Elizabeth (Beth) Claire Johnson Wagner Koehne, 101
Beth died April 16, 2013 after a short illness. She was born September 16, 1911 in Cashmere, WA to George and Bertha (Thayer) Johnson. They moved to Okanogan in 1920. There were several tragedies in Beth’s early life. Her six year old sister died from a rattlesnake bite. Then their family home burned to the ground. Beth also survived polio. Her family’s strong religious faith helped her through these trials. Beth graduated from Okanogan High School in 1929. She attended Washington State College briefly but withdrew so she could marry Ralph Wagner, her high school sweetheart. The Okanogan Methodist Church was her spiritual and social center. She played the piano and sang beautifully. One of her great pleasures was attending Auburn Symphony Orchestra performances. She was a homemaker whose optimistic personality and big smile made people feel at ease. She always tried to say only positive things about people. After Ralph died in 1974, Beth married Henry Koehne (“Kain”), a widower and a summer romance of hers during high school. She enjoyed living with his large family in Wisconsin until he passed away in 1986 and has remained close to that family. She lived near her son, Auburn City Councilman Richard (Kay) Wagner until, at age 95, she finally gave up driving her little red car and moved to Wesley Homes Lea Hill, a Continuing Care Retirement campus, where she enjoyed living very much. Beth’s family with Ralph includes children Richard (Kay) Wagner in Auburn, and Carolyn (Dean) Allerdice in Honolulu, grandchildren Rand (deceased), Jill (Colin) Donaldson in Pittsburgh, Holly (Matt) Bauermeister in Lake Tapps, Annie (Bernie) Holliday in Bradenton, FL, Mike Goodburn in Auburn, and great-grandchildren Molly, Hannah, Neil and Elisa. Her family with Henry includes his children and their spouses, Bill (Pat), Jack (Renee), Fred (Sharon), Margie (Tom) Sutrick and Mary Geronimi, plus many grandchildren and great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at the Price-Helton Funeral Home, 702 Auburn Way North, on Thursday, April 25, at 11 am, with a reception following at Wesley Homes Lea Hill. Additional information is available at www.price-heltonfuneralhome.com. Graveside services will be held at Omak Memorial Cemetery on Saturday, April 27, at 1 pm.In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Beth’s name to help build a new skilled nursing facility at the Wesley Homes Lea Hill Auburn campus that will be similar to the Wesley Homes Health Center in Des Moines where she comfortably spent her last few days. Checks may be sent to the Wesley Homes Foundation, 815 South 216th Street, Des Moines, WA 98198.
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