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Carrol Didrick Tonseth
Carrol Didrick Tonseth, 88, passed away Nov. 26, 2002, at his home near Methow.
He was born on his mother’s sister’s homestead a couple miles west of Methow on June 21, 1914, the son of Lars Magnus and Mable Gladys (Whitney) Tonseth.
The family moved to West Seattle when Carrol was about two years old while his father worked in the shipyards during World War II. They moved back to Methow after the war ended and onto his Aunt Nora Tonseth’s homestead, three quarters of a mile south of Methow, where he lived the rest of his life.
Carrol married
Grace Helen Hole at her folks’ place one mile south of Methow on May 28, 1934. He worked on several Methow area bridges in 1938 and 1939. After that he worked in area orchards until he began carpentering, and in the following years he built and remodeled many homes in the Winthrop, Twisp, Methow, Pateros, Brewster and Bridgeport region. He fully retired in the early 1990s. Toward the end of his career he specialized in building fireplaces; this work was his greatest love.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Helen; his sons, Richard of Wenatchee, Bob and wife Fannie of Methow, Dale and wife Judy of Twisp, and Bill and wife Doris of Methow; ten grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
There was a private family burial at Methow cemetery. Barnes Chapel, Brewster, is in charge of arrangements.
The family invites all to come and share a memory of Carrol at a memorial service Saturday (Dec. 7) at 11 a.m. at the Pateros United Methodist Church. There will be a potluck following the service.
Memorials may be made to the Okanogan Regional Home Health and Hospice, 800 S. Jasmine, Suite 2, Omak, WA 98841, or the charity of your choice.
Carolyn Lehman Hotchkiss
Carolyn Lehman Hotchkiss died Dec. 2, 2002, at a hospital in Chico, Calif. Carolyn, the daughter of Hazel (Witte) and Frank Lehman, was born April 4, 1912, on her mother’s homestead which adjoined her father’s cattle ranch about two miles north of Twisp on the East County Road, a mile north of the home of her pioneer grandparents, the George Wittes.
Carolyn attended school at Twisp. She rode to school in a horse-drawn canvas-covered wagon. After graduating from Twisp High School, she attended Washington State Normal School at Ellensburg, where she received a special Normal School diploma and later a Normal School Life Diploma which she used to teach second through fourth grades for 20 years in Twisp.
Carolyn married
Edgar Hotchkiss Oct. 23, 1937, at the Methodist church in Twisp. Edgar was the son of Winthrop pioneer prospector and miner S.A. Hotchkiss. The couple’s first home was at Soap Lake, where Edgar was manager of the Soap Lake Electrical Utilities. He was manager of the Okanogan County Electric Co-op during its inception and early construction. During World War II Edgar worked as an electrician at the Howe Sound mine at Holden.
In 1943 they purchased their first orchard north of Carlton, and over the next 20 years added to it and built a packing shed and cold storage to handle their own and other growers’ apples.
After selling these holdings in 1967, they traveled extensively, not only in North America and Mexico, but to South America, Europe, Israel and Egypt. Edgar Hotchkiss died Nov. 29, 1983.
They were both charter members and very active in the Calvary Baptist Church, and Carolyn did much teaching of the Bible. She continued to live in their home several miles north of Carlton at the mouth of Booth Canyon. She continued to travel extensively throughout the North American continent, and to Europe, Turkey, Hawaii and the Caribbean.
She was interested in family history, which she collected and wrote about. She also collected rocks, especially petrified wood. She was a member of the Christian Women’s Clubs and Retired Teachers Association.
She is survived by her daughter Karlene (Frank) Easton of Sacramento; her son Lehman (Beverly) Hotchkiss of Chico; and her sister Arlene Campbell of Yakima. She also leaves four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A private burial will take place at the Sullivan cemetery in Winthrop, with Precht’s Methow Valley Chapel in charge of arrangements.
A memorial service is planned for Friday (Dec. 6) at Calvary Baptist Church in Twisp at 11 a.m., with Lehman Hotchkiss officiating. A luncheon will be served at the church following the ceremony.
Gordon William "Johnny" Haase
Gordon William "Johnny" Haase died on his Harley July 21, 2003. Born March 7, 1948, to Shirley Palmer Haase and William "Sandy" Haase of Winthrop, Johnny was a life-long resident of the Valley.
