W. D. Largent 1868 - 1958

William D. Largent (Willy) 26 October 1868 - 21 December 1958
Willy was born on Grand Island, Oregon, moved to Salem, and then to the Patit Prairie ranch in 1871 with the rest of the family.  His father died of typhoid fever 19 days before Willy's sixth birthday.  His memory of his father was limited to one just one small event: helping him roof a shed.  His sister, Jane, and his mother both married about two years later.  No family members ever claimed Willy's step-father was mean or unkind, and his inability to get along with his step-father is generally blamed on Willy.  He left home when he was 12 or 13 spending some time on Craig Mountain, near the future townsite of Winchester, Idaho, punching cattle and herding sheep.  He then moved in with his sister, Jane and her husband, Will.  Willy bought his father's farm from his mother and was farming that when he met Eliza Alice Massey, his Uncle William Matheny's sister-in-law through Mary Jane Massey Matheny.  Willy and Eliza were married on 27 March 1895 in Dayton, Washington.  They farmed the old John Largent place until sometime between 1901 and 1903.  While farming there Willy had his first big earnings.  He delivered that year's crop to the warehouse in Dayton making the last delivery through a blizzard which kept most of the other farmers out of town.  A buyer who needed just a little more wheat to fill a shipment of wheat for China was causing the price to temporarily skyrocket to $1.00 from 25¢.  Willy sold that year's crop at the then unheard of price of $1.00 per bushel.  He hit the top of the market, and they paid off the mortgage on the farm and all other debt.  Real estate records show he sold the farm on 5 December 1899 to Ernest Hopkins for $4,000.  Annie's brother, Jasper Matheny, owed an adjoining farm and sold it to Ernest Hopkins on 27 February 1900.  Willy and Eliza then moved to the Moscow area near Jane and Ella's farms.  They bought the "upper place" and later bought the "lower place" which had a better house on it, so they moved there.  One of the places was in Washington and the other in Idaho.  The children attended the Clinton Country School.  When Raleigh reached high school age, he was sent to Moscow High School.  He was the first person to be denied the privilege of attending Moscow's school because of his Washington residency.  The next fall, 1915, the family moved into Moscow so their children could attend high school and moved back to the farm when winter was over.

W.D. Largent & Eliza Massey

The first year combines were available in the Palouse, two were sold, and Willy bought one.  Much of his family thought this expensive purchase was a big mistake, but it helped make him a wealthy man.  He owned one of the first cars in the area, and made a trip back east to get it.  Parts of the drive home were truly cross country, as there were many miles without roads.  Several times he hired horse teams to pull him through muddy fields.  He was living in Walla Walla when licenses were first required.  Late in his life traffic police stopped him for some violation, but when they did a records check and found Willy had the first license in the county and had no other violations, they gave him no ticket for the offense. 

In the spring of 1916 Willy sold the Moscow farms, and bought the Birch Creek Ranch about twelve miles east of Milton Freewater and twelve miles southeast of Walla Walla just over the Oregon line.  The horses, sheep, and cattle had to be moved there, and Willy gave his children responsibility at an early age.  His three boys, George (16), Harry (15), and Fred (13) were given the job of herding the horses, sheep, and cattle across country to the Birch Creek Farm setting up camp nightly, cooking for themselves, and looking out for the livestock day and night.  It was cold and wet at that time of year, and the animals gave the three boys a challenge keeping them out of people's fields and keeping them moving toward Walla Walla.  The three kinds of animals don't herd together well.  The colts gave the boys the most trouble.  Fred says every time the colts heard a horse whinny, they'd run over to check it out. 

The Birch Creek Farm was prospering when Willy sold the 800 acres for $95,000 to Mr. Elliot.  Willy still had the horses and machinery.  He used that money to buy a 600 acre farm near Dixie.  He then expanded and bought the 840 acre PCI (Pullman College Inc.) farm near Pullman.  The family remained in Dixie, with some of them spending the summers on the PCI place.  Initially, he managed the PCI, and his half-brother, Arty Wooton, managed the Dixie Farm.  The family was then living in the town of Walla Walla.  Willy had enough money in the bank to pay for the PCI farm, but he didn't use it for that purpose.  Just after World War I the price of wheat fell and Willy was on the wrong end of leverage.  During the last few years Raleigh and George and finally Raleigh alone ran the PCI Ranch.  The Dixie Ranch was run by Arty Wooton, but George took that job over during the final two years.  Although Willy traded businesses and moved several times the family remained in Walla Walla.  He sold the PCI to Olan Hodge and traded his interest in the Dixie Place for the Almira Hotel west of Wilbur, Washington.  At that time it was the best hotel between Spokane and Wenatchee.  Fred ran the hotel and Willy oversaw its operation.  Fred quit and Willy traded it for a farm on Wilson Creek between Almira and Wilbur.  The first crop was a failure.  Late frosts caught the wheat in bloom, and it produced almost nothing.  He tried raising sheep, but they died.  By 1931 or '32 he had very little equity in the farm, and sold it.  He used that money to buy a very small farm (40 or 50 acres) near Lowden, Washington.  The farm wouldn't produce much but hay, and its income was inadequate for a family.  After he sold that, he never owned real property again.  Eliza said it took him 15 years to make his money and 15 years to lose it.  By about 1925 Eliza had developed diabetes.  The disease took her from heavy to skinny and caused pre-mature aging.  She fell and broke a hip in 1943.  The diabetes and broken hip caused her death on 19 July 1943.  Willy continued to live in Elberton, Washington for a while.  He spent most of his last years travelling between various relatives' homes, but probably spent more time with Raleigh in Goldendale than he did elsewhere.

