Thelma K. (Brown) Manus Hill, 92

Thelma K. (Brown) Manus Hill, 92, passed away Sunday, June 8, 2014 in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Graveside memorial services will be held at Grand View Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho, at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 25. On Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 1 p.m. a celebration of Thelma’s life will be hosted at the Lynn and Toni Manus residence in Otis Orchards, Wash., for friends and family.

Thelma Hill of Moyie Springs, Idaho, was born on July 21, 1921, in Mount Pleasant, Utah, to parents Alexander A. and Pearl Brown.

Moving many times during the Great Depression, the Browns settled in Melba, Idaho, where Thelma met and married Quinton Manus. They were married on Aug. 17, 1940 in Murphy, Idaho. During WW II Quinton worked in Hawaii in cleanup of Pearl Harbor; in the shipyards in Portland, Ore.; and farming in the Melba area. They moved several times, and once lost all of their belongings in a house fire. Thelma, pregnant with Kevin, saved Kathleen and Lynn from the fire.

In 1949, the family moved to Boundary County, Idaho, living first in the Perkins Lake and Curley Creek areas, where Quinton logged and worked for Boundary County, and Charyl was born.

In 1951, the family moved to Bonners Ferry, where Quinton worked for Meeker’s Machine Shop, and Michael was born. Quinton and Thelma started a new pulpwood business, and in 1955 the family moved to Moyie Springs, where Quinton built and operated a sawmill and increased the size of the pulpwood business. Thelma remained a mother and homemaker, while helping with the business bookwork for many years.

In 1971, Thelma and Quinton divorced. Thelma later met George Hill, and they married on Dec. 14, 1974 in Pullman. They lived in various places for the next several years, with George passing away in Vancouver, Wash., on May 13, 1981. Thelma returned to Moyie Springs, where she lived until moving to the Boundary County Community Restorium and later to the Boundary Community Hospital, Extended Care Nursing Home where she lived until her death.

Much of Thelma’s later years were spent reading and researching for a book she was writing. Although she never finished writing the book, she read hundreds of books in the preparation.

Thelma is survived by daughter, Kathleen English and her husband Ken of Moyie Springs, Idaho; son Lynn Manus and his wife Antonia of Otis Orchards, Wash.; daughter Charyl Mesenbrink of Pocatello, Idaho; son Michael Manus and his wife Kim of Newport, Wash.; a sister Sandra Wilson and her husband Glenn of Keizer, Ore.; a brother Jay Dean Brown and his wife Omera of Melba, Idaho; sisters-in-law Betty Brown of Melba, Idaho, and Ellen Raye Brown of Sandy, Utah; brother-in-law Jim Vrooman of Wasilla, Alaska; and their respective families. She leaves 15 grandchildren, 37 great-grandchildren, seven great-great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by husbands Quinton Manus and George Hill; a son, Kevin Manus; twin great-grandsons Brady and Carter Manus; siblings Donald A. Brown, Dorothy Brown, Elden H. Brown, Beth R. Vrooman, Mervin R. Brown, Lois A. Brown, and Wayne A. Brown; and sons-in-law Joseph Mesenbrink and Thomas Bertling.

A memorial fund for Thelma has been established with the Friends of the Restorium Inc., P.O. Box 1362, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805.