Thelma "LaVon" Gotzinger, 95

Thelma "LaVon" Gotzinger, 95, passed away at the Grangeville Health & Rehab Center February 9th, 2008, of causes related to age.

LaVon was born November 16, 1912 in Orofino, Idaho to Angus & Ethel Howard Kennedy, the second of four children. Shortly after birth, the family moved to the Doumeqc Plains where she started school, later graduating from Whitebird High School.
The family moved to the Fiddle Creek Ranch on the Salmon River.

LaVon loved to dance. At one of the many dances held along the Salmon River, she met Firmin Gotzinger. They were married in Grangeville on June 9th, 1931. His family owned and operated the Cross-O Ranch at Pollock. Lavon and Firmin settled into their first home on Rattlesnake Creek on the ranch, raising cattle and hay with the Gotzinger family. They moved to Lewiston in 1946. While there, Firmin was a partner with Brad Carrey in the Twin City Sales Yard.

The Salmon River came calling, and in 1947 the Gotzingers returned to Riggins where LaVon worked for the post office and Firmin worked for Salmon River Lumber Company and the Forest Service. In 1952 they took over operations of the Cross-O where they raised their children. Today, the Cross-O is recognized as one of the oldest family operated ranches in the state as well as being an Idaho Century Ranch. Firmin passed away in 1992. The ranch is now operated by grandsons Dave and Aaron Wilson and great grandson, Cody Wilson.

After Firmin passed, LaVon remained on the ranch until her path once again crossed that of her grade school sweetheart, Muggs Bentley. She had most recently been living in Grangeville, spending her time with Muggs.

In 2006, Lavon served as Grand Marshall for the Riggins Rodeo parade, an honor she was very proud of.

LaVon had an impact on the lives of many. She was the surrogate mother and ‘Gram’ to many of the cowboys and hay crew that passed through the Cross-O Ranch while she was there. These people can all tell stories of the positive influence she has had on their lives. She will be greatly missed by many. Gram can now truly go ‘over the top’!

Lavon is survived by her daughter, LaRea Bernard and husband Ron of Yuma, Arizona, and son, Ronald of Lapwai, Idaho; grandchildren David Wilson of Pollock, Ronaine Kinard and husband Chuck of Pierce, Aaron Wilson and wife Sherry of Rapid River, Terri Smith and husband Dan of Pierce, Susan Coimbra and husband Don of Lapwai, William Gotzinger and wife Tamara of Fairview, Oregon; 12 great grandchildren; 4 great-great grandchildren; her brother, Roy Kennedy of Clarkston, Washington; as well as numerous nieces and nephews that held her dear.

Preceding her in death were her parents; her husband Firmin; her companion Muggs Bentley; a brother, A.V. ‘Bill’ Kennedy; a sister, Maxine Ward; son-in-law Daniel Wilson, and a great grandson.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 16th, at 1:00 p.m. MST, at the Salmon River Community Church in Riggins. Burial will follow at the Riggins Cemetery. Visitation will precede the services at church, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. MST.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Blackmer Funeral Home in Grangeville.

Send condolences to the family at www.blackmerfuneralhome.com.

Margaret C. Evans, 99

Margaret May Clements Evans, 99, of Grangeville and formerly of Riggins, died Sunday, February 10, 2008, at Syringa General Hospital in Grangeville.

She was born December 19, 1908, in Riverside, Carbon County, Wyoming. She was the second of eight children born to Willa Mae Cox and James Wellington Clements. She went to school in Encampment, Wyoming, finishing the 10th grade (the highest grade available) at age 14. At this age, her mother became ill, so she helped on the ranch, took care of her younger siblings, and went to work for a photographer who taught her to type. Her mother passed away when Margaret was 17.

As a young woman, Margaret took a job with the Internal Revenue Service in Cheyenne, Wyoming to help support her younger brothers and sisters who were in a boarding school.

She married George Hall Evans on March 29, 1931, in Laramie, Wyoming. They moved wherever there was a job available. While in Missouri, their only child, Mary, was born.
Margaret spent two summers on fire lookout towers in Wyoming; ran a hotel/boarding house and drove the school bus in Zuni, New Mexico, and also owned and managed a small grocery store in Denver, Colorado.

After moving to Idaho in the 1940’s, Margaret was a homemaker and didn’t work outside of the home until 1950. She then worked as a medical assistant until retiring. In 1969, she and her husband moved to Riggins, Idaho, where she then worked for the Forest Service at Riggins and Slate Creek.

Margaret was an avid reader, gardener, and baker. She was a fantastic cook and preserved all the family’s fruits and vegetables.

She is survived by daughter, Mary and son-in-law Bill Carter; granddaughter Cindy and her husband, John Sangster; grandson Jim Vaughn and his wife, Vonnie; grandson Dan Vaughn and his wife, Paula; six great grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren; and her brother-in-law, Gene Arrant.

Margaret was preceded in death by her husband, George; sisters Sophia Swanson, Isabel Ross, and Mae Arrant; and her brothers Charles, James, George, and Eugene.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 15, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. PST, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Grangeville. Graveside services will follow at the Riggins Cemetery, at 3:00 p.m. MST.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Margaret’s name to the Shriners Hospital, c/o Calam Temple, 855 Main Street, Lewiston, Idaho 83501, or to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 311 S. Hall Street, Grangeville, Idaho 83530.

Arrangements are under the direction of the Blackmer Funeral Home in Grangeville.

Send condolences to the family at www.blackmerfuneralhome.com.