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The obituaries that were published in The Miner in 2025 show a variety of lifetimes lived, some in service, some with accomplishments and all with love from friends and family.
Some were of people well known in their communities, such as Stan Bluff of Usk, who was a Kalispell Tribal Chairman, and Charlotte Demlow of Newport, who was Pend Oreille County Treasurer.
Some were people with unusual lives and accomplishments, such as Katrina Anne O’Neal of Priest River, a retired registered nurse of 25 years who loved animals, especially dogs and horses. She wrote award winning poetry and prose, acted in live theater as well as small TV parts and worked on racetracks from Belmont in New York to Louisiana.
Others such as Elizabeth Watson lived long lives. She passed away at age 102, having worked 35 years as a typesetter at The Miner and as an Avon lady for the area.
Here is a list of people whose obituaries or death notices appeared in The Miner in 2025. They are listed in the month the obituary appeared, not necessarily the month they passed away.
January
Patricia “Patty” Ann Cole, 81 Violet Colman Jean Kress Lillian Pauline Stoll, 84 Don George Winterfield Laura Evaunn Goss Shirley Diean (Quaschnick) Hendershott, 85 Arleigh E. Nelson, 82 Gary Kennedy Linda Sue Bird, 72 James Royston “Jim” Henley, 91 Gordon LeRoy Knopp, 81 Rebecca “Becky” Jo MacArthur, 66 Shannon Louise Cork Moore, 62
February
Bob Ruiz Jim Morrison Sally Ann Centenari, 78 Alex Frederick Brown, 38 Jason Matthew Slinger Krisstarah Tianna Bennett, 33 Arthur L. Day, 71 Charles Michael Spears, 75
March
Clifford Bennes Matson Billie Lou Borders, 74 George James Benson, 82 Norman Dean Douglas, 82 Christian Douglas Loutzenhiser, 25 Faye Self, 99 Elizabeth Mary (Cameron) Watson, 102
April
Alan Gage Curtis Colleen Lartz Susan Eileen Bauer-Hatfield, 77 Harold Ainsworth Bond Gerda Burke, 94 Cindy Chambers, 49 Cynthia Ann (Baker) Day, 89 Gary Lee Fisher, 80 Agnes Elain (Bergen) Goertzen, 86 Larry L. Gragg, 82 Patricia Tidwell-King, 88
May
Susan Eileen Bauer-Hatfield (Peterson) Donna Jean Bushee, 89 Edward L. Hamilton Dedee Ann Kirk (Butler), 53 Robert “Bob” Raymond Joseph Micek, 78 Katrina Anne O’Neal Rose Mary Shipman, 87 Ernie Daniel Sparks, 58 Doris Harold Stockton, 100 Paul Brian Thornburg Constance L. White, 89
June
Paul Brian Thornburg Lesley Ann Cody, 86 Randy Harmon, 76 Daniel Azariah Martin, 31 Carol Ann Pierre, 66 Nancy L Strand (Zigler), 87
July
Teresa Gearhart, 58 Shirley Rice Leah Raye (Sampson) Bean Devin Craig Berkhousen, 54 Stanley James Bluff Sr., 83 Christopher “Chris” Carstens Stanley Glen Pederson, 90 Guy Dale Riffel Kenneth (Gene) Eugene Rucker, 84 Glen Dale Shivley Geraldine Fern (Campbell) Smith, 73 Marjorie Van Natter, 99
August
Karen “K” Emel Sylvia Faye Miller Jacquelyn Jeanne Sorby Joel David Ecklund, 41 Bernhart “Ben” F. Garayalde Owings, 65
September
Vondia Birchall David Leroy Bussler MaryLou Duncan, 94 Robert “Bob” Graham Hank Hester Mary “Ellen” Bartel, 85 George Edward Cook, Jr., 76 Robert Francis Graham, 92 Rodney Philip Hahn, 93 Larry “LASH” Arne Hendrickson, 94 Lori Ickes, 65 Dorothy Marie (Maio) Phillips, 97 Georgia Pillers, 96
October
Airene Gotico Herman, 75 Douglas Robert Jared, 67 Marelene Kay Sportiello Debra Jean Zwarg, 70 Gregory “Greg” Alan Best, 83 Richard William Blaine Sr., 81 Virginia G Brown, 99 William “Bill” Santford Gray, 80 Kathy Hastings, 75 Beverly Ann Hutchins, 86 Betty Jean Janson, 96 Patrick Michael Molvik, 58 Kathleen “Kathy” M. Pasquale, 89
