Nadine Hanks, a lifetime area resident and homemaker, passed away peacefully Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004, at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston with family members by her side.
(Alice) Nadine was born at Southwick, Idaho, June 16, 1910, to Benjamin and Leona McCoy. Nadine was the last of the McCoy siblings, having survived sisters Elsa, Nyda, Eva, Eula and brother Elton. The McCoy family was one of the earliest settlers in the Southwick area, her father coming west from Iowa and her mother from Vermont.
Nadine spent her childhood at Southwick, attending school there. She was courted by Wilmer Hanks of Lenore, riding horseback from the family ranch on the hillside above Lenore to Southwick. Wilmer and Nadine were married at Southwick Sept. 29, 1929.
Wilmer worked the family farm and drove school bus from the Southwick area to Kendrick for many years while Nadine was a homemaker, busy raising their six sons.
Nadine and Wilmer moved to Lewiston in 1951. Wilmer worked at Potlatch Forests Inc. while Nadine worked as a waitress at Headquarters Cafe and several other area establishments until Wilmer retired from the mill.
After retirement, Nadine and Wilmer enjoyed traveling to visit their sons and their families located in the Seattle area, Montana, New York, Missouri, Hawaii and Florida.
They also enjoyed camping and fishing during the summers, their favorite place being the North Fork of the Clearwater, where Wilmer had worked for the Forest Service several summers in the '30s and '40s. During this period, Nadine would load the boys in the old Plymouth and drive to the Bungalow Ranger Station, repairing worn-out World War II rationed tires on the way, to spend the weekends with Wilmer.
They especially enjoyed camping and fishing trips with Hank and Bertie Spencer (her niece), area friends and family. In later years, Nadine also enjoyed her sons on their annual outings to camp and fish on the river.
Also in later years, Nadine was active with the Orchards United Methodist Church and ladies' pinochle club. She enjoyed playing cribbage at the VFW and outings after church with her lady friends for lunch. She was a volunteer with the senior meals program at her church.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wilmer, in 1984; her son, Carl, in 1999; great-granddaughter Melody and son Carter Knoke in 1999; and great-grandson Mason Olson in 2003.
Survivors include five sons, Edwin and his wife, Mae, of Lewiston, Darrell and his wife, Pat, of Poulsbo, Wash., Vernon and his wife, Nancy, of Naples, Fla., Kenneth of Billings, Mont., and Marvin of Sweetwater, Idaho. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Nora Lee of Pierce; 19 grandchildren; and 24 great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nephews, nieces and cousins all around the country.
A private graveside ceremony will take place today at Lewis-Clark Memorial Gardens in Lewiston. A memorial service to celebrate her life is at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Orchards United Methodist Church, 1213 Burrell Ave., Lewiston, followed by a lunch at the church.
Vassar-Rawls Funeral Home of Lewiston is in charge of the arrangements.
