Ernest C. Harpham

Ernest Clynn Harpham, 92, a 46-year resident of Whidbey Island, died March 13, 2002, at Whidbey General Hospital.

Mr. Harpham was born August 11, 1909, in Holstein, Neb. to Samuel Ernest Harpham and Maude Emily (Moffitt) Harpham. He grew up on the family farm. At age 4, he moved with his family to Hastings, Neb.. He enlisted in the Navy in Omaha, Neb., in 1932, and served in the Pacific as a radioman. He was assigned to DD236, stationed in San Diego, and took one of the original radio messages after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He served through World War II and also during the Korean Conflict. He was stationed at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., and while there, he married Eva Shahan.

Mr. Harpham retired as a chief petty officer on July 12, 1953. He returned to his parents’ family home in Idaho, where he began working for the state of Idaho. He then went into federal civil service, where he worked at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden, Utah, as an electrical technician for three years.

Mr. Harpham was transferred to NAS Whidbey in 1956, where he worked as an electrical technician in ground electronics and then as supervisor of ground electronics until he retired in 1969. In 1961 he married Doris N. Martin, who owned White Acres Nursing Home in Freeland.

Mr. Harpham lived on Pennington Hill in Coupeville, in Freeland on East Harbor Road and on Ledgewood Beach, where he made his home for 28 years. He worked as a Realtor, owning Twin View Real Estate in Oak Harbor and Greenbank. After the death of his wife, Doris, Mr. Harpham moved to Oak Harbor, where he lived for a time in Summer Hill Retirement Community.

Mr. Harpham was a life member of Whidby Island Lodge 15, F&AM, Coupeville; Gateway Lodge 2362 in Clearfield, Utah; a charter member of the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge 2362; a past treasurer of the Coupeville Lions Club; and a past director of the Washington State Association of Realtors. He was active in the associations of the ships on which he served, including the USS Nevada, USS Titania, USS Bowditch, USS Nestor and the USS Vestal, attending annual reunions on a regular basis.

He is survived by two stepsons, Theodore J. Martin of Fairfield, Calif., and Brian E. Martin of Coupeville, their wives and families; a brother, Wesley David Harpham and his wife of Pecos, Texas; a sister-in-law; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Eva, and his second wife, Doris, his parents and a brother, Samuel Virgil Harpham.

Visitation will be 1-4 p.m. March 22 and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. March 23, followed by a funeral service at 1 p.m. at Burley Funeral Chapel, Rev. Mary Petrina Boyd officiating. Masonic Rites and interment will follow at Sunnyside Cemetery, immediately followed by military honors, under the auspices of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite charity. Arrangements are under the direction of Burley Funeral Chapel.

Sherie J. Niemeyer

Sherie Jean Niemeyer, 70, died Feb. 25, 2002, of cancer at her Discovery Bay home.

She was born Nov. 19, 1931, in Toledo, Ore., to Victor M. and Ethell Margaret (Roundtree) Conaway. She graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1950, then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, and in 1953, married James Joseph Niemeyer in Port Angeles.

She was medical records supervisor of Oxnard Community Hospital, Oxnard, Calif., during the 1970s and worked in a similar capacity at Wellspring Women’s Clinic in Langley from 1981 to 1984.

Love of the arts was reflected in her employment at Childers-Proctor Gallery in Langley and, from 1991 to 1994, her affiliation with the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.

While living in Langley, Mrs. Niemeyer directed several plays for Whidbey Island Theater and performed in “Deathtrap,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Rainmaker” in the South Whidbey Theater. She enjoyed outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking and fishing, and, especially in her later years, was devoted to her cats, Sylvester and Panther.

Mrs. Niemeyer and her husband divorced in 1980; he died in January 1995.

Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Kay Smith of Oxnard, Calif.; four sons and daughters-in-law Jeffrey Bryant and Shirley Niemeyer of Juneau, Alaska, Michael Kent and Rosie Niemeyer of Oxnard, Calif., Christian David and Dawna Niemeyer of Hattiesburg, Miss., and Thomas Joseph and Holly Niemeyer of Seattle; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

There will be no funeral or memorial services.