Fern Evelyn Manning

Fern Bowman Stephens Manning passed away on May 1, 2013. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Robert Stephens (died in a plane crash in 1951) and by her second husband, Dr. Robert Manning (died in 1992). She is survived by her two sons and their spouses (Dale/Karen of Reno, NV and Wayne/Penny of Sequim, WA), four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, and by her sister, Joyce Oleson of Sequim, WA.

After graduating from Grangeville High School, she obtained a degree from Kinman Business University in Spokane, Washington. She returned to Grangeville, ID and helped open the Rural Electrification Administration office. She later helped open the Farmers Home Administration office in Grangeville. In 1956 she moved to Oregon where she worked for the U. S. Bureau of Mines in Albany and the U. S. Forest Service in Corvallis. In 1959 she moved to Cincinnati where she worked for the National Heart Institute and in 1960 moved to the Washington D.C. area where she worked for the U. S. Department of Health in various offices before retiring in 1986. She had Q clearance (top level of security) while working for the government in Washington D.C. During her work career she completed many classes related to her work as well as the Patricia Stevens Finishing College in Washington D.C. in 1966.

Her greatest joy in life was being with family and friends. That, along with her strong religious faith, helped her deal with the many years of severe chronic pain that she experienced at the end of her life. She will be greatly missed.

Memorial services will be held in Sequim at the Sequim Valley Chapel May 10 at 1:30 PM. She will be buried in Grangeville, ID.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that those who would like to contribute donate to the Seattle Children’s Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105.