People felt welcome in Liza and Willy's home.  They had much company and provided a temporary home for Willy's niece, Nellie Boston, and later her daughter, Margaret Devine, while they each attended school.  Bessie (Wooton) and her husband, Nat Usher, lived with them for over a year.  Alta Largent lived with them in Walla Walla during one of her early years of teaching.  Nola Simons, a family friend, whose parents left Walla Walla for an area without a school, lived with the family during her high school years and for a few years after and became a part of the family.  Their daughter-in-law, Bertha Kramer Largent, used to tell of one night with much company.  As more guests arrived children were pulled out of bed and put on the floor until all the beds were filled with adults.  When the guests started getting up, they found Liza working in the kitchen the next morning, but some of their grown children counted beds and heads and asked where everyone had slept.  Liza and Willy had spent the night in a hotel because there weren't enough beds for the adult guests, but no one told the other guests where their hosts had spent that night.  Willy and Liza had eight children:  Raleigh Massey, George Harold, Harry Elbert, Fred, Anna Rosella (Dyer), Ada Mae (Evans), Wayne Arthur (Buster), and William Donald (Chub).

Left:  The four elder boys:  Harry, Fred, Raleigh, & George 1910       Right: the girls: Anna & Ada Largent 1910

1.  Raleigh Massey Largent 16 August 1897 - 18 January 1983

Raleigh Largent 1918

Raleigh was born on the John Largent place near Dayton.  He grew up in Moscow.  He was graduated from ______ grade school (north of Clinton) and attended Moscow High School.  When World War I started he decided to join the Army.  His mother wouldn't sign for him, and his father stayed out of that dispute.  Raleigh told the army he was older than he actually was, and he was off to the European theatre.  After his discharge he met Bertha Kramer, the teacher at the Dixie Dry Creek School.  They were married on 26 October 1921 in Walla Walla.  Initially they lived on the PCI farm.  When Willy sold the farm, they returned to Walla Walla.  He bought into the Walla Walla Iron Works.  That was not successful, so the family moved to Cheney where he sold rod weeders which required frequent travelling.  The marriage weakened; Bertha and the children, John and Alice, returned to Walla Walla.  He met Ruth Andrews while in Cheney.  They were married in January 1928 in Preston, Idaho.  They went to Nebraska where they farmed for six years and got three crops, fire destroyed one crop and drought got the other two.  While they were back there they had a son, Max.  When they returned to the Pacific Northwest, Ruth went to work as a teacher near Goldendale, Washington.  They bought a farm near Goldendale where he farmed until his retirement.  After retirement he built and tried to sell picnic tables and solid oak dining room tables.  Ruth died in September of 1975.  He married Frances Craig in Goldendale, Washington on 3 June 1979.  They moved to her home in Brentwood, California where Raleigh spent the last years of his life.  He died at age 85 of a heart attack or stroke.

    a. John William Largent 21 August 1922 - 4 September 2004

John Largent 1939

John was born in Pullman, but grew up in Walla Walla.  He worked as a grocery delivery boy in high school.  He joined the Army airforce and served in the signal corps during World War II and spent two years in India.  He married Edith A. Danielson on 20 September 1942 in Walla Walla.  After his discharge from the Army at the end of World War II, he purchased the store where he had worked as a lad.  Later he sold the store and worked for his father-in-law in his orchards.  He then went to work for Continental Can where he worked until his retirement.  In January of 2004 he was diagnosed with cancer of the bile duct in the liver and died of that disease in September of that year at age 82.  He and Edith had three children: Judy, Jill, and Jack.



      b. Alice Elizabeth Largent 10 December 1923 - 7 January 2006

Alice Largent 1942

Alice was born in Walla Walla where she married Bruce H. Maxson on 17 October 1942.  After finishing high school she worked as a bookkeeper in a hardware store until John was born in 1946.  When John started school, she went to work for Pacific Northwest Bell.  After Bruce's discharge from the Army he worked for the Post Office in Walla Walla until retiring.  They have one child, John.





   c. Max A. Largent 30 March 1930 - 3 February 1999

Max Largent 1948

Max was born in Chappell, Nebraska.  He married Gay D. Calvert on 5 February 1949 in Longview, Washington.  They divorced.  On 2 September 1966 he married Mari Eddy Caton in Hood River, Oregon.   Marie had three children by a previous marriage: Julie, Linda, and Craig Caton Largent.  Max worked in sawmills and was a sawyer when a stroke in 1993 forced his early retirement and moved him to a wheel chair for the remainder of his life. He died of another stoke at age 68.  He and Gay had two children: Kathy and Russell. He and Marie had one child, Wayne.  


