Ferne Josephine McEntire

LOGAN, UTAH - - FERNE MCENTIRE

LOGAN- Ferne Josephine McEntire, 90, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, at Legacy House Retirement Community in Logan, Utah.

She was born Jan. 26, 1920, in Preston, Idaho, to Ira Wells and Ida Marion Davis McEntire. She was the fourth of nine children and always treasured her happy growing up years on the family farm in Preston. She was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She excelled academically at school, graduating with honors from Preston High School. She attended LDS Business College in Salt Lake City, Utah and then returned to work for the Federal Land Bank office in Preston for a year.

In 1940, after taking the civil service exam, Ferne went to Washington, D.C. to work for the Railroad Retirement Board. When World War II began, she wanted to be part of the war effort so she transferred to the United States Navy Department. That was the beginning of her career. She worked for the Navy Dept. until her retirement forty years later.

While in Washington, D.C., she combined a full-time job with attending night classes at George Washington University. She graduated in 1948 with a degree in Political Science. She also found time to take up ice skating and to become a proficient ice skater. In 1948, she transferred from Washington, D.C. to the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. She continued her passion for ice skating and became a competitive ice dancer. With a partner, she won several first-place trophies. One of her ice dancing partners was Ben Bearse, whom she married in 1949. They later divorced.

When Hunters Point closed in 1973, she moved to San Diego to work at the Naval Air Station, Miramar, as Director of Civilian Training. In San Diego, she enjoyed being close to her brother, David Wells McEntire. She took classes at San Diego State University and began the demanding process of becoming an ice skating judge. Through years of mandatory trial judging of competitions, Ferne worked her way up to become a national championship judge. She received three national appointments: National Dance Judge, National Figure Judge and National Precision Judge. Because she could judge all events, she was in constant demand across the country for competitions. Being part of the ice skating world was a great joy to her.
In 1981, Ferne retired from the U.S. Navy Department. Shortly after that, she also retired as an ice skating judge. She moved from San Diego to Logan to be close to her family. In Cache Valley, she enjoyed decorating her house, gardening, walks and talks with neighborhood and church friends, family events, her book club, and attending opera and concerts with her sister, June Fischer. She was an avid reader, particularly of history and biography. She has donated her large library of books to Utah State University.

Ferne was known for her wit and fun-loving personality. She always had a funny limerick, joke or story to make her family and friends laugh. Toward the end of her life, she was afflicted with poor health and with Alzheimer's Disease, but she never lost her cheerfulness and her bright smile. She had a grateful heart for family and friends who supported her and helped her as she underwent treatment for two bouts of cancer. She was greatly loved by her family and friends, and will be missed by all who knew her.

The family is grateful to her church and neighborhood friends; to the devoted staff at Legacy House; to the friendships formed at Bear River Agency on aging; to a caring nurse/friend, Sue Sadler; and to the loving caregivers at Alpine Hospice.

She is survived by her brother, Warren (Faun) McEntire of Rupert, Idaho; three sisters, June Fischer of Preston; Virginia Christensen of Twin Falls, Idaho; Laurel (Gail) Madsen of Fort Collins, Colorado; two sisters-in-law, Carol McEntire and Jan McEntire of Logan; and by many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; by four brothers, Davis McEntire of Berkeley, California; David Wells McEntire of San Diego, Calif; Earl McEntire and Reed McEntire of Logan; two sisters-in-law, Iras McEntire of Berkeley and Iris McEntire of San Diego; and by two brothers-in-law, Wally Fischer of Preston and Seth Christensen of Twin Falls.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. at Webb Funeral Home's new facility, 1005 South 800 East, Preston, Idaho. Friends may call Saturday from 10-10:45 a.m. at the mortuary. Interment will be in the Preston Cemetery. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.webbmortuary.com