Alvina Marie Body, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully on the family farm September 1, 2024, at the age of 91. Born on September 14, 1932, to Emil and Marie Anderson in Boyds, WA, Alvina spent her early years on property that was soon reclaimed for Lake Roosevelt following the construction of Coulee Dam. The family relocated to the farm on Pierre Lake Road when she was four years old.

After graduating from Marcus High School in 1951, Alvina moved to Spokane to attend Kinman Business College. She lived in a boarding house with three other girls and met Dean Body at a USO dance while he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. They began dating, and during his training, Alvina worked as a secretary at Kaiser Aluminum.

Dean and Alvina were married on June 7, 1953, and moved to Puerto Rico, where Dean was stationed until his discharge in January 1955. They then returned to Kelly Hill, later moving to the family farm when Emil and Marie Anderson built a new house in 1958.

Marie taught Alvina to sew (she made a lot of western shirts for Dean) and enjoyed embroidering pillow cases and dresser scarves, knitting and crocheting.  Alvina was a member of the Kettle River Grange for many years, often acting as secretary or treasurer.  She performed in two of the famed Grange plays, but mostly left those to the real entertainer, Dean. Alvina had a special fondness for Shirley Temple and had a small collection of dolls in her likeness.

Alvina made the best cinnamon rolls (for Andy), roll up hotcakes (for Darcy, Larry and Danny), rice krispy treats (for Erin), lefse (for Gail) and pies for any activity at the Grange.

Alvina was very much a homebody, housewife and homemaker but she did take a few trips over the years that she very much enjoyed: a trip to Mexico with Ruth Lakin, a trip to Branson by bus with Bonnie Brown and a camper trip to Alaska with Don and Teddy Fredrickson, Mike and Denise Fredrickson & Bonnie Brown. The pinnacle trip however was a trip to Sweden in 2001 to visit her fathers' hometown and her cousins.

When her kids were all in school, she worked one day a week, every Tuesday at Barstow store. Later, she worked for Rural Resources providing home care services in Steven's and Ferry County until she retired. She loved taking care of her "elder clients", even as she was as old or older than a few of them.

Alvina was often teased by her family for the one and only time she drove the new Honda straight into the lilac bush (she got off, walked into the house and never got on it again), or the several deer she hit over the years, or the time she was distracted and was hit by the train driving through KF. Once the train stopped and the KF police helped her out of the car, she called Dean to come get her, because she couldn't drive the car home. She reluctantly told him why, and then said he took his sweet time to get there.

Alvina loved having coffee and playing cards with Teddy, Enes, Ruth and Janis. As the group dwindled over the years, what she missed most was having coffee with Teddy. (Even if they weren't always on the same page during their conversations due to hard of hearing, they loved to gossip, share news and reminisce).  One day, over coffee, Alvina told Teddy that the grange meeting was Friday, Teddy responded Oh I don't think it will rain. This conversation carried on in this vein until Teddy said Alvina, I don't think we are talking about the same thing.

Alvina had a deep fondness for reading the obituaries daily, a ritual that kept her connected with her community and the lives of those around her. It also provided a regular topic of conversation during her weekly phone calls.

Alvina was deeply loved by her grandchildren and was able to meet her youngest great-granddaughter before her passing. She is survived by her daughter Gail (Laddie), son Larry (Chris), grandchildren Andy, Darcy (Mike), Erin (Rob), and Danny (Thuy), great-grandchildren Cora, Logan, Dean, Brantley, and Emilie Marie, and her niece Wendy Anderson Allen and nephew Ron Anderson.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Ernie (Enes) and Mel (Nancy), her husband Dean, and son Daniel. Her memory will forever reside in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.

The Body and Buck families extend their heartfelt gratitude to Parkview for their compassionate care during Alvina's five-month stay and to Terry Gordon for her monthly visits. A special thank you goes to Betsy Peterson, who faithfully visited Alvina weekly for over a year, both at the farm and Parkview.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Alvina's memory to St. Jude's Hospital would be greatly appreciated. Services will be scheduled at a later date. Thank you. Please visit the online memorial and sign the guestbook at www.danekasfuneralchapel.com.  Danekas Funeral Chapel and Crematory is entrusted with the arrangements.