         (1)     Kathy Maureen Largent 9 September 1949 - 12 March 2020

Kathy Largent 1974

Kathy was born in Goldendale, Washington.  She was graduated from Klickitat High School in 1967. She attended a year at Spokane Community College in 1973-74.  She married Jon Feil on 23 March 1974 in Goldendale.  They had two children: Michael and Melissa.

            (a)     Michael Jay Feil 29 December 1974 - 23 May 2001
Mike was born in Spokane, Washington. He was graduated from Spokane’s University High in 1993.  He was killed in an auto wreck at age 26.


2. George Harold Largent 4 May 1899 - 12 August 1945

George Largent 1925

George was also born on the John Largent place near Dayton.  He quit school while attending Walla Walla High.  He married Bertha May Jensen (May) on 11 April 1920 in Walla Walla.  They moved to the PCI place for a short time and returned to Walla Walla where he worked in the Baker Orchards where they lived until he went to farm his uncle Will and aunt Jane's place after Will's death in 1927.  They farmed that for a few years until they bought the Butte Place which was also in the Clinton School District.  They lost that place about 1933 and returned to Walla Walla.  They then moved to Keller, Washington where they stayed from 1934 to 1939.  He worked on Grand Coulee Dam and helped his brother, Fred, build the grocery store.  Later they moved to Garfield and then Palouse where he worked adding hillside levelers to combines.  In 1944 they bought a farm near Harrison, Idaho.  The next summer he died when horses took off with a binding machine severely cutting his legs.  Although he made it to the hospital alive, they were unable to save him at that time because of the loss of so much blood.  He is buried in the Garfield, Washington Cemetery.  He and May had five children: Bill, Georgia May, Harold, Barbara, and Wayne.

George and the Christmas Tree sale:  George was a gentle and kind man; this story should be read as an odd occurrence in his life. While the family was living on the Dixie Ranch which George was running, he negotiated a deal to provide Christmas trees to Beck & Wynnan, a local grocery store.  Snows were heavy, so the price was high.  The trees were cut and loaded, and the snow melted.  George delivered the trees as agreed.  Since the snow was gone, the buyers could buy trees for less money than what they had promised, so they told George they wouldn't pay the agreed upon price.  George declined the price they offered and said he would take the trees out and burn them.  He started to leave, but the five brothers who where there decided they'd have the trees for the price they were now offering.  The five brothers closed in on him.  One of the brothers slugged him, so George fought back.  The other four brothers decided to help the most aggressive brother who was losing the fight.  Walt Jensen, George's brother-in-law, walked by the store as the last young man was knocked through the screen door.  The fight was over with George the victor, so Walt could offer no help.  George was not a bragger, so the story would not be known if not for Walt's telling it.  Everyone did see that the five brothers no longer went fishing in their old favorite spots on Dry Creek which ran through the Largent farm.

    a. Donald Eugene Largent "Bill" 17 March 1921 - 27 May 1998

Bill Largent 1939

Bill was born in Pullman, Washington.  He worked in ranching, mining, and then on the Keller Ferry after high school until World War II.  When he left the ferry job, he trailed wild horses from the Keller area to the Palouse with his grandfather, Willy.  He married Phyllis Vermillion on 10 December 1944 in Palouse, Washington.  He helped his father on the farm at Harrison, until George's accident in August of 1945 when Bill was 24.  He worked for a butcher for a short time, then went to work for Ring Brothers Rodeo Contractors.  Then he gave logging a try.  In 1951 he returned to ranching, raising cattle and horses. In 1958 they bought the Kewa store, ran its post office, and drove freight line out of Spokane.  In 1967 they sold the store and freight line and moved to the ranch where he lived the rest of his life.  He died of cancer and is buried in the Garfiled, Washington Cemetary. From Bill's death until her own on 22 October 2015 Phyllis lived in Kettle Falls, WA.. Bill and Phyllis had two children: George and Vicki.

 

    b. Georgia May Largent 30 August 1923 - 6 April 1993

Georgia May Largent 1939

Georgia May was born in Walla Walla.  She started school at Clinton like so many of her relatives, but also attended school at Keller, Wilber, and Republic where she was graduated in 1939.  She married Thomas G. Flowers, "Tommy" on 10 January 1942 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  They lived in Spokane, Riggins, Lewiston, and in 1987 moved to Juliaetta, Idaho.  She was a cook during most of her working years.  She died in her home in Juliaetta of colon cancer at age 69.  Tommy died in Walla Walla, Washington on 28 September 1994 of a stroke.  Both are buried in Garfield, Washington.  They had six children: Linda, Caroline, Billie, Cindy, Marsha, and Calvin.

