William (Bill) Fred Maas

William Fred (Bill) Maas (89) passed away on May 1, 2007 at the Boundary County Nursing Home in Bonners ferry, Idaho. Graveside Services will be held on Saturday, May 5, 2007 at 1:00 P.M. at the Grandview Cemetery, Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Bill was born in Belleville, Illinois on October 15, 1917 to Fred G. and Mollie (Hafley) Maas. He started school in Freeburg, Illinois, but in 1926 he moved to Bonners Ferry with his parents. He attended Sheridan School and Bonners Ferry High School, often riding horseback to school so he could turn out for football. He graduated in 1935. After graduation, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps and was stationed at Heyburn State Park, Chatcolet, Idaho. After the CCC’s were closed in 1940 he was appointed as foreman for the National Park Service at Chatcolet. On September 8, 1940 he married Evelyn Kanikeberg in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. In the fall of 1941, they moved to Bremerton, Washington where Bill worked in the Navy Ship Yard as a sheet metal worker. In September of 1943 they returned to Bonners Ferry, Idaho and the ranch in District 2. Here they built a new house from lumber cut from their own logs with a portable mill. They raised beef cattle, dairy cattle, hay and grain. Bill served on the School Board from 1948 until 1960. In 1957 he was appointed deputy fire warden for the State of Idaho and in 1960 was state fire warden until his retirement in 1980. He served on the board of the Soil Conservation District and was a 50 year member the Kiwanis Club. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Evelyn, grandson Mark Widman, Brother Carl and nephew William. Survivors include: daughter Billie Jean Widman and husband Duane of Rosalia, WA; granddaughter Amy Gehring and husband Clay of Great Falls, MT; great-grandsons Anthony and Riley Gehring of Great Falls, MT; sisters: Dorothy Friedly of Olympia, WA; Sharon Wiseman of Sandpoint, ID; brothers: Gerhart and Alvin Maas of Bonners Ferry, ID; and numerous Nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials to the Fry Foundation.