Audrey Loretta Thayer

Audrey Loretta (McCabe) Thayer was born on June 28, 1926 and passed away peacefully in her home on April 2, 2022. The first in her family to be birthed in a hospital, Audrey was born to Edmund and Grace A. (Dull) McCabe in Spokane, Washington, where she grew up and eventually met the love of her life, George Eli Thayer. They eloped and were married at the Hitching Post in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho on September 26, 1942, a marriage that lasted over 76 years. With the onset of WWII, George enlisted in the United States Navy, and Audrey was able to follow him throughout his military career. An adventurer from the beginning, she went with George first to Maryland, then Oklahoma where she worked on base in the military laundry, and later back to Maryland where she worked as a cartographer at a top-secret U.S. facility. Daily she would travel down a wooded path to a camouflaged, subterranean building where she worked as a “runner,” delivering memos among high-level commanders in the military theater. Following the end of the war, the couple returned with daughter Tina to raise their family in Spokane, where their son Arthur was soon born. After diligently working to save enough money, George and Audrey purchased their first plot of farmland on the Rathdrum Prairie in 1949, developing their dream of working the land while living in a rustic little home with an outhouse and a handpump for water. They cultivated Thayer Seed & Sod and built their current home, and their children started their own families. In 1966 the first of seven grandchildren was born, continuing the legacy which grew to include 16 great grandchildren and 16 great-great grandchildren. Audrey’s passion for family became a natural avenue into extensive research of history and genealogy. Her generous heart and deep love towards friends and family was reflected in the frequent welcoming of guests and visitors. She will also be remembered for her affection for animals of all kinds. Audrey was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Wayne, Byron (Bud), Dale, and Claude, sisters Phyllis (Jean) Weremiczyk and Delma Sipe, her husband George, and her daughter Tina C. Thayer-Canning. She is survived by her sister Shirley (Morlan), her son Arthur R. Thayer, 39 “grands,” several nieces and nephews, and will be remembered fondly by countless others. A celebration of life for Audrey will be held at Riplinger Funeral Home (4305 N. Division St., Spokane, WA) on Thursday, April 14 at 1:00 p.m. Following, interment and a reception will be held at Fairmount Memorial Park (5200 W. Wellesley Ave., Spokane, WA) at 2:30 p.m.