Obituaries

Ray Nelms McKelvain, 73, known as Nelms by those who loved him, died Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, at his home in Yucca Valley. He was born Dec. 11, 1949, to Ray and Dolphine McKelvain of Abilene, Texas. He is survived by his beloved partner of 38 years, Howard Shangraw; his sister Ann Harrell and her…

Helen June Martin, 94, of Idyllwild, California passed peacefully Wednesday, July 13, 2022.Helen was born April 10, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a resident of Idyllwild for the last three years and previously lived in Hemet for 19 years. Helen enjoyed reading, traveling and spending time with her large family.Helen is survived by her…

Ben Pine went to be with his Lord and Savior Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, at Desert Regional Medical Center.He was born in West Hollywood to Carrie and Paul Pine on Sept. 13, 1931.He was educated at West Hollywood Elementary School and Bancroft Junior High, where he met his future wife at age 12 in Mrs….

Ann Ashby, formerly of Fern Valley and Garner Valley, passed away Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Boise, Idaho.Ann was born Jan. 22, 1921, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She eventually moved to Missouri where she married Cal “Doc” Ashby, who passed away in 2018.Ann and Cal owned the Idyllwild Animal Clinic from 1976 until their retirement in…

On Wednesday, July 20, 2022, George Mitchell Valeur passed away peacefully at the age of 74 in his home in Morongo Valley.George was born Dec. 7, 1947 in Riverside to Claude and Ruth (Roberson) Valeur. He was proud of his heritage, which included being the great-grandson of Nellie Coffman who was among the first few…

My beloved mother, Sherry Rusch, died peacefully in her sleep the evening of July 18, 2022. She was 66 years old.She was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, far too young, several years ago.I had lovely times with her toward the end of her life. She knew who I was, and even told me she loved me,…

Long time Idyllwild resident Richard Sadler left us Saturday June 18, 2022Following his service in the U.S. Army, he moved to Palm Springs where he worked as a roofer until he retired to Idyllwild in 1996.He had a passion for volunteering at food drives, often delivering to neighbors in need.His craftsmanship skills evolved into a…

Suzanne Yvonne Bowman (née) deNevers was born in New York on February 10, 1939. Long-time residents of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the deNevers family moved to Los Angeles in the 1950’s. Suzanne began nursing school at UCLA and completed her studies at UCSF, ultimately obtaining a Master’s Degree in Nursing. She worked as a nurse and…