Edwin Elva Harris
June 25, 1930 – Nov 22, 2024
Dad passed away peacefully at the age of 94 in his home at Brookdale Assisted Living in Ontario, Oregon.
Dad was born in Tyronza, Arizona, the only child of John and Lula Harris.
Dad joined the U.S. Navy in April 1948, serving with the Fighter Squadron 53 aboard the USS Essex as an Aircraft Engine Mechanic, receiving an honorable discharge in April 1952.
Dad married the love of his life, Beverly Joan Hansen, on July 24, 1952.
He went on to work as an electrical engineer at Lockheed Missiles and Space Co., retiring in 1986.
One of Dad’s greatest passions was country music. He loved listening to Johnny Cash and playing music by ear, on one of his four guitars. Dad also enjoyed playing with small local bands for the residents of the assisted living and nursing homes in the area.
Dad was proceeded in death by his wife and parents.
He is survived by his four children: Ed (Amanda) Harris of Oregon, Rita (Wes) Anderson of Idaho, Phyllis (Ernie) Catura of California and Dianna Steinbeck (John, deceased) of Washington, 14 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, six great-great-grandchildren, nine bonus grandchildren and all their spouses/partners.
Dad/Grandpa, you were so loved and you will be missed.
A Private Celebration of Life will be held in July 2025.
The family wants to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Brookdale and Horizon Hospice staff for the love, care, support and respect you have shown us and Dad while he was in your care. You are AMAZING, Thank you.
*****
Jack Alvaro Dunn
Feb 23, 1925 – Nov 23, 2024
Jack Alvaro Dunn, 99, Boise, Idaho, was nearing 100 when he headed to the last round-up Nov. 23, 2024.
He was born to Three Creek, Idaho ranchers Thomas Alvaro “Al” and Opal Dunn Feb. 23, 1925, at the Twin Falls Idaho Memorial Hospital where, in the 1950s, his three children would be born – Deborah Jane, Rob Roy, and Kevin Alvaro; and in the 1990s, his only grandchild, Cameron Michael Dunn.
He grew up 70 miles southwest of Twin Falls, on the 7U ranch located on the high desert near Nevada’s remote Jarbidge Mountains. The 7U was operated by his grandfather, Samuel Crandell Dunn, and the families of his sons, including Al, the youngest. The Dunn children attended mile-high, one-room grade schools at Three Creek in Owyhee County, Idaho and House Creek, across the Twin Falls County line. He was a member of the Kimberly, Idaho class of 1941, which he attended by living away from home with relatives.
In the U.S. Army Air Corps that became the U.S. Air Force, he was in training to load ammunition onto aircraft when WWII ended. He was honorably discharged as a Corporal.
He studied law under the G.I Bill at the University of Montana, Missoula until called home to help with the ranch.
In 1952, he and Vivian Lancaster, a Filer, Idaho farm girl, married. They lived on the 7U at Cherry Creek without plumbing, running water, or electricity in a 1920s log cabin where they welcomed their first two children, Debbie and Rob. After leaving the ranch in 1958, son Kevin was born. Jack worked various jobs until 1961 when he was hired by the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), working in Shoshone, Idaho; Salem, Portland, and Vale, Ore. After an early retirement from the BLM, he rounded out his working years with Flying Realty, Vale, while caring for Vivian through her illness and 1992 death from breast cancer.
During their time in Vale, Debbie finished college and began her working life. Rob and Kevin graduated from Vale Union High School in 1974 and 1976: Rob was president of the Honor Society and wrestled at the state level; Kevin was class president and ran cross-country. The family attended the Methodist church. There, Vivian made from scratch, gallons of Jack’s favorite food, chili, to sell at the annual harvest festival. Jack served on the Head Start Board of Directors, and once organized the Vale Fourth of July Rodeo Parade and the Toastmasters, Tall Tale Contest. He was a member of the Vale American Legion, which honored him this year for 50 years of membership and being their last living WWII veteran. He was a 52-year member of the Ontario 1690 Elks Lodge, and a Toastmaster.
In 1996, he wed Wanda (Johnson) Pierson, from Shoshone. She was living and working in Boise, where they made their home.
In 2013, he was selected for an Idaho Honor Flight to the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. His Warhawk Air Museum interview is online.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, parents, sisters Betty (Dunn) Walton and Colleen (Dunn) Lowe, first wife Vivian (Lancaster) Dunn, son Rob Roy Dunn, uncles, aunts, cousins, a nephew, in-laws, and many dear friends, including, from Vale, Jim Bieker, John and Eileen Bishop, Russ Bond, and John and Arlene Reukauf.
He is survived by his wife, Boise; children Deborah Dunn, Richland, Wash., and Kevin Dunn (Crystal), Middleton, Idaho; grandson, Cameron Dunn (Sierra), Spokane, Washington; great-grandchildren Lily Dunn, Nampa, Idaho, and Aizleigh and Jameson Dunn, Spokane; nieces Kathy Walton, Kimberly, and Karen (Walton) Brose (Brian), Waxahachie, Texas; nephew Ritchie Lowe, Twin Falls; and the families of Diane (Pierson) Atkinson, Boise; Donna (Griffin) Gabbitas, Boise; Julie (Pierson) Hebdon (Lynn), Finley, Washington; and Dan Pierson (Debbie), Shoshone.
His life will be celebrated on his 100th birthday anniversary, Feb. 23, 2025, at 2 p.m. at the Riverside Hotel, 2900 Chinden Blvd., Boise. Cremation was by Bowman Funeral Parlor, where his full obituary is posted online. Interment will be later at Dry Creek Cemetery, Boise.
*****
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