worked as a ranch hand during the summer months, trailing cattle to the railroad at Baker.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1942, serving as a flight engineer and crew chief with the Naval Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II He received an honorable discharge in 1945.
Charlie married Verna Frye in 1946.
He worked as a mechanic, construction worker and in the gold mines until moving to Libby in 1956.
A longtime employee of the J. Neils Lumber Company and St. Regis Paper Company, Charlie was a respected member of the Lumber & Sawmill Workers Local 2581, serving as union representative from his election in 1967 until his retirement in 1982.
A member and deacon of Libby Christian Church, Charlie served on the board of the Montana Christian Evangelistic Association, responsible for building churches in Montana.
He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion, loved to travel, hunt and dance, and relished the role of loving husband, father and grandfather.
Charlie was preceded in death by a son, Sgt. Robert Welch, killed in action while serving with the U.S. Army in Vietnam in 1968. He was also preceded in death by his parents, sister Lucile Venhauus and brothers, Jerry Welch and Eldon (Cub) Welch, longtime Libby chief of police.
Survivors include Verna, his wife of 54 years, Libby; his children Peggy Tong and her husband Larry, Naples, Idaho; Charles (Chuck) Welch, Libby, and Jeanne Goodnough and her husband Greg, Kalispell; sister Gladys Parker and brother Clyde Welch and his wife Donna, all of Billings; sister-in-law Marilyn Welch, Missoula, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Libby Christian Church with Pastors Curt Hensley and Cal Noble officiating. Interment with military honors will follow at the City of Libby Cemetery.
Friends may call at the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home from 4-8 p.m. Friday and until noon Saturday.
Memorials may be made to the Montana Christian Evangelistic Association or the Libby Christian Church.
Mary Flickinger
Mary E. Flickinger, 90, died Saturday, Feb. 12, 2000, at the Libby Care Center.
She was born on May 5, 1909, at Hamill, S.D., to James and Anna Beranck Pelkey.
She was raised and educated in South Dakota before moving to Grants Pass, Ore., where she and her husband Clem lived for many years.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1990 and moved to Libby in 1994.
Mary was also preceded in death by a son, Gene, in 1985.
Survivors include daughters Bette Garcia, Troy, and Juanita Schwab, Jacksonville, Ore.; son David Flickinger, Sterling, Alaska; sisters Elsie Austin, Roseburg, Ore., Eve English and Bea Mann, both of Hot Springs, S.D.; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Private arrangements are by Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Bill Gerstenberger
William Theodore (Bill, W.T.) Gerstenberger, 79, of Trout Creek, died Feb. 13, 2000, in St. John’s Lutheran Hospital.
He was born on Feb. 10, 1921, at Browerville, Minn., and moved with his family to Havre when he was 3 years old, and to Trout Creek in 1936, when he was 15.
Bill enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and served with the Alaska Railroad Battalion during World War II.
Following an honorable discharge in 1946 Bill returned to Trout Creek. He married Ann Larkin on Oct. 12, 1946, at Wenatchee, Wash.
Bill worked on construction of Libby Dam and Cabinet Gorge Dam, in sawmills, and on the railroad.
He enjoyed his family and especially his grandchildren. Bill enjoyed life and made life joyful for others.
He is survived by his wife Ann in Trout Creek; daughters Sherry Peters and her husband Allen, Troy; Kathy Brown and her husband George, Trout Creek; Marianne Laws and her husband Tim, Hayden, Idaho; sons and daughters-in-law, Bill and Gloria Jose, Spirit Lake, Idaho; Mike and Cindy Gerstenberger, Clark Fork, Idaho; Jeff and Scooter Gerstenberger, Trout Creek; Steve and Lori Gerstenberger, Trout Creek; sister and brother-in-law Pat and Les Rogers, Sandpoint, Idaho; brothers Richard Gerstenberger and his wife Jean, Trout Creek, and Albert Gerstenberger and his wife Violet, also of Trout Creek.
Bill is also survived by 21 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a son, Robert Leland.
Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Friday at St. William Catholic Church in Thompson Falls.
Coffelt-Bunch Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements.
Cy Moles
Longtime Libby resident Clarence W. (Cy) Moles, 82, died Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Spokane.
He was born on Aug. 5, 1917, at Belknap to Albert and Sophia Skiera Moles, the third of seven children.
Cy grew up on the family farm at Belknap and attended the nearby country school. He attended high school at Thompson Falls.
After high school Cy worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, driving truck and delivering supplies to all the CCC camps in Montana.
He met Ann Kolendich in Missoula and they were married in Missoula on Sept. 10, 1940.
Cy was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps in June 1943 and was honorably discharged in 1945.
Returning to Thompson Falls, Cy converted an old army truck into a logging truck, hauling logs and working as a gypo.
In 1947 he moved to Libby, where he continued to work as a logger.
Cy started building the family home in Libby in 1950 and with the help of his wife and children, finished it four years later.
Cy ran the American Legion Club in 1959-1960 and leased Gopher Inn for two years before returning to logging.
He tended bar at the Elks Lodge, the Play Lanes and the VFW Club, where he also worked as manager.
He started doing carpentry work with Elmer Matson in later life and continued well into his seventies. He enjoyed bowling with the same group of Libby men every Friday night for 45 years. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting.
Cy was a charter member of the Elks Lodge and was also a member of the Moose Lodge, the DAV, Eagles Lodge and American Legion.
He was preceded in death by his wife Ann, a son and two brothers.
Survivors include sons Clarence Moles, Seattle; and David Moles, Lolo; brothers Les Moles and his wife Edith, Libby; Wilfred Moles and his wife Agnes, Terre Haute, Ind.; and Lavern Moles and his wife Katherine, Grants Pass, Ore., sister Altha Thompson and her husband Rex, Thompson Falls; five grandchildren, Nicole Moles, Megan Moles and her daughter Katya, all of Portland; Chris, Chadra and Nicholas Moles, all of Lolo; special niece Clara Tucker, Asotin, Wash and numerous other nieces and nephews.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home Chapel.
Visitation will be from 1-8 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.\
