Ben R. Rolphe Jr., 83

On Monday, Oct. 5, 2015, Ben R. Rolphe Jr. was awarded his “second set of wings” and left this world to be with his Lord and Savior. Ben was born June 19, 1932, in Los Angeles, Calif., to Ben R. and LaVerne Bronson Rolphe. Ben enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1949 and graduated from flight training school as a Second Lieutenant in June 1950 after earning his “first set of wings.” He then piloted a Douglas A-26 Invader in the Korean War and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism and extraordinary achievement during aerial flight combat missions. (However, Ben always said the real heroes were those who didn’t make it home.)

In April 1951, Ben married Shirley G. Foote of Silverton, Ore. Following Ben’s honorable discharge from the Air Force, they moved to California. It was there that Ben’s natural abilities and spirit as an entrepreneur took root. In the early mornings, he delivered milk door-to-door in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and then later changed to a more lucrative job delivering bread to stores throughout the San Jose/Los Gatos area. At the same time, he attended night classes at the University of Santa Clara, Law School. He never took the “Bar,” but instead applied his knowledge of “the law” in his many future businesses and endeavors yet to come.

In 1964, Ben and Shirley moved to Bend, Ore., where they resided until 1971 when they relocated to Kalispell, Mont. During Ben’s marriage to Shirley, they had three children, Hope, Randy and Pennie. Shirley preceded Ben in death in August 1976. Following Shirley’s death, Ben, his son, Randy and close family friends/business partners, Dick and Charlie Staples, relocated their company, Century Publishing Company, to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

On Feb. 14, 1980, he married Anna Marie Swan. Together, they shared a love of nature, flowers and beautiful landscape. Ben had a knack for envisioning what was possible before it was even created. They created the beautiful estate in Hayden Lake, Idaho, known today as Villa des Fleurs. He and Anna have spent many years together traveling the world via land, sea and air along with visiting children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren whenever they could.

Over Ben’s lifetime, he started, operated and sold several successful companies in varying industries, the latest being Century Publishing Company which is still operating in Post Falls, Idaho, under different ownership.

Ben was passionate about community service. Throughout the years, he served on the Boards of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, the North Idaho College Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America — Kootenai County, the Panhandle Council for the Aged, the University of Idaho Business School, was a founding Director of bankcda and the Founding President of the Post Falls Rotary. Because he and Anna were so dedicated to community service and involvement, they were jointly awarded “Citizens of the Year” in 1996 by the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce.

Ben’s first love, excluding family, was flying. Since he was a very young boy, he always enjoyed flying. He used to say that some of his best ideas came to him while he was boring holes in the sky. Some of his other hobbies included restoring antique cars with his son and fly-fishing locally and around the world. He and Anna’s favorite place to escape and relax was at their log cabin on the St. Joe River. In his most recent years, Ben wrote and became a published and accomplished author of his auto-biography and a series of four Christian, fiction books.

Ben was preceded in death by his parents, Ben and LaVerne Rolphe; brother Rolly who died as an infant and his first wife, Shirley. He is survived by his wife, Anna; two sisters Bonnie Wendt and Melody Thomasson; daughters Hope Anderson (married to Craig) and Pennie Sanders (married to Mark); son Randy Rolphe (married to Sandie); stepdaughter Lori Frey Butler (married to Chris); stepson Jeff Frey (married to Kristi); 17 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

A celebration of his life will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, at the First Presbyterian Church, 521 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d’Alene, with Yates Funeral Homes, Coeur d’Alene Chapel, in care of the arrangements.

Ben believed strongly in giving to worthy organizations that help the less fortunate and help spread the saving grace of his Lord and Savior. The family requests that, in place of flowers, donations be made to International Teams, a world-wide Christian outreach organization at http://www.iteams.us/action/give “for the benefit of Craig Anderson” (son-in-law), or please consider giving to your own favorite charity. You may visit Ben’s online memorial and sign his guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.