Alma Pearson

October 20, 1918 - December 12, 2016

Alma Pearson Obituary A lovely and gracious lady left us on December 12, 2016. Alma Pearson was born October 20, 1918, in Arapaho, Oklahoma, to Justine and Alexander Holstein. Her parents were Germans living and farming in Russia, who, with her two older brothers emigrated to the United States after the forced abdication of Czar Nicholas II. They first settled in Idaho, and when told by friends what great opportunities there were in Oklahoma, they moved there. It took them five years to earn enough money to move back! So when Alma was 5 years old, the family moved back to Coeur dAlene, where she grew up under the protective eye of her mother, who would let her roller skate on only one skate at a time. After graduating from Coeur dAlene High School in 1935, she moved to Spokane, where she lived in the Isabella Club for young, single women in Brownes Addition. She enrolled in Kinman Business School, where she became proficient in office skills which she later used to help her future husband in his fledgling packaging machinery business. After graduating from Kinman, she went to work for Big West Oil Company until she was married. While living in the Isabella Club, she met Reinhold Albert (Lefty) Pearson one day on the tennis court in Coeur dAlene Park in Brownes Addition, and he pursued her until she agreed to marry him. They were married on August 24, 1940, and together they had three children: Jack, Don, and Pam. When her husband was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1955, Alma took care of him through many years of surgeries, radium, and cobalt treatments. She provided continuing support for the next sixteen years as he fought cancer and started the R. A. Pearson Company, building his newly invented and patented machine for erecting 6-pack carrier erectors for the brewing industry followed by his corrugated case erectors and tray formers. Always putting her family first, Alma was a Cub Scout leader for her sons as well as a Hutton Elementary School room mother for many years. After Leftys death in 1971, she went to work at Pearson so that the company would not be sold and would remain in the family. She fulfilled many roles there including President from 1983 until 1992 and Chairman of the Board, retiring in 2003 as Chairman Emeritus. During those years she also joined several womens clubs and began to travel extensively with Leftys sister, Signe, and with friends, nearly all of whom preceded her in death. She also served on the Foundation Board for Deaconess and Valley Health Care for many years and belonged to P.E.O., Chapter CL and the Spokane Garden Club. Throughout the years following her husbands death, she thoroughly enjoyed spending most summer weekends at Coeur dAlene Lake with her family. During her later years, she moved into Rockwood Forest Estates until dementia make it necessary to move into Rockwoods Atrium a skilled nursing facility. Preceded in death by her husband and brothers as well as a host of friends, Alma is survived by her sister, Marie Salisbury; her children, Jack Pearson (Annie Noland), Don Pearson, and Pam Senske (Mike); her grandchildren, Doug Pearson (Heidi McCarthy), Kim Cathcart (Chip), Michael A. Senske (Jennifer), Andrew Senske (Jennifer); 8 great-grandchildren, Andrew, Lauren, Isaac, Aidan, Olivia, and Owen Senske, and Erik and Maddie Cathcart; her former daughter-in-law Charlotte Pearson, as well as several nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank Family First Senior Care for her part-time care in her home preceding her move into the Rockwood Atrium. We are especially grateful to the staff at Rockwood for her exceptional care for the last 17 months and to our brother Don, who made it his mission to spend many hours there nearly every day keeping her company. A memorial service will be held for Alma on Saturday, January 7, 2017, at 1:00 p.m., at Heritage Funeral Home, 508 North Government Way, Spokane, WA 99224. In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make a memorial gift, the family recommends the Employee Education Fund at Rockwood South, 2903 E. 25th Avenue, Spokane, WA 99223.