Dolores M. Pruitt, 84

Dolores M. Pruitt,84, passed away on Aug. 21, 2012, at the Boundary Community Hospital in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Graveside services will be held on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. in the Grandview Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Dolores was born on April 10, 1928, on a small farm outside of Hugo, Colo., to Ida Elizabeth Dinning and Charles Henry Dinning. They were known as Charlie and Lizzie to their family.

Dolores had two older brothers, Edward and Dwaine and an older sister, Janie. She also had a younger brother, Darrell. Dwaine and Janie died before she was born. She grew up with her brothers, Ed and Darrell.

When Dolores was five, her family left Colorado because of the droughts and moved to Charlie’s sister’s dairy farm in Burns, Ore.

The family stayed there for about a year and then moved to the Copeland area north of Bonners Ferry. Her family bought a farm there and that is where she and her brothers were raised.

Many of the family followed them from Colorado. Dolores spoke of grandparents, aunts and cousins all living with them or near them from time to time. Dolores had many fond memories of growing up in the Copeland area and attending the one room schoolhouse at Copeland where her dad drove the school bus.

When Dolores was seventeen, she married Tex Cannon. They had two boys Gary and Wayne and several years later a girl named Candice. They were divorced and in 1962, Dolores married Leo Pruitt. Leo had three children. In 1963, Stan Pruitt was born to Dolores and Leo.

Dolores and Leo moved around for a few years while Leo managed grocery stores, but then they returned to Bonners Ferry where they settled down to raise their large family.

Leo went to work for the city water department and Dolores as a waitress in a local restaurant. Dolores was a waitress for most of her life, spending her last 25 working years as waitress and restaurant manager at the Panhandle Restaurant. She worked many weekend shifts so she wouldn’t have to schedule the gals with young families to work them.

Mom was a hard worker her entire life, but her greatest passion was her family. She loved spending time with her family.

When she was young, she loved to spend time outdoors picnicking, going for drives and huckleberry picking. She loved going to her kid’s and grandkid’s school and sporting events. She rarely missed a game or event, until she was no longer able to go, and even then she wanted to hear all about them.

She enjoyed living close to her children and grandchildren in Bonners Ferry, helping out whenever she could. She spent many hours taking care of her grandchildren and they all love her dearly.

She enjoyed keeping in touch with her older sons with weekly Sunday phone calls and she kept the entire family up to date. She also enjoyed many trips with her older sons to Hawaii and on other various adventures and spoke of them often.

In her last few years, Dolores moved in with her daughter and son in law, Candice and Mike. She enjoyed sitting on the porch in the evenings and visiting with Candice, Mike and the grandkids. She also enjoyed lunches with her daughter in law, Sheila, and great family breakfasts, cooked by her son, Stan. The family spent many memorable holidays together.

Our Mother was a wonderful Mother and Grandmother. Words do not describe the depth of our love for her. There will be a huge hole in our life without her. There is no replacing her; she was one of a kind. We will miss you Mom. No one makes pies like you!

Family and friends are invited to sign Dolores’s book at www.bonnersferryfuneralhome.com

Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Bonners Ferry Funeral Home.