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Arthur T. Curren
Feb. 24, 1916 -- Sept. 25, 2004
Port Townsend resident and former Port Commissioner Arthur T. Curren died of bone marrow cancer at age 88.
He was born on Staten Island, N.Y., to Joseph and Anna V. (McCourt) Curren.
He graduated from Curtis High School and from Lehigh University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a commission in the Ordnance Reserve.
Mr. Curren was employed by Wright Aeronautical Corp. of Caldwell, N.J., for which he flew as a test observer on a number of experimental projects. During this time he earned his private pilot's license.
In early 1941, he was ordered to active duty and joined the Army's 1st Armored Division, being organized at Fort Knox, Ky. He was commissioned as a pilot and trained in the B-17.
In 1942, he joined the 43rd bomb group and for 18 months participated in missions in support of the Battle of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific.
After returning to the United States, he was assigned to the 21st bomber command as a staff officer and sent to Iwo Jima.
He received the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with One Oak Leaf Cluster and Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Ribbon with Seven Battle Stars.
After discharge in late 1945, he joined American Export Airlines as a technical pilot.
In 1952, he joined the Boeing Aircraft Co. as an experimental test pilot and participated in the development of the growth version of Boeing's 707 jetliner.
For several years, Mr. Curren traveled the world selling the model to airlines.
He became program manager for experimental work on the original 367-80 prototype and was an executive on proposal teams for various programs.
He married
Dorothy Ruth Marsh in Seattle on Dec. 17, 1976.
Until he retired in 1979, Mr. Curren acted as consultant to the Senate and House Energy subcommittees.
In 1988, the Currens moved to Port Townsend, and was elected as Port of Port Townsend commissioner.
He enjoyed sailing, skiing, mountain climbing, hiking, travel, farming, gardening, building houses and investing.
Survivors include his wife of Port Townsend; sons Joseph Lind and Christopher Court of California; daughter Deborah Christian of Tonasket; and brother and sister-in-law Walter and Betty Curren of Conroe, Texas.
Services: Memorial service to be announced. Kosec Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Elinore Sundee Gates
March 28, 1915 -- Sept. 20, 2004
Elinore Sundee Gates of Sequim died of an aneurysm in Mercy Medical Center, Nampa, Idaho, at age 89.
She was born in Camrose, Alberta, to Fred and Betsy (Jeston) Evenson.
She married
Alfred E. Gates in Bremerton on April 14, 1943. He died Oct. 8, 1997.
Mrs. Gates was a beautician in Minnesota, Oregon, Idaho and Washington before she retired 35 years ago.
She was a member of Eagles in Port Angeles and the Eagles Travel Club.
Survivors include sons Ted Gates of Sequim and Ray Gates of Sterling, Alaska; daughter Karen Houghton of Sequim; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by brothers Alvin Evenson and Lloyd Evenson.
Services: Cremains will be distributed in a private family service. Alsip & Persons Funeral Chapel, South Nampa, Idaho, was in charge of arrangements.
Hubert Montague `Hugh' Jones
Jan. 23, 1914 -- Sept. 25, 2004
Port Angeles resident Hubert Montague ``Hugh" Jones died in Crestwood Convalescent Center at age 90.
A descendant of Sen. Hiram Bingham, who discovered Machu Picchu, the fabled ``lost city" of the Incas in Peru, and of British explorer Capt. James Cook, he was born to Arthur Henry and Juliette (Cook) Jones in Honolulu.
He graduated from Punahou High School, Honolulu, in 1932.
While in the Army at Fort Bragg, N.C., he was trained as a medical corpsman. During his military service, he served in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines before returning to Fort Bragg at the end of World War II.
In 1943, Mr. Jones married
Eleanor Ruelke in Albany N.Y. The marriage was later annulled.
In September 1947, he married
Arlene Girt of Port Angeles.
He was finance manager of the city of Mountain View, Calif., before retiring to Port Angeles in 1978, where his wife died in 1980.
Mr. Jones married
Vera Northfield in October 1981; she died in June 1982.
On March 31, 1983, he married
Judith Birdszell, who survives him in Golden Years Care Home in Port Angeles.
Mr. Jones, a lifelong member of the Christian Science Church, was a vocal soloist with both the Port Angeles and Sequim congregations of First Church of Christ Scientist.
In addition to his wife, survivors include son and daughter-in-law Arthur and Jan Jones of Port Angeles; son Brian of Colfax, Calif.; stepdaughters Nancy Peterson of Vicksburg, Pa., Maggie Jamison of Port Angeles and Judy Shepherd of Las Vegas; and many step-grandchildren.
Services: Oct. 10, 3 p.m., memorial in Fairview Bible Church, 385 O'Brien Road.
After the service, family and friends are invited to gather at the home of Art and Jan Jones, 42 Bravo Road, Port Angeles. Olympic Cremation Association, Port Angeles, is in charge of burial.
Memorials: American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 861, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
Wilbur Doyle `Jack' La Rue
Nov. 30, 1917 -- Sept. 22, 2004
Port Angeles resident Wilbur Doyle ``Jack" La Rue died at age 86.
He was born in Beaverdam, Ohio, to Wilbur Doyle and Margaret Effie (Chidester) La Rue.
During World War II, he served in Europe as a lieutenant junior grade in the Navy.
Mr. La Rue married
Ethel Marie Lewis in Columbus, Ohio, on June 9, 1945.
He studied to be a nurseryman at the Ohio State University School of Agriculture.
