Dr. R. Dean Luther, 96
Ralph Dean Luther passed away at home in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Jan. 3, 2012. His only child, Joan, and his son-in-law, Ken Young, were by his side. His beloved wife, Mary, predeceased him by six years.
Dean was born July 1, 1915, in Ligonier, Pa.
The Luthers, Welsh immigrants, have lived in the Ligonier Valley near Pittsburgh, Pa., since the American Revolution. Dean was the last survivor of the six children of Crystal and Dick Luther. He moved to California with his uncle, Dean Luther, who was a bridge and highways project engineer; and, attended UC Berkeley before the Bay Bridge was built. He returned to Pennsylvania to attend Temple Medical School where he met another medical student, Mary Joan Queeney. The sweethearts married after medical school. When Dr. Luther was stationed to Gorgas Hospital, the Pacific Rim Army Medical Surgery for the severely wounded during World War II, they took their infant daughter, Joan Queeney Luther, with them to live in Panama for the next three years.
When they returned stateside, a debate about where to settle down ensued. Dr. Mary wished to live in Florida; Dr. Dean wished to move to Alaska. Dr. Dean was an avid fly fisherman and game hunter from the ages of 8 to 90. The final compromise was to settle in Spokane, Wash., where Dr. Luther practiced Orthopedic Surgery with the Rockwood Clinic, while Dr. Mary taught nursing for Sacred Heart Nursing School and went on to become Director of The Spokane County Health Department.
Dean fly fished and hunted happily for many years in the Pacific Northwest. The couple enjoyed social life, golf and tennis at the Hayden Lake Country Club; and in 1975 bought a winter home in Rancho Mirage. They had the pleasure of traveling the world with their friends.
Memorial Celebration will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, at Yates Funeral Homes, Hayden Chapel, 373 East Hayden Ave. Dean will be laid to rest beside his beloved Mary at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens. Yates Funeral Homes, Hayden Chapel, has been entrusted with the care of final arrangements.
Please visit Dean's memorial and sign his online guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com. A memorial celebration was held for Dean's friends at The Springs Club in Rancho Mirage.