        (1) Linda Lee Flowers 29 November 1942 - 15 June 1982

Linda Flowers 1964

Linda was born in Colfax, Washington.  She married Larry Ward on 26 May 1959 in Sandpoint, Idaho.  She obtained her GED in      and obtained her RN degree from      in     .  Linda fell asleep at the wheel after working the graveyard shift at a hospital where she was an RN.  She hit a tree which killed her and left her family to finish growing up without a mother.  She is buried at the Garfield, Washington Cemetary.  Larry died in June of 2002 of a stroke and is also buried in Garfield.  Linda and Larry had five children: Steve, Roxanne, Dawn, Scott, and Leslie.

        (3)  James William Flowers 14 January 1948 - 5 April 2019

Bill Flowers circa 1965

"Bill" was born in Colfax, Washington.  The family moved a lot while he was growing up but settled in Riggins where Bill completed the 10th grade and went to work in logging and mining before following in his father's footsteps to become a truck driver which he did for over 50 years.  Bill married Judy Lambson in 1967.  They divorced in 1984.  He married Sandi Gipe in 1986 and divorced in 2000.  He married Bobbi Nichols in 2002 and shared the reminder of his life with her from their home in Orofino.  He successfully fought colo-rectal cancer for years but was taken suddenly at age 71 by leukemia.  He and Judy had two children: Billie Ann and Thomas.


    c. Harold Clair Largent 7 November 1927 - 14 February 1973

Harold Largent 1946

Harold was born in Pullman, Washington.  He married Patricia W. Davis (Pat) on 16 January 1948 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  He worked for his uncle, Fred Largent when they were newlyweds.  Later he went to work for WSU, then as a carpenter during the building of one of the dams.  His next job was at Coulee City working on the irrigation tunnel that takes water from the Columbia River to Moses Lake.  They gave up telephones and electricity to live in Keller, Washington where he worked for a farmer, Glen Whitelaw.  Electricity arrived in November of 1950.  Telephone service wouldn't make it there until the 1970's.  In 1969 the family moved to Waitsburg, Washington where Harold worked for Bob Scherwin.  In 1973 he died of lung cancer at age 45.  He and Pat had six children: Bob, Roxanna, Cassey, Mike, Dick, and Cecil.

        (1) Robert William Largent 17 November 1949 - 26 December 1998

Bob Largent 1968

Bob was born in Ephrata, Washington, attended the first 8 grades in Keller, and was graduated from Wilbur High School in 1968.  He became a skilled skidder operator locally nicknamed "Skidder Bob" and was considered one of the best in the Northwest.  In 1981 Diane Tonasket and he got together making him a step parent to Phillip and Cindi Tonasket who were then in the first and second grades.  Bob died of a sudden heart attack at age 49.  He and Diane Tonasket had a daughter: Juliauna.


    d. Barbara Largent 8 April 1932 - November 2001

Barbara Largent circa 1945

Barbara was born in Moscow, Idaho.  She moved to Council in 1950 where she went to work in the hospital as a nurse's aide.  She fell in love with one of her patients, Robert H. Young "Brig", and married him on 20 October 1951 in Winnemuca, Nevada.  Brig worked for the Idaho Highway Department until 1953 when he went to work for the county road department until a heart attack in the early 1970's forced his retirement.  Barbara worked as a nurse's aid until 1965 when she went to work as a cook until 1976 when she tried early retirement.  In 1989 they returned to work in Burns Junction, Oregon where she worked as a cook and he ran the service station until 1991 when they returned to their home in Council and full retirement.  Brig died of heart problems on January 1, 2000 when he was 85 years old.  Barbara didn't enjoy her time afterward.  Soon after Brig's death she fell, and diabetes soon took her lower leg.  Her will to live deteriorated.  She stayed with her daughter, Kathy, most of the last two years of her life.  She died at age 69 of complications from the diabetes.  Barbara and Brigg have four children Jane, Kathy, Hal, and Jimmy.

Jane Young 1970

        (1) Roberta Jane Young 12 June 1953 - 24 June 2019
Jane was born in Council, Idaho.  She completed the 11th grade at Council in 1971.  She married Ward Richard Riley, Rich" on 12 July 1975 in Council, and they soon moved to Boise where Rich drives truck.  They separated in 2014. Jane and Rich had one child: Brandon and reared their grandson “Mikey”.







        (2) Kathaleen May Young 19 December 1954 -29 January 2011

Kathy Young 1973

Kathy was born in Council, Idaho.  She and Tracy Nunnally had one child: James.  She married Mike Largent (Harold Largent's son) in Walla Walla, Washington on 25 November 1980.  They have one child: Michael.










