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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
December 15, 2011     Shelton Mason County Journal
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December 15, 2011
 
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Allen C. Coddington Allen C. Coddington, 84, died Dec. 3 at his home in Timber Lakes. He was a resi- dent of Shelton for 40 years. He was born Nov. 13, 1927, to Harry and Beatrice Coddington in New England, N.D. He graduated the seventh grade. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1950 and was discharged at the rank of Seaman ~lst Class. He mar- ried Helen Atkeson on Nov. 12, 1954, in Seattle. He was previ- ously mar- Allen ried to Ann Coddington Gensburg in 1946. The mar- riage ended in divorce. He grew up in Bismarck, N.D. where he helped on the family farm and worked in an auto garage until he joined the Navy. He moved to Shelton in 1971 where he worked as a millwright and drove a truck for Talmo Trucking Com- pany he also worked in the shipyards. He was a past governor of the Shelton Moose Lodge and a member of the Shelton VFW. He enjoyed dancing, bin- go, trips to the casinos, road trips and spending time with his family and friends. He is survived by his daughters Sandra Johnson (Les) of Shelton and Beatrice Coddington of Bismarck, N.D.; grandchildren Trisha Browning, Debi Johnson, Leon D. Just Jr., Stacy Campbell and Jessica Erra- ta; 15 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents Harry and Beatrice Coddington; broth- ers WeSIey, Bert and Don; sisters Janice and Arlene and his wife of 54 years, Helen. A memorial service will be held from I to 3 p.m. on Sat- urday, Dec. 17, at the Lake Limerick Club House. Memorial donations can be sent to Kitten Rescue of Mason County, 420 SE State Route 3, Shelton, WA 98584. Terry "Wolfman" Dittmer Terry "Wolfman" Dit- tmer, 62, died Nov. 24. He was a resident of Shelton. He was born in Snohomish and was the second of four children born to Merlin and Peggy Dittmer of Shelton. He enlisted and served three tours on the river in Vietnam as a radioman and "river rat" and he served as a member of the U.S. Navy ~Riverine Assault Force (the "brown water Navy") at Dong Tam during the Vietnam War. He Terry was also a Dittmer life mem- ber of the VFW. His family said his pas- sion and fire was kept on the ball field. He had a life- long career and dedication to playing, coaching and mentoring ball players from all demographics. He won several championships and hosted skill clinics all across the Northwest. He is survived by his fa- ther Merlin; brothers Dan Dittmer (Bonnie), Mack Sr.; sister Kathleen Dittmer; daughters Terra and Katina Dittmer and Jana New- house; grandchildren Mi- chael, Jakoby, Zoe and Jyce; nieces Jessica Dittmer, Kayla Dittmer (partner Rob McKaskill), their chil- dren Keyawna and Riley, Lacy Anderson (Cody) and Doni Duff (partner Ryan), their children Nathan and Delani; nephews Mack Jr. (Kelly) Dittmer, their child Eli; and David Coffee (Ann) and their child Ohana. Military services will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 21 at Tahoma Cemetery. The family requests dona- tions be made to the '%Volf- man Fastpitch Scholarship Fund" at Our Community Credit Union www.ourcu. com. Edna Bernice Hedlund Edna Bernice Hedlund, 91, died Nov. 18, at South Bay Family Home in Olym- pia. She was born in Nebraska Sept. 2, 1920. She married Donald E. Hedlund in 1940. They were married for 64 years until his death. In her high school years, she was a ~ star base- ball player and played French horn in the band. Her fam- ily shared that she grew up Edna hunting Hedlund' pheasants: and rab- bits and continued to hunt and fish with her husband for many years. She enjoyed digging clams, oysters, shrimp, and crab. She enjoyed farming, gardening or working on her sons' Christmas tree farm. Her family said she was known for her strong work ethic. Even in her later years, at 89 years old she was a bowler on the senior team in Montesano. She enjoyed playing pinochle at the Grange and with friends and neighbors. She is survived by her brother Harry (Buzz) Novak; daughter Donna Jean Mitch- ell (George) of Chehalis; son Ed Hedlund (Cindy) of Elma