ObituariesJune 12, 2015

Marsha Elaine Hall
Marsha Elaine Hall

Surrounded by her loving family and friends, Marsha Elaine Hall of Kamiah surrendered her cross unto the Lord on Thursday, June 11, 2015. Marsha was born Sept. 9, 1938, to Cecil and Alvina (Kopczynski) Wimer. She was joined by her brother Wayne on March 25, 1940. Her mother died on March 3, 1945, and the family moved in with her grandmother, Natalie Wimer. Her father remarried Hattie Holthaus, who had two sons, Ron and Ted. Cecil and Hattie had three more sons after their marriage, Larry, Alan and Ed.

Marsha attended school at Cottonwood and graduated from Cottonwood High School in 1956. Marsha went to work at Idaho First National Bank directly after graduation, plus she had many baby-sitting jobs for relatives and local families since the age of 10 and also worked at St. Mary's Hospital on weekends.

Marsha married Melvin Mader on Aug. 23, 1958, and became a ranch wife, helping with the cattle and the ranch work, a totally new experience for her. She was known for her large gardens and learned how to can, freeze produce, make bread and homemade butter. She even learned how to milk a cow. Her first-born son, Lowell, was born June 15, 1959. Her daughter, Kelly, came shortly after on July 12, 1960, followed not too far behind by her last son, Clint, born Dec. 19, 1961. She quit working at that time and took the next 10 years off to raise her children and assist on the ranch. She always said her ranch work and children rearing was the hardest work she ever did.

The family lived in Cottonwood until 1963, and then moved to a farm outside Keuterville. They then moved to the Winona area in 1966. Marsha was kept very busy, boarding high school boys, tending to the family and assisting with the ranch chores. Once the children were in school, Marsha returned to work at the bank and worked there until 1976, at which time she divorced and moved to Nezperce.

In 1977, she married Lyle Kidder and moved to Kamiah and began working at the First Security Bank. She and Lyle spent much time camping on the Selway and Red River areas, and she put approximately 9,000 miles on her trail bike. She was later divorced in 1992. She married Kurt Hall for a short time, divorcing him in 1998, and she jumped feet first into the emu business. She said raising the "big birds" was her greatest adventure and she missed them at the time of her death. She raised them for five years.

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She had a huge love of the outdoors and spent much time working on her place. She was teased by her friends and neighbors as being a "workaholic." She was called "Bird Woman" for a number of years, but later was known as "Rock Lady" because of her love of rocks. Marsha also lit up the town of Kamiah once a year with beautiful display of Christmas lights. Kamiah will never again shine as bright.

Marsha's many hobbies included reading, macrame, painting, dancing, dancing and more dancing. She was a member of the Mountain Dewers Square Dance Club and held the positions of both president and treasurer. She was a great seamstress and made much of her own clothing, that of her children and even made her own square dance outfits. She was also a member of the Red Hat group. She was an active member of St. Catherine's Parish in Kamiah, where she helped lead the rosary each Sunday and was one of the lectors doing the readings at Mass. She was a faithful servant of the Lord until her last breath. Marsha was further addicted to jigsaw puzzles and kept many of them to frame for pictures. She thought the challenge kept her mind clean and clear. She also performed with the Valley Singers and Bell Choir. One of Marsha's passions, right up to the end, was bird watching and feeding. The amount of time and money she expended taking care of God's entire bird population in Kamiah was impressive.

Marsha is survived by her three children, Lowell (Donna) Mader, Kelly (Wally) Williams, and Clint (Sandy) Mader. She is also survived by her seven grandchildren, Ryan (Risa) Mader, Jamie (Dusty) Forsmann, Dana (Scott) Crow, Cody (Jessica) Young, Wyatt (Makayla) Williams, Eric Mader and Callie Mader. Also surviving her are her 10 great-grandchildren, Tristian, Joey and Lane Mader, Kam, Braxton and Mason Forsmann, Payton, Gage and Rhett Crow and Layton Young. She is expecting an 11th great-granddaughter in July. She is further survived by her three stepchildren, Vicki Howery, Doug and Ed Kidder and their children.

The funeral Mass for Marsha will be held with a rosary beginning at 10:30 a.m. and the Mass to begin at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Catherine's Parish in Kamiah. There will be a dinner following Mass at the St. Catherine's Parish Hall. A graveside service will be held thereafter at 4 p.m. at Cottonwood.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Relay for Life, an organization that Marsha supported and participated in during her courageous battle with cancer - she has many trophies covering her walls for most laps walked - or to Syringa Hospice of Grangeville.

Uhlorn Funeral Home of Cottonwood is in charge of arrangements.

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