John Raphael McBRIDE

1930 - 2019

McBRIDE John Raphael (Age 89) John Raphael McBride (89) was born on October 24, 1930, and died December 18, 2019, of natural causes. He was predeceased by his son, John Raphael McBride, Jr. John is survived by his wife Rita, his children Kathleen Leifer, Seamus McBride, Valerie Sampson (Bob), Suzanne Mack (Paul), Angela Moore, Margaret McBride (Geoffrey), Patricia Murray (Don), Julia Napier, Cindy Koker (Bill), Terri Shields (Tim), Mary Kay York (Louie), Jeannie Pearson (Rick). John leaves a legacy of 24 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. A native of Spokane, John attended Catholic schools. He served in the Air Force during the Korean conflict. A man of deep faith, John was a member of St. Charles Catholic Church until he moved, in retirement, to Post Falls, Idaho where he faithfully attended St. George's Catholic Church. John was a lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus and enjoyed community service including participating in soup kitchen service. Along with one Mr. Sullivan, John initiated the Pee Wee Baseball and Junior National Baseball leagues in Spokane. John was the classic self-made man. As a young man, he worked as many as three jobs at a time to support his young family. After employment in the Spokane County Assessor's office, John confidently ran and was elected to the position of Spokane County Assessor in 1976, a position he held for a four-year term. When told by a sitting member of the Spokane County Commission that the assessor's budget was not John's to determine, but that of the Commission, John's solution was to run for Spokane County Commissioner. John was convincingly elected to the Commission for three consecutive terms, serving as a County Commissioner from 1981 to 1992 when he retired. John was known for his special kindness to the staff working for Spokane County and also enjoyed acting as master of ceremonies at the yearly Spokane County Utilities golf tournament. Retirement was just as busy for John. He enjoyed the company of family, friends and the occasional stranger. All were welcome to John and Rita's home. John always had a construction project on tap for someone in need. John and Rita hosted countless family events with copious amounts of wonderful food prepared by Rita complemented by John's inimitable ability to tell a story. On Monday, December 23, 2019, at 10:00 AM a funeral mass will be held to celebrate the life of John Raphael McBride at St. George's Catholic Church in Post Falls, Idaho. Burial following in Spokane at Holy Cross Cemetery, 7200 N. Wall at 1:00 PM. English Funeral Chapel has been entrusted with the arrangements.