Obituaries for the week of 3/14/18
Nola Bowen
Nola Bowen, of Quincy, passed away at Truckee Tahoe Forest Hospital Extended Care Facility on Feb. 19, 2018. She was 102 years old and lived most of her life in Quincy.
Nola was preceded in death by her husband Emery Bowen.
She is survived by her daughter, LaMerele Fridley, of Roseville and son, Emery (Buck) Bowen, of Quincy.
Vance L. Hansen
Vance L. Hansen (known also to family as “Buster”) passed away peacefully with family by his side on Feb. 18, 2018, at the age of 87 in Chico.
Vance is survived by his wife, LaVera Hansen, of 64 years; his son, Randy Hansen (Granville, Ohio); daughter, Barbara Hansen Niksch (Capistrano Beach); seven grandchildren (Jessica, Justin, Travis, Ashley, Mayleea, Eliana, and Chloe); five great-grandchildren (Rosaline, Sammie, TJ, Silas and Ava); his sister, Donna Ramey (Chico); and many nieces and nephews that will all miss him, but know he is at peace with the Lord.
He was preceded in death by his son, Samuel Hansen, four brothers and one sister (Daryl Hansen, Dale Hansen, Henry Hansen, Skip Hansen and Betty Hart).
He loved the Lord, his family, his pets, the mountains, eagles and aviation. Vance was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, on Dec. 13, 1930, and he and his family lived in various places in the mid-west before moving to Riverside in 1943. This is where he took his first flying lesson at the age of 15. Vance and his family then moved to Chico in 1946, where he attended and graduated from Chico High School and later Chico State.
Vance’s love of aviation occupied his thoughts and guided his career. While in Chico, he spent a lot of time at Ranchaero Airport, where he was trained on maintaining aircraft, took additional flying lessons and obtained his private pilot’s license at age 16.
Vance was later a Korean War veteran, serving in the Air Force, and later retired after 30 years of civil service and working at China Lake Naval Weapons Center and Nellis Air Force base where he was a pioneer in drone and radar development and was an expert on the AIM-9 (Sidewinder) missile. After retiring from civil service, Vance continued to work several years as a consultant on military projects, drawing on his Sidewinder missile expertise.
After retirement, Vance and his wife LaVera built and lived in their mountain dream home in Lake Almanor. After spending winters in Chico for several years, they moved to Chico full-time during 2017.
Vance was laid to rest at Glen Oaks Memorial Park, 11115 Midway, Chico, CA. Donations may be made to either the Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church Memorial Fund (Chico, CA) or Our Savior Lutheran Church Memorial Fund (Chester, CA). Condolences may be sent to the family at brusiefh.com.
Earl Sherman Storm
Earl Sherman Storm was born Feb. 1, 1928, to Mary Reah Fryer and Earl Vasberg Storm in Kanab, Utah, and went home to his Heavenly Father on March 6, 2018.
“Sherm” learned early on that hard work and persistence paid off and he exemplified this and his sense of humor all of his life. He was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and would go to his uncle’s farms and work in the summer. He never liked to touch peaches after that. He obtained his pilot’s license and loved flying the single engine plane.
At the end of World War II he joined the coast guard and was stationed in Pearl Harbor, and also toured other islands. When he was released he joined his mother in San Francisco to work in her donut shop on Market Street.
While at a campout for young single people in Yosemite Park he met the love of his life, Carolyn Schwindt. They were married in the Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah, for time and all eternity on Feb. 24, 1949, and set up homemaking in San Francisco. He bought the donut shop from his mother and ran it for 19 years until eminent domain was utilized and the Hyatt Hotel was built there.
They were blessed with six children in 10 years, Steven Wayne, Cathleen, Maryanne, Eric Paul, Lizabeth and Lori were given a beautiful childhood by their parents who worked hard during the week and took them water skiing in the Delta on the weekends. They lived in San Francisco, Belmont and Pinole.
When the donut shop was closing in 1966 the family acted on their love of Lake Almanor and with sheer grit and determination built the Knotty Pine Resort. The family all helped with the cabins, gas pumps and snack bar. They spent every spare minute in and around the water in the summers and skiing in the winters.
When they sold the resort, they built their home in Lake Almanor Country Club and settled in to a life of working as a custom builder and in service to their community. Integrity and craftsmanship were built into the many beautiful custom homes in the area. Sherm golfed when he could and served in many ways including as the Fire Commissioner. In 2000 they moved to St. George, Utah, to enjoy the year round opportunity to golf and live where so many of Sherman’s ancestors had settled.
Sherm and Carolyn moved to Chico in 2014 to be closer to their ever-growing family. They just celebrated 69 glorious years of marriage.
Sherm was preceded in death by his daughter Lori and his son-in-law Richard.
He is survived by his wife Carolyn, and children, Steven (Marcy), Cathy (Curt), Maryanne, Eric (Michelle) and Liz (Steve), 15 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren will always remember Grandpa’s contagious smile, his love of planes, trains and automobiles, the twinkle in his eye and the fact that he loved to take them for donuts.
The service will be held on March 17 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Mariposa and East Avenue in Chico at 11 a.m. The interment will be in Chester at a later date.