The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Ava Jean Gagnon, 96 years, one month, a longtime resident of the Waitsburg area, passed peacefully, surrounded by her Whitman Place family on July 26, 2021.

Ava Jean was born to Frank and Genevieve McMillen on June 26, 1925, at home in Hagie, Wyoming. Ave, as she was often called, was the oldest of three children. She attended school in Hawk Springs, Wyoming, graduating from high school in 1943. After graduation, she moved to Portland, Oregon, to work for Western Union during World War II.

Louise Gagnon, a cousin of John Gagnon, brought Ave to Waitsburg and introduced her to John. Ave and John...