and seven grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Don- ald, sister Mildred Spicer, brother Ken Novak and son John. A memorial service will be held at I p.m. on Wednes- day, Dec. 28, at Whiteside Family Mortuary in Elma. Arrangements are en- trusted to Whiteside Family Mortuary in Elma. Katherine Devereaux Hoyt Katherine (Kay) De- vereaux Hoyt, 92, died Dec. 4, at her home in Port Or- chard. She was born in Seattle to John Devereaux Johnstone and Edith Miles Boddy on Oct. 16, 1919. She graduated from Edmonds High School in 1939. She attended business college in Seattle after high school and in the early 1940s lived briefly in San Diego, where she ~met and married Richard Gruber. She worked at the Washing- ton State Veterans Katherine Home in Hoyt Retsil for 12 years before becoming an Auditor for the Department of Revenue in Olympia. She retired in 1982. She enjoyed 29 years of retirement, building a home at Lake Cushman near Hoodsport where she enjoyed the outdoors, nature pho- tography, hiking, Mariners baseball, knitting, quilting, and involvement with St. Germains Episcopal Church. Her sister Betty Haaland of Hoodsport; son Larry Gruber of Port Orchard; daughters, Louise Anderson of Fort Fraser, BC and Joan Sauer of Port Orchard; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren survive her. Her husband Thomas (Tim) Hoyt preceded her in death. A celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17 at St. Ger- mains Episcopal Church in Hoodsport. Mary Josephine Mitchell Mary Josephine Mitchell, 69, died Saturday, Dec. 10, at Capital Medical Center in Olympia. She was a resident of Shelton for 27 years. She was born May 12, 1942 in California to Joseph and Audrey Lucan. She married Larry Mitch- ell on Oct. 26, 1991, in Shel- ton. She was employed as secretary for Shelton School District, Shelton Middle School and CHOICE Alter- native School and a social worker that worked with foster children. Her interest included camping, reading, crafting (sold items ~in Poulsbo) and gar- dening. She is survived by her hus- band Larry Mitchell of Shelton; Mary brothers James Mitchell Lucan and Joseph Lucan of California; sisters Linda Carter of Oklahoma and Barbara Phalen of Cali- fornia; children Curt Scafe, Carrie Scafe-Reed, Corena Scafe and Michael Scafe and seven grandchildren. McComb Funeral Home of Shelton is handling the ar- rangemenst. A memorial service will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, at Moun- tain View Alliance Church, 314 E J St. in Shelton. Ronald David Staley Ronald David Staley, 73, died on Nov. 30 in Belfair. He was born on Aug. 17, 1938, in Bremerton to Harold K. and Violet W. (Mc- Coard) Staley. He served in the U.S. Air Force. He worked as a truck driver in the paving industry and worked in auto body as a fender man. He enjoyed working on Chevy cars and trucks, as well as auto body and paint- ing. He was a member of Teamsters. His parents preceded him in death. His family shared that shortly after his passing his beloved canine compan- ion Buddy also passed away ~forever be- ing loyal to his faithful owner. He is survived by his children Ronald K. Staley, Ronald Zachary Staley D. Staley, Rondi A. Pulley; brother Daniel K. Staley; sis- ter Geraldine Ann (Staley); 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sun- day, Dec. 11, at Theler Com- munity Center in Belfair. Don Wiss Don Wiss, 95, died Tues- day, Dec. 6, at his home on the shore of Hammersley Inlet in Shelton. The fam- ily shared that this was the home built by hand on the land his grandparents home- steaded and where his father was born in 1889. He was born in 1916 to Esther Huston and Lantz Don Wiss Wiss in Shelton. He rowed crew foi, the University of Wash- ington, coached by Al U1- brickson, famous for his Olym- pic Gold crew of 1936. He married Mace Law- rence in 1942 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He had a Naval career in aviation and was discharged at the rank of Commander USN, retired. He was licensed to fly at 16 and enjoyed flying. He re- tired at age 55; he spent the next 30 years traveling with in his own airplane visiting friends and family, helping to start OysterFest during his years with Skookum Rotary, hosting exchange students