Inez Vogtman passed away peacefully on September 26, 2021 at Bishop Place in Pullman Washington.  She was 103 years old.

Inez was born in Ridgeway, Iowa, on December 6, 1917.  Her siblings were a brother LaVerne and a sister Neva, who both preceded her in death. The family moved from Ridgeway to Thief River Falls in Northern Minnesota when Inez was 14 years old to help her grandparents with the family farm.  Inez did all the various farm chores including bucking hay bales, and was the youngster most trusted by Grandpa to operate their John Deere tractor.

Inez then attended two years of teachers college.  At the age of 20, Inez taught grades 1 thru 8 (23 students) in a one-room school near Spooner, Minnesota.  Winters were harsh.   She skied several miles to school and then had to start a fire in the school's wood stove before she could begin teaching classes.  Inez told her family that some of the 8 ^th grade boys were older than she was.  They helped her split wood.

Later, while working as a waitress in the main dining room at Lake Itasca State Park, Inez met Donald Vogtman who worked at the boating docks.  Inez was quite a catch and they were married on December 28, 1941.

Inez then moved to Corvallis, Oregon so Donald could finish College.  She then cared for their residence as Donald was inducted into the U.S. Army in June of 1942.  Donald was then honorably discharged on their 4-year wedding anniversary date of Dec 28 ^th 1945, since World War II had ended on September 2 ^nd of that year.

Inez was a home maker for many years while raising 6 boys.  Due to Donald's career as a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the family moved to many different locations which included Thief River Falls, Minnesota; Trinidad, Colorado; Sand Lake Game Refuge in South Dakota; Bismarck, North Dakota; Boise, Idaho; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and finally to Edina, Minnesota where the family resided for 37 years.  While in Edina, Inez worked for many years at the European Health Spa and also volunteered much of her time at Value Village.  After the death of her husband, Inez moved to Moscow in 2001 to be near her children and to get away from the harsh Minnesota Winters.

Inez was an incredible woman who remained self-sufficient and, remarkably, lived on her own in Moscow until May of this year when she moved to Bishop Place in Pullman for the last 4 months of her life.   She had many friends she met at the 1912 Senior Center and often played cards and board games with her friends.  Inez also enjoyed many trips with the Road Runners, played golf into her eighties, bowled into her nineties, and was a joy to be around.  She kept busy crocheting numerous hats, scarves, afghans and also mastered the art of carving many small figurines.  Inez enjoyed following the Minnesota Vikings, Twins, Seattle Seahawks, Mariners and the Gonzaga basketball team.

Inez loved being with her children and their extended families and will be deeply missed.  Survivors include all of her six sons, Douglas (Sharon), Kenneth (Lynda), Robert (Janet), Glenn (Barbara), Ray (Mary), and Clifford (Susan); numerous grandchildren; great grandchildren; and great, great grandchildren.  A small family service will be held in Minnesota at a later date where she will be reunited with her husband.

Inez and her family request that any donations be made to Friendly Neighbors at the 1912 Senior Center.