Elwood Voll

Elwood Voll, long time Boundary County resident passed on to his Lord Thursday, January 6, 2011, after a short illness. Services were held on Saturday, Janaury 15, 2011 at 11:00 am in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Bonners Ferry, Idaho Elwood Voll was born to Knute and Margaret Davis Voll March 6, 1925, in Butte, Montana. He was raised there until the death of his father who worked in the mines. His mother Margaret, his older brother Kenneth, and he moved to Paradise Valley, Boundary County, Idaho, where they constructed a lovely log home. On September 2, 1950, Elwood married Elsie Jean Merrifield, the fourth child of Lynn Earl and Myrtle Merrifield. The couple lived in Paradise Valley for many years and later moved to Bonners Ferry for the rest of their lives. In 1960, Elwood and Elsie lost their still-born son, Ken Don Voll. From the time that Elwood roamed the hills, mountains, and woods of Boundary County, he developed a great love of nature and particularly enjoyed bird watching. Elsie and Elwood lived in a Forest Service lookout one summer, a time that he would always treasure. In addition, he raised lovely roses and vegetables in his gardens, although he said that he could never be the garden lover that his dear grandma Hannah Davis Swartz was. Elwood’s Grandma Hannah was most influential in his spiritual development. She lived her life daily, loving God. From the time that he was a young boy in Butte, he would arise on Sunday morning, get offering money from his father, and attend the church there. When he moved to Bonners Ferry, he joined others at the Paradise Valley church. As many young men, he questioned his faith at some point, until he found a most important verse that spoke to him: Romans 10:9, where he was told that if he believed, he would be saved. From that point, he was a devout believer who proudly shared his firm belief. During his life, Elwood’s employment began as a young boy, selling subscriptions to Liberty magazine and as a janitor at church. He hauled pulp wood, fought forest fire fighter, and helped in the Dist. 3 and 5 floods. He worked at Sigmund’s grocery, the surveying and installation for Paradise Valley water association, Kootenai Valley Produce Co., Kootenai Valley Creamery, UP Railroad, the Forest Service, on a lookout, and as security for W-I mill. He volunteered at the Boundary County Arrangements to be announced and a full obituary to follow.