and visitors from Colombia, Thailand and Lat- via. He was a member of the Shelton Flying Club, Shelton Yacht Club, one time chair- man of the Republican Party for Mason County; he also flew for the Forest Service spotting fires in the Olym- pics. He was on the board of the Peninsula Credit Union and steward of a beautiful stand of cedar and Douglas fir on Wiss Country Timber Farm. He wintered over in the fishing village of Bahia de Los Angeles on the Sea of Cortez, Baja, Mexico in late winters and early fall. He is survived by his daughter Teri Wiss (part- ner Betsy Bacon) of Park City, Utah; granddaughter, Temple Smith of Park City, Utah; brother David Wiss (Betty) of Eugene, Ore.; sister Phoebe Welton of Mt. Vernon; niece, Donna Kaehn of Eugene, Ore.; niece Ginny Sloan of Sedro Wooley; great- grandniece Mara Kaehn of Sunnyvale, Calif. and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grand- nephews. A celebration of life will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14 at Wiss Country. Call 426-4210 for directions. David Clark McMillin July 1 7, 1925-December 6, 2011 Dave McMillin was born in Seattle to Dr. Harvey and Inez (Clark) McMillin. Although his family moved often as Harvey researched the razor clam on the west coast, Dave graduated from Queen Anne High School in Seattle, joined the Navy during the war years (WWII), and trained as a fighter pilot. Upon release from military service, Dave returned to Seattle. He wooed and wed the lovely Joyce Rose Smith, who remained his loving wife Ibr 65 years until his death. He graduated with a Bacteriology degree from Seattle Pacific College and then worked for the State Shellfish Laboratory in Purdy, Washington. In 1950 Dave accepted a position as the General Manager of the Olympia Oyster Company on Totten Inlet in Mason County, a position he held until 1998, when he retired at age 73. Dave was a well-respected and extremely opinionated member of numerous shellfish, shoreline, and environmental steering committees throughout his 50-year career in the shellfish industry. Dave advocated tirelessly for environmental controls and regulations against industrial water pollutants. His work was instrumental in the battle against the dumping of waste sulfite liquor into Puget Sound by pulp mills, a battle that other oystermen had initiated in the 1920s. Industrial pollution had nearly eradicated the only oyster native to Puget Sound, the Olympia oyster, and Dave fought hard to save the oyster and its environment. In August 1989, the western edition of the Wall Street Journal published an article about him and his efforts to save the native oyster. In addition, Dave was pivotal in helping to develop the technique of growing oyster larvae in tanks until the larvae entered the "spat" stage and could settle on a hard substrate. This technology replaced the practice of importing oyster seed from Japan. In the early 1960s he invented and patented an oyster harvesting machine that, at high tide, uses compressed air and high volume water to lift oysters from the tidelands, a proven design that is still in use today. In his later years, Dave developed an interest in alternative energy sources and designed and built a prototype for a wind turbine. He loved his home on Little Skookum Bay, and he loved taking his wife on road trips to the Oregon and Washington coasts. He enjoyed razor clam digging, dipping smelt, growing sweet and early tomatoes and corn, grafting apple trees, and fishing in Little Skookum Bay. Dave McMillin is survived by his wife, Joyce McMillin, of Olympia; his children, Christine McMillin-Helsel (Don), of Seattle; Peter McMillin (Linda), of McCleary; Camella McMillin (Randy) of Tacoma; and Timothy McMillin (Michele), of Shelton; and his brother, John McMillin, of Anacortes. At his death, Dave was blessed to have six grandchildren and six great- grandchildren. In accordance with Dave's wishes, there will be no services. Arrangements are by McComb Funeral Home in Shelton. Feel free to visit the McComb website, www.mccombfh.com, to post condolences. The family asks that in lieu of flowers or donations in remembrance of David McMillin, please tell your family that you love them. 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