Funeral services for Chester C. Churchill, former Ellensburg mayor who died in Wenatchee, Sunday will be held at the Honeycutt Chapel here Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock.
Chester C. Churchill, 72, former mayor Ellensburg, former president of the Ellensburg Telephone Co., and widely known livestock man, died of a heart attack Monday afternoon at his home in Wenatchee where Mr. and Mrs. Churchill have been living of late.
The funeral will be in Ellensburg in charge of the Masonic Lodge of which he had been a member for many years and of which he had served as officer. The time will depend on the arrival of his son, Flight Officer George H. Churchill, who is stationed at Palm Springs, Calif., with the Army Air Transport command.
Churchill was born in Harrisburg, Oregon, July 18, 1871. His father came across the plains from the midwest by ox team in 1851, with his parents. After his father died, his mother brought the family to Ellensburg in 1887 and the Churchills were for many years identified with farming and the livestock business here. In 1908, with the late John Faust, he purchased the local telephone exchange and they operated it as the Ellensburg Telephone Co. Churchill later sold his interests in that business and became a cattle buyer, continuing in that business until the family moved to Spokane a few years ago and purchased an apartment house. Later they moved to Wenatchee.
He was mayor of Ellensburg from 1922 to 1924 and was active in community affairs throughout his life. He belonged to Ellensburg Lodge No. 37 A. F. and M., also the Royal Arch and Temple Commandery. He was also a member of Affifi Temple of the Shrine. He was an active member of the Republican Party.
He was married in 1896 [ 1897, per marriage record] to Amelia Houser, also a valley pioneer, who survives him. He is also survived by three daughters, Mrs. Eunice Krievel, Seattle, and Mrs. Lois Mussen of Wenatchee; one son, Flight Officer George Churchill; and a sister, Miss Ann Churchill of Ellensburg.
