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Ray Bromps
Former Libby resident Ray W. Bromps, 79, died Sunday, March 24, 2002, at his home in Milton-Freewater, Ore.
He was born on Dec. 23, 1922, at Deer River, Minn., to Elizabeth and Henry Bromps.
Ray was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during World War II, flying 25 missions.
He married Donna DeLong at Great Falls in 1947.
Ray worked in construction and they lived at various locations in Montana and Oregon before moving to Libby in 1972.
Ray worked for W.R. Grace at Libby.
In 1987 they moved to Milton-Freewater.
Survivors include his wife Donna, Milton-Freewater; son Robert Bromps, also of Milton-Freewater; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorials may be made to Hospice.
Henry Munro
Longtime Libby resident Henry Judson Munro, 79, died March 14, 2002, at the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center in Warm Springs.
He was born on Oct. 26, 1922, at Livingston to Henry J. and Addie Laura (Lyons) Munro.
He had an older sister Marian.
Their mother died when Henry was five years old and he was raised by an aunt and uncle and a grandmother in a rural setting in the Livingston area.
Henry graduated from high school in Livingston and joined the U.S. Marines in December 1942.
He served in the South Pacific, working with aircraft and helping Seabees in construction projects. He held the rank of corporal and received an honorable discharge.
Henry married Alice Hetle at Libby in 1947. They were married for 39 years until their divorce in March 1986.
Henry and Alice had two sons, Jay and Drew.
Henry worked mostly in the Libby area in construction, mining, ranching and farming but he was primarily engaged in logging, as was his father and his two sons.
His hobbies included hunting, fishing, reading newspapers and watching television. He liked to collect newspaper and magazine articles about veterans.
Henry was admitted to Montana State Hospital in November 1999, and transferred to the Montana Mental Health Nursing Center in September 2000.
He is survived by sons Drew and Jay, both of Libby, and step-son Gary Callihan, Hamilton.
Services were conducted Tuesday morning, March 19, in the Multi-Purpose Room at the nursing care center.
Rubye Benavente
Rubye Irene Benavente, 65, died Thursday, March 7, 2002, at her home near Troy.
She was born on May 10, 1936, at Prosser, Wash., to Jake and Cleo Caraway, and came to Troy with her family as a small child.
Raised and educated in Troy, Rubye lived in California and Washington as well as Hawaii and Guam before returning two years ago to live in the Troy area.
Her father Jake Caraway died in 2001.
Survivors include her children, Mark Benavente and his wife Terry in Guam; Leanne Benavente, San Diego, Calif.; John Benavente, Troy, and Robert Benavente, Guam; her mother Cleo Caraway, Troy; brother Gladstone Caraway and his wife Karel, Benton City, Wash.; sisters Frances Cambell and her husband Pete, Troy, Raye Caraway, Spanaway, Wash., and Mary Karen Caraway, Libby.
Memorials may be made to St. John’s Hospice, 350 Louisiana Ave, Libby.
Services will be announced at a later Arrangements are by Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.
Thelma Blackwell
Former Libby resident Thelma R. Blackwell, 74, died Monday, March 18, 2002, at Pasco, Wash.
She was born on July 20, 1927, at Eaton, Colo., to Samuel and Molly Meier.
Growing up, Thelma lived with her family at various locations, including an extended time at Lovell, Wyo.
After graduating from high school she entered nurses training at St. John’s Hospital at Leavenworth, Kan., graduating as a registered nurse.
Thelma married Lewis (Blackie) Blackwell at Columbus, Mont., on Nov. 5, 1949. They lived in the Fort Smith and Billings areas before moving to Libby in 1966.
They owned and operated Blackwell Trailer Court and Store north of Libby during the Libby Dam project years and later operated the Montgomery Ward store at Libby.
Thelma worked as a nurse at the Libby Care Center for many years and served as nursing supervisor until she retired.
Her husband died in 1992 and in 1993 Thelma moved to Spokane and later to Lolo.
At Libby she was a member of Christ Lutheran Church.
Survivors include her daughter Janell Stegman and her husband Lee, Richland, Wash.; sons Bob Blackwell and his wife Sandy, Lolo, and Rick Blackwell and his wife Linda, Longmont, Colo.; sister Dorothy Barnett, Roscoe, Mont., and five grandchildren.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at Christ Lutheran Church with Pastor Les Nelson officiating.
Committal services will follow at the City of Libby Cemetery under the direction of Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.
Vance Hopper
Vance E. Hopper, 65, of Troy, died on March 13, 2002.
He was born at West Fork, Ark., on Jan. 27, 1937, to Oscar and Opal Hopper, and moved with his family to Washington state in 1940.
The family lived in the Rocky Creek area near Colville and Vance attended school in the Aladdin Schoolhouse near Colville, and graduated from high school at Moses Lake in 1956.
He married Sherry Embree on May 3, 1957, at Sandpoint, Idaho. They lived at Moses Lake until moving to Northport, Wash., in 1962.
After moving to Troy in 1984, Vance worked as a truck driver and recently was employed as a bus driver and in vehicle maintenance for the Troy schools.
Survivors include his wife Sherry, Troy; sons Clifton, Colville, and Wayde, Tacoma, Wash.; John, Winlock, Wash., Oscar, Phoenix, Ariz., and Christopher, Pocatello, Idaho; daughters Roxanne Vignali, Elko, Nev., and Opal Simpson, Northport; his mother Opal Hopper, Libby, and 18 grandchildren.
Services were conducted at 1 p.m. Monday at the Kootenai Chapel Assembly of God in Troy with Pastor Bonnie Emett officiating. Visitation was from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the church.
Arrangements are under direction of the Nelson & Vial Funeral Home.
Jean Myers
Former Troy schoolteacher Jean J. Myers, 91, died on March 15, 2002, in Spokane, after a brief illness.
She was born on June 9, 1901, in Iowa, to Fred and Estella Stevenson.
Jean lived in Troy for 50 years, teaching in the elementary school system for 15 years. She enjoyed gardening, entertaining, cooking, baking, knitting and traveling.
She loved to spend time with family and friends and leaves a legacy of love and friendship.
Jean was preceded in death by her daughter Claire and son-in-law John Morrison in 1975, her husband Claude in 1987 and brother Vernon Sutherland in 1990.
Survivors include grandson Robert Morrison; granddaughter Dru Dalsanders and her husband Pat; great-grandchildren Christie Dalsanders, Bruce Dalsanders and his wife Shannon, and great-great-grandson Beau Dalsanders, all of Spokane; nephew David Sutherland, Auburn, Wash.; nieces Sara Jean Carrier, Wenatchee, and Nancy Peterson, Auburn, and several grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Kingdom Hall in Libby, followed by a gathering at McGrade Elementary School.
