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Vera Werner, 89, Orofino newspaper publisher

OROFINO -- Vera Bryant Werner, 89, an Orofino area native and former publisher of the Clearwater Tribune, died of causes related to age Friday at her home.

She and her husband, Bob Werner, published the Clearwater Tribune from 1942 to 1969.

She was born at Gilbert, near Orofino, Sept. 1, 1910, the third child of homesteaders John M. (Jack) and Lydia Lavina Stearns Bryant. Her parents and family moved to Orofino when she was 3 years old. Her father ran a livery stable and later a hardware store, which later became Crockett's. She attended Orofino schools. She worked at the soda fountain at the Owl Drug during her high school years. She graduated from Orofino High School in 1927 and from the University of Idaho at Moscow in 1931. She was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Mortar Board.

After graduation she moved to southern Idaho to teach commercial courses in typing and shorthand at Burley High School. While there she met Robert D. Werner, a journalist for the Burley Bulletin.

She and Werner were married June 6, 1936, at Albion, Idaho.

The couple moved to Twin Falls, where they lived for six years while he was the regional bureau chief for the Salt Lake Tribune. In 1942 they purchased the Clearwater Tribune from L.L. Johnson. The couple ran the newspaper and combined commercial printing firm until he retired in 1969. The family moved to Washington, D.C., in 1948 for six months while he was the administrative assistant to Sen. Henry Dworshak.

After her husband retired, they enjoyed traveling in their RV. She was devoted to her family and friends and was an avid reader who also enjoyed playing bridge, cooking, solving crossword puzzles and tending her rose garden. She and her husband were also Clearwater County Fair Parade grand marshals. Werner was also active in many community affairs and was a founding member of the Clearwater Hospital Auxiliary and the Orofino Golf Club. She was a member of the American Association of University Women, the Methodist Church, and was a 57-year member of the P.E.O. sisterhood, joining first in Twin Falls.

Survivors include one daughter, Linda Werner of San Francisco, Calif.; one son, John Werner of Scarsdale, N.Y.; two sisters, Maxine Musiel of Orofino and Gladys Doll of Snohomish, Wash.; and one grandson. She was preceded in death by her husband in 1986; two brothers, Don Bryant and Arlie Bryant; and a sister, Eula.