As did other "native sons" of the valley, he worked many jobs beginning at a young age. Besides growing up the eldest of three on a dryland ranch in the Rendezvous, he worked at the Evergreen Grocery in Winthrop during high school. For a short time he worked construction in the Seattle area for Walt Foster, then went on to logging, where he worked in the woods and drove trucks for Lloyd Logging of Twisp.
Later, he worked in the excavating business and at one time owned his own excavating business. Before getting his real estate broker’s license, he worked for the town of Winthrop. While working in real estate, he also owned and operated Mountain Transporter, which he recently sold. He was last working with Lee Miller of Miller & Associates in Winthrop.
This was all after surviving childhood polio during an epidemic in the 1950s. Against doctor’s odds and a six-week quarantine, he went on to participate in school sports and the various forms of labor listed above. And he always found time to help his father during haying season.
Johnny was a "damned good" cowboy, too. He could break a horse, herd cows, and pack as well as anyone. He loved and observed nature every day. He loved the arts, with a great passion for literature and music, and was an accomplished photographer. Most of all, he loved and supported his family and friends without shame.
His father, Sandy, preceded him in death. He is survived by his son, Justin Haase, and grandson, Tristen Haase; his mother, Shirley; his brother, Douglas Haase; and his sister Sandra Stone-Haase; all of Winthrop. Along with cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, he leaves behind hundreds of friends.
Services for Johnny will be held on Saturday (Aug. 2) at the Winthrop Barn at 11 a.m. with a potluck following.
Donald Robert Morgan
Donald (Don) Robert Morgan, 43, of Hamilton, Wash., passed away July 21, 2003. Don was born in Brewster, Wash., on April 9, 1960, to William R. and Patricia P. Morgan. He was raised and attended school in Winthrop, graduating from Liberty Bell High School in 1979.
Don was a diesel mechanic for 23 years. He was always willing to help one of his many friends with a mechanical problem, or lend a hand with any other problem they might have.
He loved to restore trucks, his pride and joy being his 1965 Ford 1-ton. He liked taking it to car shows, where he won many awards. He also developed a liking for motorcycle riding and competing in Harley drag races. He was looking forward to a three-week trip with two of his close friends, Randy and Joel, later this summer.
Don will be missed by many.
He is survived by his parents, of Winthrop; brothers Dave of Hamilton, Wash., and Steve, sister-in-law Cheryl and nephew James of Kenai, Alaska; sister Connie, brother-in-law Howard and nephews Peter and Daniel of Twisp, and many aunts, uncles and cousins. He is also survived by his many friends.
He was preceded in death by both sets of grandparents, two uncles, two aunts and two cousins.
Funeral services were held July 26 at the Liberty Bell High School gymnasium. A firemen’s processional to Sullivan cemetery and potluck at the Winthrop City Park followed the service. Donations may be made to the local district fire department of your choice.
Claude E. "Zeke" Watkins
Claude E. "Zeke" Watkins, 79, of Spokane, died Sept. 19, 2003, due to complications from surgery. He was born in Wenatchee on Dec. 30, 1923, to Claude and Mick Watkins.
He graduated from Wenatchee High School and joined the Navy in 1942. He was a bombardier-gunner in a much-decorated Navy Air Corps squadron in the Marshall Islands and Iwo Jima, and received a Presidential Citation for meritorious service.
Upon his discharge he moved to Twisp and joined his parents in publishing the Methow Valley News. He married
Harriet Kirkland in 1946. Several years later, they owned and operated the Valley Grocery in Twisp. They later co-owned and published the Okanogan Independent in Okanogan.
They moved to Spokane in 1954, where Zeke was the local sales manager for KREM-TV, and later was a top salesman at Taylor Distributing.
He was preceded in death by his son, Michael; his parents; a brother, Duane; and a sister, Chloe.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Harriet; a daughter, Susan White (Jack); four grandsons, Mark, Jeff and Jason White and Ben Watkins; one granddaughter, Jennifer Watkins; one great-granddaughter, Chloe; and one great-grandson, Alex, all of Spokane. Other survivors include his sisters Yvonne Stephenson of Yakima, Dinah Widmer (Woody) of Spokane; and Linda "Deena" Watkins of Spokane; a sister-in-law, Dorothy Watkins of Olympia; a brother-in-law, Ray Kirkland (Phyllis) of Westport, Wash.; two aunts, Georgia Peterson and Lola Zornes of Wenatchee; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends at Heritage Heights, where he and his wife resided.
Memorial services were Sept. 27 at Faith Bible Church in Spokane.
