Lydia Fauver

Lydia Esther Secreta Fauver, 86, died in St. Helens, Ore., on December 30, 2014. The daughter of Johanes and Aune (Uitos) Kehus, she was born in Runeberg Township, Minnesota on April 29, 1928. In 1936 she moved with her family to Seal River, Washington in a model A Ford. Lydia was valedictorian of the 1946 graduating class at Naselle High School.

Lydia turned down a scholarship to marry. On September 1, 1946 she married John Burdette Fauver and they settled in Grays River, operating a dairy farm. In 1950 Lydia moved to Chinook where she and John purchased a dairy farm on Chinook Valley Road which they operated for 10 years. In 1960 they sold the dairy and purchased the Megler Cafe which together they operated until John's death in 1965.

Besides being a wife, mother, homemaker and dairy farmer Lydia had worked as a cook at the Naselle Youth Camp and later at the Clatsop County Jail; was co-owner and bookkeeper for Hart's Concrete in Ilwaco; and was a server at The Sanctuary restaurant in Chinook prior to retirement. Lydia was an active member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chinook for over 60 years. She served on the board of directors of the Heritage-Pacific Museum in Ilwaco and with the Peninsula Senior Center. In addition Lydia served on the Pacific County Election Board for many years and ran for Pacific County Commissioner in the late 1980s. She was instrumental in establishing the first public school classes in Washington state for handicapped children at Ocean Park school.

Lydia is survived by her children Joan (Larry) Hocker, Doug (Kathy) Fauver, and Jack Fauver; sister Helen Johnston; five grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband John; daughter April; grandson John Fauver in 2001; sister Beatrice; and brothers Arnold, August, and Frank.

Memorial service and reception will be held Saturday, January 10, 2015, 11 a.m., at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chinook. Memorials are requested to either the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chinook or Friends of Chinook School in care of Penttila's Chapel, PO Box 417, Long Beach, WA 98631. Her guestbook is available on-line at http://www.penttilaschapel.com. Penttila's Chapel by the Sea is in charge of arrangements.