No headline
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 8 years, 8 months AGO
Joanne Y. Bemis, 86
Joanne Y. Bemis, 86, of Post Falls, passed away Sunday, April 9, 2017, at Guardian Angel Homes from complications of COPD. She was born April 24, 1930, in Spokane, Wash., the daughter of Hazel G. Yount (Kendrick). She was the oldest sister to sisters Virginia Roberge, Lewiston, Idaho, and Fay Smith, Tri-Cities, Wash.; and brother Harry Yount, College Place, Wash.
She attended schools in the Rose Lake and Kellogg areas. Joanne met her first husband, Fred Blessing, at a grange dance and they were married on Sept. 11, 1947. They had four children: Theresa, Kathy, Fred and Debbie. Joanne began her career in budget and finance for the Forest Service the year of the Sundance fire (1967) in the Kiniksu National Forest in Sandpoint, Idaho. Joanne and Fred divorced at a later date.
Joanne married her forever love, Roy (Bud) Bemis on April 19, 1969, when she became stepmother to Buddy and Gwen. Upon retirement she and Bud became full-time RVer’s checking out the states and settling for a time in Yuma, Ariz.
Joanne is preceded in death by her husband, Bud Bemis; stepdaughter Gwen Brightwell; stepson Roy “Buddy” Bemis Jr.; stepfather Harry Yount; mother Hazel Yount; sister Virginia Roberge and brother Harry Yount. She is survived by her children: Theresa Snyder (Larry), Kathy Woodland (Ed), Fred Blessing Jr. (Linda) and Debbie White (Wayne); and daughter-in-law Vickie Bemis and her sister, Fay Smith; grandchildren Duane Cook, Jonathan Bemis, Rick Woodland, Scott Cook, Chasen Bemis, Diane Kroll, Raymon Bemis, Allison Anderton and Clarissa Wilson; and 19 great-grandchildren; as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins. We will all miss her loving and caring ways.
In memory of our mother: “When I come to the end of the road and the sun has set for me I want no rites in a gloom-filled room. Why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little, but not too long and not with your head bowed low. Remember the love we once shared — Miss me, but let me go. For this journey we all must take, and each must go alone. It’s all a part of the Master’s plan, a step on the road to home. When you are lonely and sick at heart go to the friends we know and bury your sorrows in doing good deeds — Miss me, but let me go.” — Author Christina Georgina Rossetti
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Auburn Crest Hospice, 1221 Ironwood Drive No. 102, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 or to the charity of your choice.
A memorial service will be held at a later date. Yates Funeral Home has been entrusted with the care of final arrangements. Please visit Joanne’s online memorial and sign her guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.