- Dolores (Rusty) Marie Lauer Jasper passed away Aug. 26, 2012, in Orofino.
She was born Nov. 12, 1921, on a small dairy farm in the village of Shiocton, Wis., near Green Bay, the fourth of six children born to William and Mary Lauer, who both had twin siblings who were married to each other.
After graduating from high school, Dolores studied nursing at St. Mary's Hospital and Nursing School in Green Bay. Upon graduating as a registered nurse, and with World War II before us, she enlisted in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps and was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant, and later, a Captain. She met her future husband and lifelong love, Morris (Gene) Eugene Jasper, in New York City, while both were waiting to be shipped to the European theater of war. They sailed together to England aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, the superliner of the Cunard line that had been converted into a troop ship.
Gene Jasper was a 1st Lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne and served throughout France, Holland, Belgium and Germany, including the Battle of the Bulge. After the war she attended art school in Denver, while Gene attended business school there. They married in 1947 and lived briefly in Illinois and Wisconsin before moving west to Spokane in 1952. As their family grew to 11 children, Rusty worked on and off as an RN at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, while Gene worked for Consolidated Freightways. In 1963, they moved to Orofino, where Gene worked for Star Motor Freight and Riverside Water District mostly, and Rusty worked, periodically, as an RN at Clearwater Valley Hospital and was a full-time Mom, then Grandma.
Rusty was preceded in death by her husband, Gene, in 2001. She is survived by her brother, Donald Lauer of San Antonio, Texas; and 11 children: Mary Lee Montgomery of Spokane, Cindy Ponozzo of Orofino, Judy Fuller of Orofino, Bill Jasper of Coeur d'Alene, Jenne Byrne of Arrow Junction, Idaho, Bob Jasper of Lewiston, Jon Jasper of Lewiston, Jerry Jasper of Bonney Lake, Wash.; Lorri Bertin of Altadena, Calif., Tom Jasper of Orofino and Tim Jasper of Walla Walla. She is also survived by 30 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
The rosary will be said at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pine Hills Funeral Chapel in Orofino. The Latin Tridentine Requiem Mass will be celebrated by Father Michael Irwin of Coeur d'Alene at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Theresa's Catholic Church (Kalaspo Ave. & C St.) in Orofino, followed by graveside service and burial at Riverside Cemetery in Orofino. A reception will follow at the Orofino City Park.
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1921 - 2012 (90 years)
Military Service
