Emily Hart

Emily Hart of Colfax passed away March 4, 2019, at Whitman Health & Rehab in Colfax, at the age of 94. A memorial service was held Monday, March 11th, at Peace Lutheran Church. Emily will be interred at a later date at the Pinecrest Cemetery in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Emily was born September 19, 1924, in the family farmhouse along Selle Road north of Sandpoint. Her parents were Alfred and Anna Martinson Erickson. Emily was the youngest of three children to bless the Erickson home. She grew up during the depression era and learned to help with chores around the farm from an early age. The family raised their own food and usually sold the extras in town. Emily recalled those years by saying, "I never felt like we were poor because we always had plenty of food." She attended a one-room schoolhouse at Selle and graduated from Sandpoint High School. She worked as a secretary in the Bonner County Courthouse.

Emily married Paul Hart November 3, 1946, after he returned from active duty in the Army Air Corps. They lived in Alaska for a few years before returning home to Sandpoint and settling on Emily's family farm in 1955. She worked as a credit manager at the Co-op in town and kept busy as a wife and mother, which she enjoyed the most. The family had welcomed a foster child to live with them for a time. He was Sioux Indian and Emily always felt a special bond with Duane Whitehawk.

She was a very good cook and liked to bake. She kept a large garden full of vegetables, raspberries and blackberries. Emily enjoyed visiting (for hours it seemed) with local friends on the rural party-line phone system. She was a member of the Selle Grange, Pomona Grange and the Selle ladies club as well as the First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint. After Paul retired in 1985, they liked to travel in their RV and they were snow-birds for many years to the Arizona communities of Mesa and Apache Junction. She took a painting class while in Arizona that she always wanted to take and she learned to play the harmonica there as well.

They moved to Colfax in 2000 to be closer to family and grandchildren. They lived at the Hill-Ray plaza where they made many new friends and they found a comfortable fit at Peace Lutheran Church in Colfax as well. They also became members of the North-South Palouse Grange.

Emily loved spending time with her family, especially the grandchildren. She and Paul followed them in all of their sporting activities like basketball and baseball. She was a fan of the Phoenix Suns and Gonzaga basketball teams.

Emily is survived by two children, Polly and husband Kent Jones of Kenmore, Wash., and Daniel and wife Becky Hart, Colfax; her grandchildren, D.J. (Laura) Hart of Pullman, Traci (Brandon) Boyd, Chelan, Wash., Jay Paul Hart, Spokane, and Marshall (Samantha) Jones of Banning, Calif. She was excited and proud to be expecting her first great-grandchildren soon. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, in 2012; her brother, Severt; and her sister, Agnes. She also lost a cousin, Walt, who was as close to Emily as a brother; and her foster child, Duane Whitehawk.

The family suggests memorial gifts in her memory be to Peace Lutheran Church or to Native American Aid, 2401 Eglin St., Rapid City, SD 57703. On-line guest book is at http://www.bruningfuneralhome.com

Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax is caring for the family.