Obituaries Nov. 17

Francis Hendrickson

Francis Hendrickson, 77, died Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, at Paul's Place in Colfax where he resided.

A Colfax ambulance crew was called out at 12:51 p.m. by a report of an unconscious man in front of Paul's Place, and they determined he was deceased. Mr. Hendrickson is believed to have been rocking in a chair, one of his favorite activities, at the time he was stricken.

The coroner was called to investigate the unattended death, and Bruning Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. A service is not planned.

Raleigh Lester McNeal

Raleigh Lester McNeal, 88, a long-time resident of Missoula, Mont., who was raised in Garfield and Colfax, died Nov. 4, 2016, in Missoula. In accordance with his request, a funeral service will not be conducted.

Born May 23, 1928, to Frank (Lester) and Mildred Wheeler McNeal, he was raised in Garfield. His father died in an accident when Raleigh was seven-months-old.

He moved to Colfax as a young teen when his mother married Louis Carson of Colfax. The family grew with the addition of twin brothers, Roger and Ray, and sister Jayne.

At the age of 16, he departed Colfax to join the Merchant Marines and served in the South Pacific. After World War II he returned to the Palouse. He earned a pilot's license and met crop dusters who recruited him to work Missoula. He worked for Johnson Flying service in Garden City near Missoula and met his wife-to-be, Esther Emfanger, a receptionist at a doctor's office where he went to be treated after being hit by a propeller.

He worked at a gas station, lumber mill and trucking company, then began a career in radio and television at Missoula with KYSS-FM and KGVO-TV.

An accomplished guitarist, he played for western swing bands and later moved into jazz and was an inaugural inductee in the Missoula Jazz Hall of Fame. He was known for performing impromptu concerts when he came to Colfax to visit his family. Other interests included craft work and drawing on buckskin.

Surviving are his wife, Esther; a daughter, Polly McNeal, Superior, Mont .; brothers Roger (Glenda) Carson, Grants Pass, Ore., and Ray (Mary) Carson, Myrtle Creek, Ore .; sister, Jayne (Joe) Reynolds, Colfax; five grandchildren; and multiple great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Lester.

For paid obituaries, see Weekly Pages: Nov. 17

Leo Vern Allenbach 1925-2016

Cynthia M. Hughes 1937-2016

Tandy "Ted" Graff 1942-2016