        (4) James Marion Young 16 September 1958 - 5 September 2008

Jim Young 1973

Jimmy was born in Council where he married Christine Brown on 22 October 1988.  She had two children: Ryan Lloyd Brown and Anna Nicole Sheppard.  They had one child: Jamie.


    e. Edward Wayne Largent 8 March 1934 - 15 April 1988

E. Wayne Largent 1952

Wayne was born in Wilbur, Washington.  He was only eleven when his father died in 1945.  During the summer of 1953 while working for his brother, Bill, he met another hired hand, a truck driver, Shirley Marshall.  With some encouragement from his grandpa, Willy Largent, they started dating and on 17 October 1954 they were married in Wilbur, Washington.  They spent their first married years in the Keller area where Wayne worked in logging, farming, and broke horses.  Wayne went to work for Bill again about 1957, and they moved to Kewa, Washington (a post office and small general store was all that was there).  In 1962 they moved to the Creston/Wilbur area where they drove a mail route from Wilbur to Republic.  In 1967 they bought a place on the San Poil.  Wayne and Shirley both drove school bus for the Wilbur and Keller Schools.  Wayne received several community awards for his support of 4-H, wrestling, and other local youth activities.  He was instrumental in planning the 1988 family reunion but died of cancer before it was held.  He was buried in the Keller Cemetery. Shirley married Dale Bly on 22 February 1998 in Keller, Washington, and they moved to Creston, Washington in 2001.  Wayne and Shirley had seven children:  Joanne, Barbara, Penny Sue, Ron, Bud, Lee, and Randy.



2.  Harry Elbert Largent 18 February 1901 - 12 October 1962

Harry Largent circa 1922

Harry was also born on the John Largent place on the Patit Prairie.  He moved with the family to Moscow where he grew up and earned his Mechanical Engineering Degree from Washington State College (now University) in the early 1920's.  As a child he had scarlet fever which left him with an enlarged heart.  He went east to work for Armco International in Middletown, Ohio where he married Sue Lacatos Hergo, a Hungarian.  During the depression they moved to Oregon where Donna was born in 1932.  Shortly thereafter they returned to Middletown, Ohio where Laretta Lee was born in 1936.  Harry worked for Armco at Middletown, then in Cincinnati during World War II where he held two jobs; an engineer at Wright Aeronautical and a teacher at St. Bernard High School.  After the war he worked at Aeronica Mfg, later for Gardner Paper Company which was later bought out by Diamond International where he was employed when he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1962.  Sue died in August of 1982 of cancer.



3.  Fred E. Largent 14 January 1903 - 12 October 1990

Fred Largent 1922

Fred was born in Moscow, Idaho and moved to Walla Walla, Washington when he was thirteen.  He was very close to his aunt and uncle, Jane and Will Wolfe, who used to tease him that he was really a Wolfe, not a Largent.  As a boy he spent one harvest season with their daughter Ella and her husband, Charlie Adams, doing chores.  He was graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1922.  He attended Washington State College (now WSU) but dropped out when his father's deteriorating financial condition wouldn't support two sons in college.  He married Josephine Amelia Parvin on 28 November 1927 in Colfax, Washington where he was working selling Caterpillar tractors.  In the spring of 1928 they went to Hartline, Washington where they helped Fred's dad, Willy, put in his crops and put up hay.  Fred drove combine that summer, and Jo lived with her parents.  Fred went to Canada that summer to drive combine, working very near Ella (Wolfe) and Charlie Adams' home.  He and Jo had a baby girl who died at birth (Jane named after his aunt).  They moved to Wilbur where Fred sold tractors again.  They moved on to Spokane and Odessa.  They moved to the old pre-emption place on Jo's parents' farm as the depression was in full swing, and regular work was hard to come by.  In the summer Fred worked in harvest, and with a big garden, a milk cow, some work on the side, nearby wood for heat, and no rent, they were able to save most of what he made in harvest.  John was born in 1932 while the family was still living on the Parvin homestead.  Fred and his dad tried their hands at road construction.  The Grand Coulee Dam was started, and that September Fred decided to go there to see what work he could find.  He found his brother, George, there, and Frank.  Fred decided to build a grocery store, and the three of them started building one.  They camped there and worked on the building.  In early November when the store was complete enough to provide shelter, Fred sent for Jo and John.  Jo found a neighbour who drove them and a pickup load of belongings up to Coulee City for $20.00.  The building was complete enough that Jo and John moved in the basement where they all lived comfortably.  This building was built before the main contract for the dam had been awarded.  When it was awarded, the store had to be rebuilt farther back from the highway.  They built another building at Grand Coulee.  The boom had begun by this time, and Fred sold the store and went to work on the dam.  About a year later he worked for McCroskey Implement in Colfax and the Harvester Co. in Spokane.  He bought a half interest in an International Implement dealer in Sprague.  An unordered tractor was sent to this dealership, and his partner, Andy Anderson, sold it and pocketed the money.  By the time the manufacturer discovered its error, Andy had spent the money.  The partnership had to pay for the missing unit which was more money than both had.  Fortunately, Andy's father had some money and parted with it rather than see his son go to prison.  Fred was spared the possible sharing of a jail cell with his partner.  The partnership was dissolved.  It was back to the Parvin place where they farmed during most of the war years.  Connie was born while they were there.  The war years were good to farmers, and by 1947 they saved enough money to buy the farm near the Mountain Home Grange outside of Potlatch where they lived the rest of their years.  Emphysema took Fred's life at age 87.  Pancreatic cancer took Jo's life a short time later on 30 May 1991.  Their two children are: John and Connie. 