Dee Goodsell
Dee Goodsell died Nov. 18, 2003, at her home in Twisp after a long illness. She was 86.
She was a writer of technical papers for medical publications, a registered nurse and the executive secretary of a national medical organization.
She was an overseas veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps in New Guinea.
After her retirement she became a leader in bringing good music to the Methow Valley. She was a co-founder of Cascadia, the Methow Music Association, and was its president from 1991 to 1996.
Perhaps her most notable achievement was to overcome the handicap of blindness when she suddenly lost her sight at the age of 63.
Dorothy Pearl was born Oct. 2, 1917, at Rice Lake, Wis., the daughter of Holman I. Pearl, a mining engineer, and Hazel Ayer (Rhodes) Pearl.
She received her R.N. degree in 1939 from a school of nursing affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. She studied journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia, Missouri, from 1940 to 1942 and then volunteered for service in the Army Nurse Corps.
Lieutenant Dorothy Pearl served in New Guinea, where she met a U.S. Air Force pilot, Lt. Irwin R. Compton. They were married
in Australia in 1944.
After the war they lived in Seattle, where their three children, Peter, Barbara and Christopher, were born. In 1948 Dee earn a B.A. degree from the University of Washington in English and creative writing.
From 1961 to 1964 she was an administrative secretary in the research division of the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle. During this period her first marriage ended a divorce.
From 1964 to 1968 she was a medical writer at a University of Texas cancer research center in Houston.
She returned to the Pacific Northwest as executive secretary of the American Academy of Dermatology. She held this position from 1968 until 1973. The Academy moved its headquarters from Seattle to Portland in 1969, and Dee became active in the Mazamas, an Oregon mountaineering club. She was editor of the Mazamas’ annual journal in 1970 and 1971.
In 1972 she married
Jim Goodsell, a Foreign Service officer who had recently been appointed director of the U.S. Trade Center in Sydney, Australia. They lived in Sydney until 1976.
In 1976 her husband was reassigned to Washington, D.C. Two years later the Goodsells were posted to Milan, Italy, where Jim was director of the U.S. International Marketing Center for Southern Europe and Dee worked in the U.S. consulate.
On Feb. 10, 1981, the Goodsells were in Madrid, preparing for a U.S. trade exhibition. Dee suddenly lost her sight and became almost totally blind. The cause was temporal arteritis. The Goodsells were flown to Boston, where Dee had excellent care at Boston University Hospital and began a long process of rehabilitation and training in Boston, Cleveland and Palo Alto.
In 1982 Dee spent a month at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, Calif., training with her first guide dog, Teak, a noble black Labrador who was her guide for more than nine years.
In March 1982 the Goodsells moved permanently to the Methow Valley.
In her busy retirement years Dee became active in Cascadia, and served as its president from 1991 until 1996. During her presidency, Cascadia presented about 20 concerts every year, built a covered stage for summer concerts in the Twisp City Park, underwrote musical instruction in local schools and gave many scholarships to talented young musicians.
A plaque on the Cascadia bandstand in the Twisp park uses the Braille alphabet to spell out "Thank you, Dee."
In 1988 Dee received a gold medal and the Washington state Jefferson Award for outstanding public service in helping to bring good music to the Methow Valley.
Dee is survived by her husband Jim, at home; by sons Peter Compton, Beaverton, Ore., and Christopher Compton, Portland: daughter Barbara Ross, Seattle; a sister, Juliet Laverde, Bellaire, Texas; five grandchildren; one great-grandson; three step-daughters, three step-grandchildren and two step-step-grandchildren.
She is also survived by her third guide dog, Kite.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Barbara Garavito, and a brother, Holman Pearl.
A musical memorial gathering will be at the Confluence Gallery between 4 and 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7. All of Dee’s friends and admirers are invited to drop in, sip, nibble and listen.
Memorials may be made to Cascadia at P.O. Box 1013, Twisp, WA 98856.
Ed Owen Gish
Ed Owen Gish, 61, passed way peacefully on January 19, 2004 at his home in Carlton, surrounded by family. Born in Dallas, Texas, on February 10, 1942, to Warren and Oma Gish, Ed spent his childhood in Hobart and Mountain View, Oklahoma, before moving to Washington state when he was in his teens.
He graduated from Rochester High School in 1960, and married
his wife, Carole, in 1961. Their first home was in Rochester, then Olympia, where they lived for over 20 years. Always partial to rural communities, Ed moved to Rainier and finally to Carlton, in the beautiful Methow Valley of North Central Washington.
