Louise Claire Reynolds

Spokane, Washington

Louise Claire Reynolds passed peacefully into the loving arms of god on Wednesday, December 30, 2020.

She was born nearly 100 years ago on April 5, 1921 in Nez Perce, Idaho to the Reverends Albert and Nancy Hartley, the 2nd of 4 children, an older brother and 2 younger sisters. Louise came from hearty stock. Her mother's family immigrated from Sweden and settled in Minnesota. Her father's grandfather was 5 years old when his family came across the Oregon Trail in a covered wagon in 1864 and homesteaded near Silverton, Oregon.

Louise graduated from Spangle HS when she was just 16 and, by the time she was 18, she had gone to business college and was supporting herself as a Sears catalog clerk in Spokane.

During that time, she met Bailey Reynolds, who was in the Marine Corps. It did not take long for them to realize they were meant for each other. But before they could get married, his unit was shipped off to American Samoa and it was 2 ½ years before he returned to Spokane and they tied the knot at her parents' church in Gooding, ID on Apr 17, 1943. The couple then moved to the Marine base at Camp Lejeune, NC, then later to Camp Pendelton, CA. She worked in the war effort throughout those years. When the war finally ended in 1945, the couple moved back to Spokane.

In Spokane, Louise worked for the Department of Commerce and later as a school secretary at Alcott and Jefferson Grade Schools. Bailey worked for the Spokane Fire Dept, and through the years was promoted to Battalion Chief. They built a house on the South Hill, and a few years later they bought the adjacent lot to build the home where they lived for over 50 years and raised their 2 children, Christine and Dean.

Louise lived a life of giving back to the community, her church, and to her family. She was a Cub Scout den mother, active in her church (especially in music), performed in the LC High School’s ‘Minstrel’ shows and the Ferris High School’s ‘Ham on Regal’ shows, was a Cop Shop volunteer at the Southside Center, active in Eastern Star, and an officer in the Nile. She received numerous awards and recognition for her volunteer work with Marine Corps Auxiliary, Marine Corps Guild, and as a Toys for Tots volunteer. She was also a 30+ year member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Louise cherished family times at the cabin she and Bailey built on Lake Coeur d’Alene. They bought the land, cleared the trees, and built the cabin with their own hands. They enjoyed many summers there, as well as camping and boating trips with their 2 children. Louise enjoyed touring the Western States and Canada with Bailey via motorcycle and motorhome and traveling to the Far East for visits with her children.

She was an expert seamstress and made all her own clothes until the later years of her life. She bought a laptop computer when first available and taught herself how to use it and relished learning the frequent program upgrades. She even learned how to repair her own computers and enjoyed asking ‘on-line-tech-service-people’ to guess how old she was after a long conversation to solve a complex problem. She was an early adopter of digitized cameras and recorded countless family moments.

Louise just loved people and was a good listener. She was at first a little reluctant to move to Touchmark 8 years ago, but once there, she learned everyone’s name in the first month. She did not think of herself as “social”, but she never met a stranger without learning their whole life’s story within 5 minutes. She did not think of herself this way, but she was a natural leader.

It is not that life was always easy for Louise. The loss of her husband of 60 years and then losing her daughter was hard. She was always positive, especially the last 2 years when she was confined to bed and later lost her eyesight. She awoke each morning and as always prayed, “OK, Lord. What do You have for me to do today?” And if she were having a really bad day she would say “Tomorrow will be better.” Her positive attitude came from a deep well of unwavering trust in God and was a great inspiration to everyone around her.

Louise was a loving and giving wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt. She was loved and affectionately known as “Aunt Louise” by her extended family and friends. She is survived by her son, Dean, sister Patricia Sexton, sister Azile Swafford, and many nieces and nephews.

Arrangements by Ball & Dodd Funeral Home.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.BallandDodd.com for the Reynolds family.