     a. Gary Lee "John" Largent 6 July 1932 - 16 June 2021

John Largent 1950

John was born in Colfax where he lived until his freshman year in high school when the family moved to Potlatch.  He was graduated from Potlatch High School in 1950.  He married Ardis LaVoy on 14 October 1950 in Potlatch.  He served in the U.S. Army from 1952 until 1954 stationed in Fulda, Germany.  After his discharge he went to work for Potlatch Forest Industries in Lewiston as a saw filer.  In 1955 he started farming with his dad which continued until 1963 when he started farming on his own.  In 1986 he temporarily stopped farming and moved to Heppner, Oregon where he again worked as a saw filer.  They returned to the farm in the fall of 1991. Ardis became bedridden in 2002 and died on 27 December 2009 at age 79. Ardis  is buried at the Potlatch Cemetery.  In 2010 John turned the farming over to his eldest son,Terry, and sold his household goods.  John married Lois Stallman Grasham on 10 September 2010 in Moscow, Idaho where they made their summer home and spent winters in Ajo, Arizona until his death at age 88. He is buried in the Freeze Cemetery near the family farm. John and Ardis had four children: Terry, Rick, Sharon, and Todd.

    b. Connie Rae Largent 2 October 1942 - 5 November 2019

Connie Largent McBride 1965

Connie was born in Colfax, Washington.  She was graduated from Potlatch High School in 1960 and the University of Idaho in 1964 with a major in Home Economics.  She married Edward J. McBride  on 22 December 1963 in Moscow, Idaho.  They moved to Yakima, Washington where Ed was a management trainee for Montgomery Wards and Connie taught Home Ec and Reading at Washington Jr. High.  In 1966 Ed was drafted into the Army.  He attended Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia and received a 2nd LT commission in the Adjutant General Corp.  He was stationed in Ft. Knox, Kentucky and Connie taught jr. high math and science at Brandenburg, Kentucky.  After separation from the Army Ed returned to school obtaining his law degree in 1972 from the University of Idaho.  Connie taught home economics and business classes in Garfield School District while Ed was in law school.  Ed worked as a lawyer in Colfax from 1972 until 1988 when he began working for the Washington State University Foundation, and in 1993 transferred to the University of Idaho Foundation.  Connie received her master's degree from Gonzaga University in 1996, and taught at Jennings Elementary School in Colfax retiring in 2014.  She and Ed had a daughter, adopted a son, and then had another daughter: Shannon, Steve, and Shelby.

Shannon McBride 1984

        (1)     Shannon McBride 1 May 1967 - 20 August 1986
Shannon was born at Fort Benjamin Harris, Indiana. Because of birth injuries Shannon was moderately affected with cerebral palsy.  For a few years she lived with her great aunt Ann Dyer in Spokane where she attended classes that specialized in orthopedic and special education.  She later attended school in Pullman and Colfax.  Shannon had a paper route and cleaned the office for her father's law firm.  She belonged to FFA and managed the volleyball team.  She was to be a senior at Colfax High when she drowned in the bathtub at age 19.  Her Aunt Ann is buried alongside her in the Colfax Cemetery.


4.  Anna Rosella Largent  13 September 1904 - 9 October 1991

Ann Largent circa 1927

Ann was born at Moscow.  She attended school at Clinton until she was eleven when the family moved to the Walla Walla area.  She was graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1922.  She taught grade school for a short time before going to Whitman College where she was graduated in 1927 as an honor student finishing in three and one-half years with a 4.0 grade point average.  She taught math, history, language, home economics, and physical education in Ortig High School from 1927 until she married Cliff Dyer.  He owned a grocery store in Renton which they operated until about 1948 when they sold it and moved to Spokane where he sold insurance for Mutual of Enumclaw.  During the War Ann worked for Boeing riveting airplanes.  Cliff died on 17 January 1957 and was buried in Spokane's Fairmont Cemetery.  Ann worked in a drug store from the time they moved to Spokane until just after Cliff's death when she returned to teaching.  She taught math and foreign language and served as a counselor at Pines Junior High School in Spokane.  She had no children, but she devoted great amounts of time to her nieces and nephews and was the best aunt she knew how to be.  She retired about 1969 and enjoyed travelling.  She took up ballroom dancing and travelled throughout the Northwest to various dancing competitions.  Her eyesight faded in the early 1980's, and she was unable to read by 1985.  She continued to live alone until about 1988 when she moved in with her former housekeeper, Barbara Gray.  In the winter of 1989-1990 she developed a cold and flu which developed into pneumonia which took most of her hearing.  Her hearing returned in early 1991, but she remained bedridden until her death at age 87.  Barbara, who was very well paid,  nursed her until she died.  She was buried in Colfax, Washington next to her grand-niece, Shannon McBride.

