Maxine (Hilby) Douglass

Maxine was born August 15, 1937 to Frank and Etta Hilby in Spokane. Maxine left this world after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease on November 14, 2016. Maxine’s family moved often in her younger days as they followed the harvest of the region’s many crops. The family finally settled in Moscow, Idaho in the late 1940’s. There they made a living on a small farm with no electricity or running water. She graduated in 1955 from Moscow High School and went on to attend the University of Idaho before moving to Spokane. In Spokane she worked for a local attorney, Gordon Cornelius, as a legal assistant. She met her future husband, Harlan Douglass on a blind date set up by Vern and Mary Ziegler in the spring of 1959. The two were wed on November 14, 1959, exactly 57 years before her passing. Maxine was soon a full-time mother of three, Vacation Bible school teacher and Den mother. Once their kids entered school, she went back to work with her husband in their growing real estate business.

Maxine was an athlete who competed on the National level in softball, won the Spokane river raft race for three consecutive years and loved all animals, especially horses. She enjoyed art and loved to travel. She not only enjoyed seeing far away cultures and landscapes but also took the time to enjoy what our region had to offer. In business, she was a founding member and president of the “Spokane Apartment Association” and a driving force with Harlan in their growing real estate portfolio. She was without a doubt, the matriarch of the family, intelligent, strong and private.

Maxine is survived by her husband Harlan; their children, Harley (Lisa), Stacey (Jeff) Boies, and Lanzce (Darla); eight grandchildren: Hayden, Morgan, Payton, Hunter, Wyatt, Mayson, Avery, and Addison; and her sister Marqueita Hilby. A special thanks to Marqueita Hilby, Donna Larson, Lisa Bonnett-Douglass, Michael Reofrir and the rest of the staff at Brookdale.

Services will be held at Whitworth Presbyterian Church, 312 W. Hawthorne Rd., Spokane, WA at 10:30 a.m. on November 28, 2016. A reception at the Kalispel Golf and Country Club, 2010 W. Waikiki Rd., will immediately follow the service. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the “Spokane Humane Society” at www.spokanehumanesociety.org or the “Alzheimer’s Association” at www.alz.org.

Arrangements under the direction of Hazen & Jaeger Funeral Home, Spokane, WA.