DWANE M. McILROY obituary

Dwane M. McIlroy, 84, of Yakima, Wash.,, died Saturday, April 23, 2005, at his home.

Viewing will be from noon to 8 p.m. today at Keith & Keith Funeral Home in Yakima. A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Westside Baptist Church. A second memorial service will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Nile Valley Community Church. Family committal services and interment will be at West Hills Memorial Park.

Dwane was born Jan. 1, 1921, at Minot, N.D., to Floyd and Hazel (Erickson) McIlroy. He was raised and educated in Havre, where he graduated from Havre High School and attended Northern Montana College. He then served with the U.S. Merchant Marines during World War II.

Dwane worked as a stationary engineer and plumber in Havre at Northern Montana Hospital and at Northern Montana College, from where he retired in 1984. He moved to Washington and worked for Flying H Youth Ranch in the Nile Valley for the next 20 years. He helped with everything from plumbing and electrical to maintenance and carpentry. Dwane loved being a part of the ministry of love working with teenage boys.

In 2002, Dwane and Anne moved to Yakima because Dwane had a stroke. They lived with their daughter, Susan, and family. The couple attended Westside Baptist Church.

Dwane was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Hazel McIlroy; his stepmother, Helen McIlroy; a sister, Marion Baird; and by three stepbrothers, Kenneth, Glenn and Curtis Knudtson.

Survivors include his wife, Anne McIlroy of Yakima; a sister, Genevieve Berner of Mesa, Ariz .; his children, Marion (Randy) Mattern of Williston, N.D., Susan (Chris) Kroll of Yakima, David (Sheila) McIlroy of Starbuck, Wash., Marlene (Brian) Jekel of Pensacola, Fla., Floyd Steven (Kelly) McIlroy of Goodland, Kan., and Paul (Lauren) McIlroy of Keaau, Hawaii; 23 grandchildren and one great-grandson.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Flying H Youth Ranch, in care of Keith & Keith Funeral Home.