5.  Ada Mae Largent  21 August 1908 -  12 September 2001

Ada Largent 1928

Ada was also born in Moscow and was seven when the family moved to the Walla Walla area.  She attended school at Clinton and Moscow for one year each and completed grade school at Walla Walla's Sharpstein in 1924.  She was graduated from Walla Walla High in 1928.  During the War she printed blue prints for Liberty ships in Portland.  After the War she went to Murphy-Griffin Business College in Seattle in the evenings while she worked in a department store during the day.  She worked for Coast Transit and South Bay between 1945 and 1949 where she met Fred Evans whom she married on 4 June 1949.  In 1950 they bought a tavern between Bellingham and Mount Baker and named it Fred's Tavern.  In 1953 they bought a home in Deming, Washington.  Fred died in July of 1958 of heart problems.  Ada ran the tavern until January of 1963 when she sold it and to be near her family moved to Spokane where she worked for Sears in the catalog department.  She retired in August of 1973 and moved back to Bellingham in 1974 to be near Susie.  In 1993 she sold her mobile home and moved to an apartment.  In 1997 she suffered a stroke and heart attack and was moved to a nursing home in Bellingham.  She died of pneumonia at age 93. Her ashes are buried in Fred's plot in Bellingham.  She had no children but was a devoted aunt, and she assisted in raising Susie Rode who lived with Ada and Fred as a teenager and worked for them.  Susie treated Ada as well as any daughter could, and she is considered a part of the family by all.


6. Wayne Arthur Largent "Buster" 18 January 1911 -13 September 1998

Bus Largent 1929

Bus was born in Moscow and was five when the family moved to Walla Walla.  He attended grade school at Walla Walla's Sharpstein, and was graduated from Dixie's grade school in 1925.  The family then moved back to Walla Walla where he attended all four years of high school and was graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1929.  When that summer's work was over he started working for Woolworth's as a stock-boy.  He transferred from Walla Walla to Pendleton where he was made Assistant Manager in 1931 before being promoted to Assistant Manager at Yakima and finally Assistant Manager at Spokane's main store.  Woolworth started closing stores, and he saw no chance for further promotion, so he quit and bought a hardware store in Grand Coulee Center which he converted to a variety store.  He sold that and moved to Omak where he owned an appliance store selling Maytag washers and Norge refrigerators.  Then he bought a dry cleaning business in Republic.  He sold that business and went to work on his cousin Lawrence Largent's farm where he worked for a couple of years.  He left Lawrence's to attend welding school in Moscow while he stayed with Fred and Jo Largent who were living on the Parvin place near Colfax.   While going to welding school, he met his future wife.  He and Rozella E. Mathison were married on 5 October 1941 at the Mathison home across the road from the Clinton School.  They spent the war years in Portland where Bus worked in the shipyards as a welding foreman.  When World War II came to a close that job ended, and they moved in with her parents near Moscow while Wayne looked for other work.  They bought "Sandy's Place" in Winchester, Idaho where they established their family home.  They sold the business in 1952, and Buster went to work for the Craig Mountain Lumber Company as brakeman on the train which ran to the main line.  Bus also farmed about 300 acres near Winchester for several years.  He and Rozella separated after their daughter Kay's death.  Wayne then worked putting in floors and counters, welding, and finished his working years at the University of Washington where he worked as a janitor.  Rosie died apparently of a heart attack on 5 November 1981.  Bus operated a small trailer court on the edge of Moscow until his death at age 87 of a heart attack. He and Rozella had four children:  Karen, Kay, Steve, and Dan.

  
    b.  Rozella Kay Largent 21 July 1945 - 28 May 1961

Kay Largent 1960

Kay was also born in Portland.  The family moved to Winchester when she was a year old.  As a young girl she was a tom boy, good at climbing trees, and riding horses.  As a member of Winchester High's Class of 1963, she was an honor student; she served as her high school class' president one year and as its student council representative her other year of high school.  She was twice named princess at the local county fair, but declined the second time, so that others could have the honor.  She was a cheerleader during both her years at WHS.  The day after she finished her high school sophomore year a drunk driver killed her.


   

Dan Largent 1973

    d.  Wayne Daniel Largent 17 December 1954 - 8 January 2019
Dan was born in Cottonwood, Idaho.  He attended school at Winchester until consolidation and the 1965 closure of Winchester's saw mill moved his sixth grade class to Highland in 1966.  He was a member of Highland's class of 1974 and obtained his diploma in 1976.  He worked as a pile buck from 1978 until 1980 working on the underwater portion of bridges.  He then discovered he could support himself playing poker.  He also managed Rolling Hills Trailer Court from 1999 through 2017.  He never married and had no children.  Substance abuse (mostly alcohol) got worse through the years leading him to his isolate himself from family and friends.  While he could give up alcohol for months, he kept returning to it.  At age 64 he fatally shot himself outside his home in Moscow.


