Throughout their lives, all of the people in this annual tribute were connected to Idyllwild.

And because these are such small communities, many of the names that appear in Town Crier obituaries have appeared in past pages of the Town Crier when those people were alive. In that sense, they live on in the written history of the community, as well as in the memories of the people they left behind.

They were volunteers for one of the many organizations on the Hill, they were friends, they were relatives of a close friend, they were co-workers, they were fellow students and they were family. They were part of our community.

The Town Crier takes pause to memorialize in its first newspaper of the new year the names of 34 people who died in 2012:

Morton S. Boss
Lucile Hower Tanner Cies
Milton R. French
Robert Paul Garron
Francis “Frank” Gorzny
Viola Hallacy
Seamus Patrick Harding
Clesson H. Harvey
Rhonda Herger
Judith Hermanson
Gerald (Jerry) R. Holsclaw Sr.
Steve Hudson
James Janopoulos
Karen Rae Levitt
Ann Lumsden
William “Bill” Martin
Bill Matthews
Barbara McCay
Jane C. Miller
Maggie Morphett
Robert John Muir
Patricia Joann Norrell
Diane Olsen
Richard “Scotty” Oyen
Patricia Ann Parish
Shirley Mae Petkin
Max “Mackie” Rana
Irene E. Samaniego-Greisen
Percy Frederick Herman Schultz
Doug Selby
Skylir Leeland Perry Selkirk
Marcia (Parady) Torrey-Jay
Lolita Mae Watkins
Helen Marie Webster Weisbrod

Alan Wayne Drotar and Gordon Price passed away in December 2011.

Similar Posts

  • Obituary: Sonia Eleanor Horvath

    Sonia E. Horvath, 89, formerly of Idyllwild, died Saturday, April 16, 2005 in Klamath Falls, Ore. of natural causes. Mrs. Horvath was born Feb. 1, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed her education there, earning her registered nurse certificate from St. Vincent Charity Hospital on Sept. 3, 1943. She enjoyed working as a registered nurse…

  • OBITUARY: Dorothy Swain Lewis

    Artist, teacher and pilot Dorothy “Dot” Swain Lewis died Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. at her Idyllwild home. She was born near Asheville, N.C. Sept. 30, 1915, to John Edward Swain, and Mozelle Stringfield Swain. She was predeceased by brothers Robert and Jack. She is survived by a sister, Betty Turbyfill, of Asheville, N.C,.; her son,…

  • Obituary: Erwin ‘Sonny’ Hagen

    Erwin “Sonny” Martin Hagen, 79, of Carmichael, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2006 of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend, humanitarian, conservationist, artist and writer, and he inspired many people, young and old, throughout his life. Mr. Hagen was born May 12,…

  • Obituary: Paula Rosanne Rumler

    Paula Rosanne Rumler, 60, born in Minneapolis Minn. on Dec. 6, 1950, passed away peacefully with her husband at her side on May 14, 2011. Paula moved to Idyllwild, Calif., from San Francisco in August of 1973 with her son, Freddie. She enjoyed children, music, gardening, sewing and crafts. She worked as a waitress and…

  • Obituary: John W. Wiita

    Former Idyllwilder John Wiita, 77, died of natural causes Oct. 12, 1998, in Laguna Hills. He was born May 25, 1921, in Fitchburg, Mass. Mr. Wiita received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Northeastern University in Boston and worked as an engineer for Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach before entering the U.S….