Bertie Lou HOWRY

1927 - 2021

On September 3, 2021, at 3:20 p.m. Bertie Lou Baze Howry passed away at Aspen Senior Care Facility in Spokane, Washington. Bertie Lou Baze was born on July 15, 1927, in Sunnyside, Washington. She was the fourth child of Charles "Bert" Baze and Mable "Bunt" James Baze. Her siblings were Melvin, Alice, Earl, Carl, Joe, Kenny, and Ellen. She lived in Outlook, Washington with her parents through high school. Bertie attended Outlook Elementary School and graduated from Sunnyside High School with the class of 1945. In high school she participated on the tennis, basketball, softball, tumbling, and debate teams. Bertie married Rex Leo Howry on September 12, 1948, in Salem, Oregon. They had three children, Melvin, Susan, and Daniel. Since her family was involved in the thoroughbred racing industry, she was employed on both the "back side" and "front side" at different racetracks. On the "back side" she worked helping her father and brothers with the horses. She also was an owner/trainer with her husband. On the "front side" she worked in the concession stands and as a Mutual Clerk. Bertie was one of the first women Mutual Clerk to work in California and one of the first women members of Pari-Mutual Employees Guild of California Local 280. Her husband Rex was also involved in the racing industry, and they lived in multiple cities. A few of these locations were Portland, Oregon, Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, Omaha, Nebraska, and Ruidoso, New Mexico. In 1968 Bertie and her family moved to San Mateo, California. She began working for the U.S. Postal Service. Bertie's beginning position was a Letter Sorting Clerk and quickly moved up the ranks. She retired from the Post Office in 1993. Bertie retired from the Pari-Mutuals in 1994. In 2015 Bertie purchased property from Rex's family and relocated from San Mateo to Cheney, Washington. Bertie loved her family, horse racing, reading, dancing, singing, and puzzles. She especially enjoyed watching and cheering for her grandchildren playing sports in high school and college. She really disliked seeing spelling and proof-reading errors in newspapers and critiqued them constantly. She extensively traveled the world by herself, including England, Russia, and Israel to name a few. Bertie was a supporter and contributor for many causes and organizations. Some of the groups she contributed to were Planned Parenthood, Public Broadcasting Systems (PBS), Habitat for Humanity, and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Bertie was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Rex, her brothers Melvin, Earl, Carl, Kenny, and sisters Alice and Ellen. Bertie is survived by her son Melvin and wife Linda, daughter Susan, and son Daniel and his wife Glenda. She is also survived by her grandchildren Rex (Aaron) and his wife Jenny; Ryan and his wife Paulina; Keenan and his wife Alisa; Racheal and her husband Kevin; Shana; Terra and her husband Adam; Marina; and Cole, and her great-grandsons Keenan II, Adian, and great-granddaughter Alessya. Bertie is also survived by her brother Joe and wife Beverly, brother-in-law Ralph Burwell, and sister-in-law Alice, and many nieces and nephews. Bertie and Rex's ashes will be interred at Lower Valley Memorial Gardens in Sunnyside, Washington. A Memorial service will be held at Cheney Funeral Chapel on Saturday, October 16th at 3:00 pm. Reception will follow at the funeral home. Online guestbook at cheneyfuneral.com.