7.  William Donald Largent "Chub" 17 March 1915 - 16 April 1993

Chub Largent 1944

Chub was born in Moscow and had just turned one year old when the family moved to Walla Walla.  He finished the eighth grade at Sharpstein Grade School in Walla Walla and completed his freshman year at Walla Walla High.  In 1931 the family moved to Pendleton where Chub would finish high school in 1934.  In high school he was an excellent athlete and established a high school record time of 4 minutes 32.3 seconds for a one mile run.  He was also an excellent basketball player.  The family left Pendleton in 1934, but Chub stayed behind working for Art & Evelyn Lindburg on their wheat ranch.  Later he moved into town and "bached" with Harold Hendricks.  In 1939 he went to work at Andy's Cigar Store as a cook.  He married Laverne Workman on 29 November 1940. In 1941 Chub started working for Pendleton Grain Growers as a truck driver delivering fuel.  Chub enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and was discharged in 1945 when he went to work for Beer Distributing Co. driving a delivery truck.  In 1960 he suffered a heart attack, and his doctor advised a less strenuous line of work, so he and LaVerne bought "Chub's Corner" a neighborhood bar which they owned and operated until their retirement in 1981.  He died at age 78 of _______ .  He was buried at _________ cemetery.

Chub spent much of his "leisure" time supporting youth athletics.  He helped organize and coached Little League Baseball in Pendleton; instructed junior bowling, coached and managed Babe Ruth Baseball as well as helped organized the association in Pendleton.  He coached and sponsored "Chub's" softball team.  He received plaques in recognition of his support of area athletics from the City of Pendleton for his years with youth baseball and from the National Babe Ruth Association for 25 years of dedicated service.  He and Laverne have two sons: Tim and Bill.

Tim Largent 1960

    a.  Harold Tim Largent 26 December 1942 - 5 April 2011
Tim was born in Pendleton where he was graduated from high school in 1960.  He spent four years in the Navy before returning to Pendleton where he married Susan Hayes in September 1979.  He and Susan were divorced in 1988, and he married Bonnie Beier in Federal Way, Washington on 21 April 1990.  He and Susan have a set of twins: Casey and Shane.

J Phil Largent 28 Oct 1930 - 24 Feb 2014

J. Philip, "Phil" Largent was born October 28, 1930 in Pasco, Washington to Lawrence and Gertrude (Knipes) Largent. He was the middle of three Largent boys. They lived on a farm in the Kahlotus area until the family moved to Onecho when he was three. He attended the Long Hollow School District #66 near his home. Phil was active in 4-H, ran the mile in track events and was an avid boxer. He was graduated from Colfax High School in 1947 at the age of 16. Phil went to Washington State College for a year, took a year hiatus, and then went back and completed his degree in business in 1952. Having been in ROTC in college, Phil accepted a commission in the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lt.  near the tail end of the Korean Conflict and served as an M.P. in Japan. He was honorably discharged in 1954. 

 

Phil Largent 1948 high school graduation

LT Phil Largent 1952

He moved to Boston where he began work on his MBA at Harvard. He returned to Colfax and married Josephine Hope Munn on December 26, 1955 in Seattle. The couple went back to Boston where he completed his Master’s degree in 1957. With their newly started family, Phil and Josephine moved to Hermiston, Oregon where he worked in accounting and bookkeeping for a farm Co-op. They moved to Walla Walla a short time later and in 1961 moved back to the family farm at Onecho where he joined his brother Dick in the operation of the farm. 

1969 Phil Largent family:  Michael, Phil, Josephine, Susan, and Elizabeth

Phil was very active in the Onecho Church, served on the school board, was a founding member of the Bank of Whitman, served on the board of the Almota Elevator Company and various other community minded projects. Family was extremely important to Phil and he loved spending quality time with all of his family. His life was forever changed in 1982 when a devastating car accident claimed the lives of his daughter Susan, her husband Don, and granddaughter Tia Elizabeth Pierce.  Phil and Josephine moved into the town of Colfax in 1991, and she later passed away in 1995.

Phil was very active in Gideon’s International and an avid supporter and board member of the Whitman County Chaplaincy.  While on a Heritage Club tour to Branson, Missouri, Phil re-connected with a life-long friend, Leslie Rubin Looney. They married July 19, 1997 in Colfax. Phil and Leslie loved to travel together and enjoyed many fun trips. Phil suffered a stroke six years ago that left him handicapped and Leslie remained his steadfast caregiver. 

Phil passed asway on Monday 24 Feburary 2014 at age 83.  He is survived by his wife, Leslie, at their Colfax home; two children, Michael & Audrey Largent, Colfax, and Elizabeth & Roy Anderson, Spokane; three step-children, Nancy & Jerry Wilson, Spokane, Sally & Martin Barraclough, Salt Lake City, UT, and Jean & Jeff Dorgay of Vancouver, WA; 10 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren as well as his brother, Larry and his wife Kristen Largent of Worley, ID. He was also preceded in death by his older brother Richard “Dick” Largent last year. The family suggests memorial gifts to Gideon’s International, P.O. Box 122, Colfax, WA. 99111 or to Circles of Caring Adult Day Health, 225 E. Palouse River Dr., Moscow, ID. 83843. On-line guest book is at www.bruningfuneralhome.com Bruning Funeral Home of Colfax was in charge of arrangements with burial at the Onecho Cemetery.