LANEY, Charlotte Josephine (Peabody) 

Of Kennewick, WA, formerly of Spokane, WA, went home
to be with her Lord and Savior September 24, 2007 at
her home. She is now enjoying the reunion of those
friends who went before her. She was born the first of
three children to Charles and Maude Peabody in
Outlook, Washington. During her recent illness she was
reminiscing about her childhood days on the farm that
her parents homesteaded. That home, although remodeled
many times, still stands today. She attended Granger
High School and graduated as Valedictorian in 1931.
For the past several years she was honored as one of
the oldest alumni attending Granger High's reunions.
She received a special honor at her 75th anniversary
in 2006. She married Harold Alfred Laney on November
4, 1934. They settled in Spokane a few years later
where, early in the 1950's, Harold established the
first automatic transmission repair shop in the
Northwest. They had seven children. Harold and their
son David were killed in an airplane crash in 1959,
leaving Josephine with four children still at home.
Church friends were so helpful during those years -
being a father or big brother to the boys, making
house repairs, and generally making sure that her
needs were taken care of.Josephine also got a job with
the Spokane School District as bookroom clerk at
Sacagawea Junior High School. This was also a gift
from God, since she could be home at the same time as
her school-age children. She accepted Jesus as her
Lord and Personal Savior as a grade school girl and
her life has reflected this decision. As we spoke with
her during her last days she told us to be sure and
let everyone know how much she loved God and her
desire was to always please Him. She was loving and
kind and very concerned that those she met also would
know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. She instilled
that desire in her children's hearts. Each one had the
opportunity to accept Him as a young child. At her
90th birthday celebration tributes from each of her
children attested to the fact that her life reflected
the words she spoke. All spoke of seeing her reading
her Bible and praying each day. In fact, she read
through the Bible every year for the past 23 years.
She was a longtime member of Fourth Memorial Church,
having joined in 1941 and has many friends who still
attend there. After moving to her daughter's home in
Kennewick in April of 1999, she made many new friends
at First Baptist Church in Richland. She played
Mexican dominoes with the seniors of that church
almost every Friday afternoon. She loved it -
especially when she won! She is preceded in death by
her parents; two brothers, George and Robert; husband,
Harold; infant son, Everett; and son, David. She is
survived by her children: Hal (Helen) of Lodi, CA,
Marilyn (Larry) McRae of Kennewick, Don (Pam) of
Austin, TX, Gene of Spokane, Marjorie (Steve) Croyle
of Hayden, ID; 14 grandchildren; 23
great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law; and numerous
nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held Thursday,
September, 27, 2007 from 1:00 to 2:30pm at Ball & Dodd
Funeral Home. Graveside service to follow at 3:00 pm
at Riverside Memorial Park in Spokane, where she will
be buried next to her husband. Memorial Service will
be held at 11:00 am, Friday, September 28, 2007 at
First Baptist Church in Richland. Because of Mom's
great desire to share the Gospel with the world, her
wishes were that memorials help send a young
missionary couple to Southeast Asia. Monies should be
sent to Association of Baptists for World Evangelism,
PO Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585; Account
#013413 and marked as a memorial for Josephine Laney.
The family also wishes to thank Tri-Cities Hospice for
their loving care of Mom during her illness and their
ongoing support during this time.


Sep 26, 2007
Spokesman-Review