Mr. La Rue was an appraiser in the San Francisco Bay area; a working shareholder of Peninsula Plywood in Port Angeles; owner-operator of Angeles Insurance; owner of Angeles Construction; and co-owner-operator with son Jim of Green Thumb Nursery between Port Angeles and Sequim before retiring in 1988.
In addition to prizing the numerous unusual plantings that marked his years as a nurseryman, he enjoyed his grandchildren.
Mr. La Rue, who served as business manager of the Port Angeles Symphony in the early 1970s, did not miss an area performance of the symphony for the past three decades.
He was a member of First United Methodist and Congregational Church.
Mr. La Rue is survived by sons William ``Bill" La Rue of Port Angeles and James La Rue of Junction City, Ore.; daughter Suzy Marie Cyphers of Prosser; and four grandchildren.
His wife died June 23, 1999, and he was also preceded in death by brothers Olan and Ralph and sister Lenore.
Services: Saturday, Oct. 2, 11 a.m., memorial in Harper-Ridgeview Funeral Chapel, 105 W. Fourth St., Port Angeles. The Rev. Ken Dooley will officiate.
A gathering at noon in the family home at 130 Viewcrest Ave., Port Angeles, will follow.
Memorials: Port Angeles Symphony, P.O. Box 2148, Port Angeles, WA 98362.
Jess T. McMichael
May 19, 1919 -- Sept. 21, 2004
Clallam Bay resident Jess T. McMichael died in Port Angeles of complications following surgery. He was 85.
He was the son of Jess and Gertrude McMichael.
After leaving Texas in 1930, he arrived in Clallam Bay in the early 1940s and married
Alice Raymond.
Mr. McMichael worked as an electrician for ITT Rayonier until the Sekiu operation closed.
He then worked for Alaska Packers in South Natnek, Alaska, for nine years, running the powerhouse and doing electrical repairs.
Mr. McMichael is survived by daughter Sandra K. Blankenship of Forks; sisters Opel and Anne of California; and three grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his wife, three brothers and four sisters.
Services: At his request, none. On Sunday, Oct. 3, 2-4 p.m., there will be an informal celebration of life with pie and coffee in Clallam Bay Presbyterian Church, Eighth Street and Highway 112, Clallam Bay. Harper-Ridgeview Funeral Chapel, Port Angeles, is in charge of cremation.
Vera L. Pelton
Sept. 21, 1909 -- Sept. 16, 2004
Sequim resident Vera L. Pelton died in Des Moines five days before her 95th birthday.
She was born to Martin and Mildred (Goff) Brown in Portland, Maine, where she married
Robert S. Pelton on Oct. 21, 1928.
Mrs. Pelton was a 1931 graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, and was a social worker before attending the University of Washington for her master's degree, which she earned in 1961.
Mrs. Pelton worked for the state of Washington until her retirement in 1973.
She moved into the Fifth Avenue Retirement Center in Sequim in 1996.
Survivors include daughter and son-in-law Sandra and Ken Higgins of Des Moines; son and daughter-in-law Robert M. and Marion Pelton of Lakeville, Minn.; seven grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
In addition to her husband, who died March 7, 2000, Mrs. Pelton was preceded in death by daughter Sylvia E. Ames.
Services: Private celebration of life for the family. Bleitz Funeral Home, Seattle, was in charge of burial.
Memorials: Donations to Heifer International Foundation, P.O. Box 727, Little Rock, AR 72203, foundation@heifer.org
Arthur J. Stennes
May 16, 1915 -- Sept. 20, 2004
Arthur J. Stennes died in his Port Angeles home at age 89.
Services: Sunday, Sept. 26, 2 p.m. visitation, 3 p.m. funeral, in Drennan-Ford Funeral Home, 260 Monroe Road, Port Angeles.
KENNETH IRA TINKHAM
Kenneth Ira Tinkham was a beloved husband, brother, father and grandfather.
He was born on June 13, 1932, and immediately found a love for music.
He was raised on a farm in Port Angeles, and learned the importance of hard work and the appreciation of a job done well.
He graduated from Roosevelt High in Port Angeles and went on to Western Washington University to study music. He participated in many band events and played for numerous dance jobs during his high school and college years.
It was at college that he met the love of his life, Carol, who he married
after graduating with a music education degree.
Rather than waiting for the draft, he enlisted in the Army. He was stationed at Fort Ord, California, for two years, where he played in the Army Band.
Upon completion of his military career, he became a music teacher and, for a short while, he and Carol lived in the Duvall/Carnation area.
In 1961, he went to Centralia, where he taught band at Centralia Junior High. He went on to get a Master's Degree from Western Washington University and Principal Certification from Pacific Lutheran University.
In 1987, after 30 years of teaching at Oakview Elementary School, he retired.
His love of music did not end with retirement; he immediately started playing with the Centralia Community Band and got involved with the Sound of Swing Big Band.
The Sound of Swing Big Band plays for events to raise money for music scholarships for Centralia College.
He played dance jobs, taught private music lessons, and stayed involved in the music scene. His latest love was playing with the Vista Road Jazz Society every Thursday night at the Shire Bistro in Chehalis. He never missed a single chance to play his trumpet or fluegelhorn.
It was a great joy that Ken and Carol celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary on June 26th this year.
He will be remembered and missed terribly by his family, and is survived by wife, Carol; sister, Fern Purvis of Port Angeles; son, Roger Tinkham and his wife, Judith, and their children, Celise and Zachary of Centralia and Roger's other son, Branden; and daughter, Alyssa Tinkham Pulliam, and her husband, John A. Pulliam, of Seattle.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to: Centralia College Foundation, Big Band Scholarship, 600 W. Locust St., Centralia, WA 98531.
