Zellma Cope Gordon, 85
Zellma Cope Gordon, longtime North Idaho resident, passed away peacefully April 15, 2011, at home with family.
Born in 1926 in Tropic, Utah, to Benjamin and Marcia Leah Cope, Zellma worked at The Coeur d'Alene Resort as a housekeeper for 17 years. Previously, along with her husband Robert, owned and operated the Conoco station on the corner of Government Way and Hayden Avenue. They homesteaded in Hayden after moving to the area in 1949, where she resided for 62 years.
Zellma loved crocheting, watching movies, playing cards with friends and had a zest for life that could light up a room. She spent much of her time reading, watching "Perry Mason" and displaying her handicrafts at the North Idaho Fair, earning several ribbons.
She is survived by her children, Barbara (David) Churilla, Terry (JoAnn) Gordon, Helen (John) Nelson and Carolyn (Ron) Sampert; and 19 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, many of whom live locally and brought great joy to her later years.
Her son, Robert Jerry Gordon, passed away in the jungles of Vietnam on the same day of his mother's death in 1969 and is remembered with the Veterans' Memorial in front of Hayden City Hall. She was preceded in death by her sibling, Nylan Cope.
Additional survivors include her siblings, Sanna Weeks, John Demont Cope, Rosaleen Degering, Rena Dott Bishop, Marina Adell Cope and Benjamin Elwin Cope, all of whom reside in other states.
A celebration of Zellma's full life will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 21, 2011, at the LDS Hayden Stake Center, 2293 West Hanley Ave., Coeur d'Alene.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial gifts may be made to the Missionary funds of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or toward the upkeep of the PFC Robert J. Gordon Memorial Plaza in Hayden.
She will be laid to rest at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens next to her husband of 38 years who preceded her in death in 1982.
Bell Tower Funeral Home, Post Falls, has been entrusted with arrangements.
Please visit Zellma's only memorial at belltowerfuneralhome.com.