Petey Brucker: 1952-2024

October 15,1952 - April 22, 2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 12, 2024 at 6:30AM

Petey dedicated his life to protecting the extraordinary Salmon River watershed. He helped found local organizations including "Salmon River Concerned Citizens" to eliminate the aerial spray of herbicides; "Salmon River Mining Council," Salmon River Volunteer Fire and Rescue, Klamath Forest Alliance and in 1992 co-founded the Salmon River Restoration Council (SRRC) with Jim Villeponteaux.

Sandra Fredrickson: 1939-2024

April 24,1939 - May 24, 2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 12, 2024 at 6:00AM

Sandra claimed her greatest adventure in life was taking a year off from nursing to sail the South Pacific (with her life partner, John) in a 32-foot sailing vessel. She is survived by her partner, John Hepplewhite; sister, Tracey Mueller; nieces and nephews, Jan, Krisa, Kirk and Jenny.

Alton “Whit” Lewis: 1937-2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 10, 2024 at 7:00AM

In 2006, he married his childhood sweetheart, Beverly Taplin, and they moved to Chelsea, Vermont, where Beverly had been born. He spent his time in Vermont “care-taking” the Taplin Farm as he liked to call it, and then as caregiver to Beverly as her health declined with dementia.

Don Nielsen

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 10, 2024 at 6:30AM

Midway through his fellowship, during a Christmas trip to Arcata, Don and his wife Jeanette and young son Randy were marooned in Arcata during the “thousand-year flood” of 1964. Unable to return to his teaching at WSU, Don completed his master's in mathematics at HSU, and also earned a lifetime teaching credential.

Mike Knight: 1951-2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 9, 2024 at 7:30AM

By the time Mike and Ann met, he was a roofer and skilled carpenter. They met while in line in the hardware section of Sears in the old Eureka Mall.

Martin Michael Campusano: 1960-2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 9, 2024 at 7:00AM

As a young man, Martin’s journey in life led him to a number of places such as, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Crescent City. He eventually joined his mother’s move to McKinleyville, California, and spent a good part of his life in and around Eureka, California, where he seemed to have found home.

Donna Goddard: 1934-2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 9, 2024 at 6:30AM

Donna was never afraid of a hard day’s work and had some very interesting jobs; she worked as a switchboard operator at the local phone company, tallied lumber for Arcata Redwood, ran North Bay Firewood with her son, Gary, and even operated the chop saw at Simpson Timber Co. In her time off she enjoyed spending time with family and friends at their place in Redwood Creek, fishing on the Klamath, and bowling; in fact, she was an expert (competitive) bowler, with many trophies to prove it. Donna is survived by her children, Renee, David, Gary and Susan; grandchildren, Jennifer, Bobbi, Josh, Cody and Tucker; and great grandchildren, Layla, Cameron, Kaileigh, Camerin, Tyler, Invy and Abby.

Joe (Joseph) Frank Lewis: 1950 - 2024

By North Coast Journal Staff on July 9, 2024 at 4:00AM

He married his high school sweetheart Laura Waterson, with whom he had a daughter, Rebecca Lynne, born in 1973. They resided in Ferndale for the next 30 years until Laura’s death.

Kyle Steven Wear: 1970 —2024

By Kimberly Wear on June 16, 2024 at 5:00AM

Timothy Christopher Trower: 1965 - 2024

on June 15, 2024 at 6:38AM

Tim graduated from Ferndale High in 1984, and he spent most of his weekends and summers combing the Mattole Valley, with various high school friends. Tim joined the Coast Guard in 1987, where he was trained as a Machinery Technician second class.  During his six years of service, he married Joan LaPierre, served as the last lighthouse keeper in Mukilteo, Washington, and when leaving the Coast Guard, moved to Mississippi in 1993, returning to California in the summer of 1994, and working for 3 years for Van Meter Logging as a maintenance mechanic.  In July of 1997, he was hired by the Mattole now Unified School District, serving as custodian and then Maintenance Lead for 3 campuses, which included Triple Junction High School, until 2012.  During that time, he acquired his Water Distribution Operator license.  He was a member of Honeydew Volunteer Fire Company, serving as Captain and eventually fire Chief for 5 years.