Ed was first employed by Sears Roebuck in Chehalis, but soon realized that he needed to work with his hands. His 30-year career in the wood products industry began at Centralia Plywood, and then other mills throughout the Northwest, his last 17 years serving as a supervisor. He was well respected for his work ethic and fairness. Ed retired from Plywood in 2002 and devoted himself to his alfalfa farm, "Starvation Acres" in the Methow Valley. With hard work and sheer stubbornness Ed tended his alfalfa crops, learning something new each time. He was happiest on the farm–working with the land and enjoying the peace of the valley.
Ed had a love of sports, which led him to volunteer for various coaching and umpiring positions for his kids. He also enjoyed golf, hunting, fishing and being outdoors. His strong will and determination helped him to maintain a positive attitude, even toward his death of cancer.
He left one last gift to his family–unwavering strength. He passed with quiet dignity and a smile; never complaining, but reassuring and giving comfort to all around him. Ed’s generous nature and unconditional love will be missed by his family and friends.
Ed was preceded in death by his parents, Warren Gish in 1962 and Oma Shupp in 1996 (also on Jan. 19). He is survived by Carole, his loving wife of 42 years; three children, Kathy "Sas" Cleeves and her husband Tom of Tenino; Karen "Sis" Gish of Shelton; and Kristopher Gish and his wife Ellen of Olympia; seven grandchildren, Jeremy "Dooter" Gish of Twisp; Cierra, Elizabeth and Cody "Cowboy" Cleeves; Cydnie Gish; and Aaron "Runt" and Amelia Gish.
Ed died the way he lived–his way. As he wished, there will be no formal service. He will be cremated and his ashes scattered in the Methow River, forever a part of the valley where he found such peace and happiness.
Jamie Rose
Jamie Rose, 36, passed away Jan. 16, 2004, in a cabin fire near Homer, Alaska. He was born Jan. 17, 1967, at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
Jamie’s lifetime of travels took him to many places. His favorites were the mountains and woods he loved to hike and fish in, especially in Washington and Alaska.
He lived in the Methow Valley in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and on and off again between living in Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Virginia and Idaho. He moved to Alaska in April 2003 and worked on cabin projects in Nilnilchik and Homer.
Most who knew Jamie would agree that he was a free spirit with a captivating smile who loved to roam and discover new things. Jamie was also a deeply spiritual person who was always searching for the mysteries of life and beyond. Few would doubt he is now finding them.
Besides his love of the outdoors, Jamie had a gift for creating with his hands. He left behind many cabins, houses and other projects that are a testament to his skill as a craftsman.
Jamie is survived by his daughter Karissa Rose, in Washington state. He is also survived by a daughter, McKaela, also of Washington and a son, Austin, in Virginia. He is also survived by his parents, Peter and Carlye Rose of Anchorage, Alaska; his brothers, Matthew Riedel of Wasilla, Alaska and Billy Rose of Anchorage.
Jamie was preceded in death by an infant son, Brendan, of the Methow Valley.
No services or memorials are planned at this time.
Evelyn Belle Colman
Evelyn Belle Colman of Colonial Vista Care, Wenatchee, passed away Jan. 6, 2004. She was born on Sept. 21, 1903, to Belle and Luther Green of Solominville, Ariz.
Her family ran the stage line and a large ranch. She had seven brothers and one sister. She was raised in Denver, Colo., then lived in the Bay Area of California, Portland and Seattle during her long career as a secretary.
She was married
to John Colman for more than 61 years. After retirement, they lived in Winthrop for many happy years before moving to Colonial Vista.
She was an outstanding cook and always fed everyone in style. Her family and friends cherished her sense of humor and wisdom, along with her upbeat style. She was a blessing to all who knew her. Her family, friends, and the staff at Colonial Vista applaud a most amazing woman. We will miss her sweet ways.
John preceded her in death. Surviving family include her daughter Joan and husband Dick Brown of Wenatchee; three grandsons and wives and their six great grandchildren: Jeff and Alicia Brown and Jacob and Nathan of Mazama, Paul and Janice Brown and Coleman of Everett, Jim and Becky Brown and Bryna of London, England, and Britlese Brown and Anna Marie Windham of Seattle; daughter Carolyn and husband Paul Haugen of Twisp; and a niece, Terry L. Abendroth of Seattle.
A family memorial will be held at Sullivan cemetery in April.
