Ember Huchala

Ember Huchala, 86, passed away peacefully on Sept. 3, 2010.

Ember was born on Christmas Day 1923 in Clinton, Iowa, attended high school in Granville, Ill., and then became a fashion model in Chicago.

During World War II, she joined the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services) and received a commendation for her work as an air traffic control tower operator at the first Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. After the war, she earned a degree in English at the University of Illinois.

Ember moved to Libby in 1949, where she met her husband-to-be, Tom, at a New Year’s Eve dance. They married Sept. 1, 1951. In the fall of 1954, they moved to Seattle so Tom could attend medical school. Ember was a bank teller in Libby and Seattle, and later worked as a real estate agent.

She is survived by her husband, Tom Sr.; brother, Wilbur Wilson; sisters, Ellen Germain and Elaine McClish; son, Thomas Huchala Jr,; two grandsons; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services were held on Sept. 17 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Burien, Wash. A graveside service followed at Tahoma National Cemetery.

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(Information submitted by survivors).