Ball and Dodd Funeral Home

After the service, she approached the preacher and posed her question. Why, she wondered, was there no Father’s Day?“The preacher was eloquent, though he didn’t even mention the word ‘father,’ ” she recalled of the sermon at Central Methodist Church in a later interview.“I began thinking of my mother, who passed away in 1898 while I was yet a child. My thoughts naturally turned to my father, William J. Smart, who was left with the responsibility of rearing six children,” Dodd, who herself passed away in 1978, is quoted as saying.Along with Mark Wheeler and George Forbes, Dodd submitted an official petition for the establishment of Father’s Day. It was positively received.Initially, Dodd wanted the first Father’s Day to be on June 5, her father’s birthday. Clerics that year asked for more time to prepare proper sermons.On Monday, June 6, 1910, the YMCA convened a meeting with Dodd and the Spokane Ministerial Alliance. The group enthusiastically endorsed the idea of Father’s Day, to begin on June 19, 1910.On that day, Dodd attended the service at her new church – the Centenary Presbyterian Church, now known as Knox Presbyterian Church at Post Street and Knox Avenue.The mayor issued a proclamation declaring Father’s Day, and the governor made it an official observance statewide, according to historic preservation consultant Linda Yeomans.Community groups prepared home dinners and handed out roses (red if you had a living father, and white if your father was deceased).Dodd, with her infant son in her arms, rode in a two-horse carriage delivering flowers and gifts to orphans, the aged, hospital patients and prisoners.Around the nation, an observance takes holdFollowing news coverage of the first Father’s Day, congratulatory telegrams streamed in from around the country. One of the first correspondents was William Jennings Bryan, a former presidential candidate and acclaimed orator.The observance spread across the nation over the next 60 years, in large part through Dodd’s efforts, Yeomans sai... (The Spokesman-Review)

Melissa Halverson of Spokane and her family found themselves diving quickly into the world of funeral expenses after her mother died unexpectedly in 2015. What Halverson and her family found was that a little knowledge ahead of time was key. She and her husband had already done some research into funeral expenses for themselves, so they were on firmer footing.“It did give us a reminder this is something that needs to be taken care of,” she said. “We both want cremation. It’s important that you let your family know. Burial is very expensive, and we don’t want any of our family to be saddled with any of that.”She added, “We have some family members who don’t want to be cremated. They’re setting aside money, but we’re looking at $10,000 to $15,000 for burial and all the options.”Depending on where survivors live, the cost of funeral services varies across Washington state, a new survey found.People’s Memorial Association, a funeral education and advocacy group, researched prices statewide as of Dec. 31 among 178 funeral homes handling at least 10 cases in 2015. The group seeks more transparency in how people are informed about various costs for arrangements.In Spokane for instance, families pay more for a basic cremation without any memorial service – at an average price of $1,250 to $1,300 – than about $850 to $900 charged in higher-population counties near Seattle, said Kathy Long, the association’s director.While noting survivors’ grief, she suggests families seek comparison pricing and plan ahead if possible.“The thing that makes the biggest difference is first of all families discuss what you want,” Long said. “That gives you the power to say at a funeral home, ‘This is what I want, nothing more.’ ”“Even if you haven’t discussed anything, at least know you can shop around. It’s OK, because it can be a very expensive thing. It can be all over the place.”A statewide average cost for basic cremation came to $1,363 but ranges from $490 to $4,000, the group said. An average price for immedia... (The Spokesman-Review)