Doris 'Hope' Sepa, 96

Doris “HOPE” SEPA passed mid-morning of Oct. 18, 2021, with her husband and daughter by her side at Mountain Valley Cascadia Nursing Home in Kellogg, Idaho.

Hope is survived by her husband, Bob Sepa and her daughter, Linda Sepa-Newell, both of Kellogg; and two grandsons, Donovan E.L. Newell, USMC of Pullman, Wash., and Wyatt J. C. Newell, AMDA, of New York City, N.Y.

Hope was a true Missourian, “show me before I will believe it!” She was born in Webb City, Mo., to Charles and Lela Blankenship, being the second youngest of six children. She was raised during the depression with little material wealth but a love of family, a grandmother who taught her scriptures and loved her beyond words. She had many colorful and charming stories of surviving the depression with the beginnings of “recycling — hand me downs, altered, shoes passed on” and older sisters and brothers who brought her and her little brother the toys of childhood.

Hope graduated with honors from Webb City High School in 1943, achieving honors in algebra and a way with numbers. Her keen sense of math brought her to a lifetime career of accounting, self-taught tax law which she loved and her first job right out of high school with the Webb City Wholesalers as their Account Manager. Hope left Webb City in 1950 to follow her mother, stepfather, Floyd Hamilton and older brother Charles and his family to Wallace, Idaho. Hope secured employment with a local dentist Dr. Siljon, who immediately took her in and trained her as a dental assistant.

Later that year, she met Robert Eli Sepa while dancing at the Sunshine Inn and a fast romance and courtship blossomed, with engagement and proposal on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1951, followed by their wedding Feb. 24, 1951, at the American Lutheran Church in Kellogg. In January 1952, Bob and Hope welcomed their only child, Linda Denise to this world and created a strong and loving family. Seventy years strong in marriage and family, Bob and Hope had what they stated the greatest joy in being grandparents to Donovan and Wyatt. Hope encouraged, spoiled, and nurtured both Donovan and Wyatt to “be their own person,” take no guff from others, be respectful and use your voice.

Hope worked for Robinson Motors in Kellogg as an accountant from 1951 to 1952, following a 40-year career with H. F. Magnuson in the Kellogg office as a bookkeeper and receptionist. Hope ventured out to do taxes on her own, gaining her Licensed Public Account credential with the state of Idaho in 1977 and was the oldest living LPA up until 2018.

Being of the depression era, Hope’s home was her pride and joy, she loved to cook for many gatherings and family dinners hosted several generations with love, laughter, and food to nurture family and friends. Hope was an avid reader, a collector of cookbooks and devoted wife, mother and grandmother, and had a strong and abiding faith in Jesus Christ.

Our family has such heart felt love and appreciation for the care from the staff at Shoshone Medical Center and that of Mountain Valley Cascadia Nursing and Rehab Center. The love, respect and care to help her make her final journey was truly done with tremendous love and accommodation to all of us and we THANK YOU for helping us through this challenging time.

Shoshone Funeral Services & Crematory, Kellogg, is entrusted with services. You may share your special memories of Hope with her family at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com.