Fontella Haws

  Our beloved mother, Fontella June Haws, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 24, 2016.
  She was born on June 8, 1928, in the small rural town of Twin Groves (St. Anthony), Idaho, to Benjamin Earl and Clara Alberta Cazier. At the age of 4, Fontella lost her mother to cancer. She and her older brother Callis were raised by her father until he married Ramona Slack, and she was blessed with four more siblings. Fontella grew up happily working on the family farm until she graduated from St. Anthony High School. Shortly after graduation, she met her sweetheart, Vance L. Haws, recently returning from World War II, where he was one of Merrill’s Marauders. They were married on July 31, 1946, in Bozeman, Montana, and later sealed for time and all eternity in the Idaho Falls temple on Aug. 4, 1948, and settled in the St. Anthony area.
  In 1955, Vance and Fontella moved to Othello as part of the Columbia Basin Project which brought farmers to settle in eastern Washington. In Othello, they were members of the Othello Third Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There on the family farm, Fontella enjoyed gardening, painting, sewing and raising their three children. She drove a school bus for over 35 years for the Othello School District. After Vance’s passing, Fontella sold the family farm and moved to Everson to be closer to her two daughters and son. She enjoyed her three children, 10 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
  She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Vance; and grandson Justin Mergel.
  She is survived by her three children, Cathy (Doug) Mergel of Everson, Dan (Joanna) Haws of Lacey and Melanie (Eric) Jensen of Nooksack; siblings Callis (Shirley) Cazier of Pasco, Louise (Jay) Radford of Rockland, Idaho, JoAnn (Zane) Bloom of St. Anthony, Idaho, Steve (Deb) Cazier of Boise and Erlona (Lynn) Harrison of St. Anthony. Grandma will be greatly missed by her grandchildren Angie, Tamy, Laura, Nichole, Jessica, Melissa, Evan, Dylan and Grace and her 15 great-grandchildren.
  Fontella will be laid to rest in Othello.