Lonnie Juran

— 2/27/2014

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Lonnie Leroy Juran was born Sept. 6, 1920, to Czechoslovakian parents, Emma Petranek Juran and Henry Juran, near Wagner, S.D. With his dad and four brothers he worked the farm, raised livestock and, like other families of that era, struggled to make a living. He rode horses for work, entertainment and to the one-room schoolhouse with other farm kids.

In 1934, the family sold almost everything they had, loaded the rest on an old Whippet truck, took a few of their horses and moved to Idaho to escape the Dust Bowl. They eventually settled on a farm near Moscow.

Lonnie met Violet Smithwick at a dance in Moscow, where she was attending the University of Idaho. On Sept. 20, 1941, they were married at the Juran family farm and then moved to Seattle to begin work at Boeing.

The Army drafted Lonnie in 1945, and he was stationed at Adak on the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. He was honorably discharged from the Army with the rank of staff sergeant.

The Lewiston-Clarkston Valley was home to the Jurans for many years, where Lonnie was well known in the auto parts business. After their retirement, they enjoyed traveling with friends and family to many areas of the U.S.

Our husband, Dad, Grandpa and GG-Pop passed on to Heaven on Thursday, Feb. 27. We will miss his stories, his sense of humor and his ability to fix almost anything.

He is survived by "Vi", his wife of 72 years; his "older" daughter, Donna (Jeff) Johnson and "younger" daughter Karen (Dennis) Thorson of Lewiston; grandchildren Kirk (Taiya) Johnson of Kamiah, Derek (Tiffany) Johnson of Genesee, Jared Johnson of Lewiston and Cori Cardwell (fiance Dick Straw) of Clarkston; and nine great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers, Arthur, Hank, Irvin and Ben. A graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 7, in the Garden of Honor at Lewis-Clark Memorial Gardens in Lewiston.

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