Obituary - Ruth E. Thompson

Ruth E. Thompson, 76, Pullman resident

Ruth E. Thompson of Pullman died Sunday evening at Tri-State Convalescent Center at Clarkston of causes related to age. She was 76.

Mrs. Thompson was a former Viola resident and a graduate of the old Viola High School.

She was born Aug. 12, 1910, the daughter of Al and Mabel Presby, at Wardner, Idaho. The family moved to the Viola area in 1912.

She married Gerald O'Dell in 1931. The couple was later divorced.

She moved to Encinitas, Calif., in 1953, after living at Lewiston. She married Steve Thompson in California in 1954. He died in March 1977. She moved to Pullman in 1984.

Crocheting was her hobby and she made many rugs and doilies for her family and her friends.

Survivors include a son, Robert O'Dell of Huntington Beach, Calif.; a daughter, Patricia DeVault of Clarkston; four sisters, Gladys Blacker of Moscow, Reta Boyd of Pullman, Leona (Jackie) Lyman of Coeur d'Alene and Jean Hein of Spokane; one brother, James Presby of Oregon City, Ore.; several grandchildren, two stepgrandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.

Two brothers died previously.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Short's Funeral Chapel at Moscow. Burial will be at the Viola Cemetery.

The family suggests memorials may be made to the Shriners' Hospital for Crippled Children at Spokane or the United Church of Moscow.

Lewiston Tribune, (handwritten date March 24, 1987)
Transcribed by Jill Leonard Nock

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