Spokesman Classifieds

McHUGH, Barbara (Age 96) Passed away April 13, 2024 Hennessey Funeral Home & Crematory, Spokane, WA SNIDER, Melanie Ann (Age 65) Passed away March 25, 2024 Lakeview Funeral Home, Sandpoint, ID SNIDER, Richard Joseph (Age 78) Passed away February 26, 2024 Lakeview Funeral Home, Sandpoint, ID TIFFANY, Lois Margaret (Age 91) Passed away April 18, 2024 Neptune Society, Spokane, WA Death Notices are published as a complimentary service of The Spokesman-Review. Look to the following obituaries or call the funeral home for further details.

May 18, 1941 - March 22, 2024 Seattle — King was born at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, to Randall and Willa Rockhill. He grew up in nearby Renton, where he attended Sartori Grade School and Renton High School, graduating in 1959. He was an honor student, played trumpet in the band under his father's direction, and turned out for track. In his sophomore year of high school, he met Alice Temple who later became his wife of 62 years. King attended the University of Washington and was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity where he majored in history while playing bridge and attending ROTC. He married Alice on March 17, 1962, and then attended Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey, to become a lifelong United Methodist Church (UMC) Minister. During seminary, daughter, Wendelyn, was born in 1964 and King served in a student church in Dingman's Ferry, PA. In 1965, he served as Associate Minister at Haller Lake UMC under Larry Linnamen. Son, Jason, was born in 1967. In 1968, King was assigned to the Garfield/Farmington churches in eastern Washington. This charge, off and on, extended to forty-six years. During that time King served on the Whitman County Mental Health Board, on the staff at Washington State University's Koinonia House, studied and taught at WSU while working on a PhD in history, taught religion at University of Idaho, organized the construction of LaDow Court Assisted Living under a newly created Hospital District, was Associate Director of Pastoral Institute, and the first Director of Rural Ministries Resources (RMR) along with LIMPOP (limited Population) small church ministry. He continued to play trumpet in multiple bands, was president of the Appaloosa Museum board, and performed hundreds of weddings with panache, storytelling, and celebrations of love. He retired in 2004 and moved to Harvard, Idaho, where he became a gentleman farmer and logger, riding Appaloosa horses and raising organic beef. King was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2015. He and Alice moved back to the Seattle area, building a house on Whidbey Island in 2016. This allowed them to be closer to family including his children and grandchildren. He died in Memory Care on March 22, 2024. King is survived by his wife, Alice; daughter, Wendy and her husband Joe; grandson, Tristan Alving and his wife Jamie; son, Jason and his wife Carol; grandson, Tyler and partner Corinne; grandson, Alex and wife Pearl; and great-grandsons, Wally and Magnus; as well as King's sister, Shari Fisher, and her daughters and granddaughters. King will be remembered for his compassion, his engaging personality and preaching, his love of music, and his willingness to serve. He and Alice enjoyed a life of many blessings, including a loving and supportive family, good friends, wide ranging travel experiences, and a long marriage. A celebration of his life will be held at Haller Lake UMC, 13055 First Ave. NE, Seattle, WA, on May 18, 2024, at 2 pm. Live streaming/Zoom will be available. In lieu of flowers, please contribute to a humanitarian cause of your choice.

March 15, 1940 - February 20, 2024 Hay — Our loving father, Ralph Lavern Wilcox, Sergeant First Class (Ret.), U.S. Army, passed away peacefully on February 20, 2024, at the age of 83. He bravely served his country for 23 years and will forever be remembered for his dedication, courage, and sacrifice. Born on March 15, 1940, in Spokane, WA, Ralph Wilcox was the beloved son of James (Roy) and Hazel Wilcox, both of whom preceded him in death. In addition to his parents, he was also preceded in death by his devoted wife, Janet Wilcox. He was a loving husband, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, cousin, and friend to many. He touched the lives of all who knew him with his kindness, generosity, and unwavering devotion to duty. A memorial service will be held on May 3, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. at the Washington State Veterans Cemetery, 21702 W. Espanola Road, Medical Lake, Washington 99022, where family, friends, and comrades will gather to honor and celebrate Ralph's life. (Please arrive 15 to 20 minutes early.) Contact information for any questions the Funeral Home 509-299-6280 or Jana Craven 509-280-1036.

(Age 82) On March 25th, 2024, we said goodbye to our beloved sister, aunty, teacher, friend, and associate: Janice Louise Franz. She meant so much to so many and, it is likely, her passing will create a void in our community that will be felt for years to come. Jan started teaching in 1966 and spent most of her career at Opportunity Elementary School in the Central Valley School District. She was proud to wear those Panda colors, but you can bet, under that Opportunity swag, there was a thick layer of Crimson and Gray. She loved each and every student who sat in her classroom over the several decades of her career. After Janice passed, her family found a bureau, in the attic, packed full of heartfelt letters and notes from many of the parents and students she served. Common to most of these communications were the words Fun, Love, and Patience. Janice was a professional and the mark of the best teachers is a well-designed lesson plan. Some of us remember Jan designing these plans, in the hot summer, beneath a thin layer of Cocoa Butter or, when cool breezes were blowing across Loon Lake, from the shelter of her screened-in cabin porch. Jan was a master of these lesson plans. The trick is to get the kids to engage, and feel a sense of excitement, anticipation, and curiosity. Carefully executed, a good lesson plan can make learning happen while the students least expect it. Of course, every master must have a masterpiece and Jan was no exception. Jan’s masterpiece was her life. She taught all of us so many important things, even when we least expected that she was teaching. She showed us, for example, that the Butterfly Effect is real and that little acts of love, caring, and generosity can flow through society and expand in force, exponentially, as they spread across the world. She did this time and again, on her own and through St. Luke’s Lutheran Church or as an active member of the PEO Sisterhood. Jan lived her faith and was prayerful, but she consistently helped God answer those prayers by turning them into actions. Jan taught her final lesson while under the palliative care of the wonderful staff at Sacred Heart Hospital. There she proved to us that the strongest, most enduring hearts are not built in the gymnasium but through the consistent and rigorous exercise of compassion. Janice is survived by her loving brother, Marvin Franz (Carol); niece, Lori Kaye; nephew, Scott Franz (Gale); Shawn & Randy Woodard; Gwenn & Bill Baer; and numerous cousins and second cousins across the Spokane-Cheney area. Please join us for a graveside memorial service at Spokane Memorial Gardens, 5909 Cheney – Spokane Road, on April 17th at 11:00 a.m.