A5 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2021 OBITUARIES William B. Cox Kathleen Marie Flabetich Grays River, Washington May 31, 1942 — April 11, 2021 Vancouver, Washington June 4, 1925 — Aug. 26, 2020 William B. Cox was born May 1964. 31, 1942, to Pearl and Everett Cox He was part of the Carrier Air- in Tulare, California. borne Early Warning Squadron He graduated from Tulare Union VAW-13, also known as the Zap- High School in 1960. He was wed pers. He received the Good Con- to Diane M. (Welty) Cox in 1965. duct Medal, National Defense Ser- Diane passed away in June 2015. vice Medal and the Armed Forces He had two children, Paula and Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam). Joseph, who survive him. WB’s He retired from Century Link in brother, EJ Cox, and EJ’s wife, 2004. He lived with his wife, Diane, Joan, reside in Tehachapi, Cali- in Astoria, until 2015. WB spent William Cox fornia. His cousin, Jeanne Anika, his remaining days in Grays River, resides in Covina, California. He has Washington. six grandchildren, Cali, Joseph, Cody, He continued to buy and sell col- Robert, Elizabeth and Gracie, and one lectibles, swap stories and meet with great-grandchild. friends. William served proudly in the U.S. William will join his wife, Diane, Navy as an aviation electronics tech- and rest in peace at the Willamette nician. He enlisted in 1960 and served through National Cemetery in Portland. Kathleen Marie Flabetich, longtime Asto- she became a member of the Columbia Memo- ria resident, passed away peacefully on Aug. rial Hospital Auxiliary, volunteering in the hos- 26, 2020, in Vancouver, Washington, at the pital and gift shop and raising money that pro- age of 95. vided for needed medical equipment. Kathleen was born June 4, 1925, In 2008, she moved to Vancou- in Portland. Kathleen met and mar- ver, Washington, to be closer to family. ried Anthony (Tony) Flabetich in She is survived by her chil- 1948, in Portland. They moved to dren, Steve Flabetich, Kathy Hec- Astoria in 1950, and grew their tor (John), Dennis Flabetich (Toni), family of fi ve children. Joann McRae (Doug) and Lori Kathleen was a member of the North (John); nine grandchildren; St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catho- and six great-grandchildren. lic Church and school. She spent She was preceded in death by her many years as an active parishioner in Astoria and at the St. Francis de Kathleen Flabetich husband, Anthony (Tony) Flabetich, in 1983. Sales Mission in Hammond. Memorial gifts can be made in Kathleen’s At Star of the Sea School, she spent 24 years as one of the two cafeteria chefs, pre- name to the St. Francis de Sales Mission Build- paring homemade-style hot lunches for ing Fund through St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 1465 Grand Ave., Astoria, students. After retirement from her cafeteria duties, OR., 97103. FedEx shooting leaves eight dead By CASEY SMITH Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS — Police scoured a FedEx facility in Indianapolis and inter- viewed scores of witnesses Friday in search of a motive for the latest mass shooting to rock the U.S., as family members of the eight vic- tims spent agonizing hours waiting for word on their loved ones. The shooter was identifi ed as Brandon Scott Hole, 19, of Indianapolis, Deputy Police Chief Craig McCartt told a news conference. Investi- gators searched a home in Indianapolis associ- ated with Hole and seized evidence, including desktop computers and other electronic media, McCartt said. Hole is a former employee of FedEx, company spokesperson Bonny Harri- son said. Paul Keenan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis fi eld offi ce, said that agents questioned Hole last year after his mother called police to say that her son might commit “suicide by cop.” Police Chief Randal Taylor noted that a “signifi cant” number of employees at the facility where the shooting took place Thurs- day night are members of the Sikh commu- nity. The Sikh Coalition, which identifi es itself as the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the U.S., said in a statement that it expected authorities to “conduct a full investigation — including the possibility of bias as a factor.” Deputy Chief Craig McCartt of the Indi- anapolis police said the gunman started ran- domly shooting at people in the parking lot and then went into the building and continued fi r- ing. He said the gunman apparently died by suicide shortly before police entered the build- ing. McCartt said that law enforcement offi cers seized a gun from Hole last year. “There was no confrontation with any- one that was there,” he said. “There was no disturbance, there was no argument. He just appeared to randomly start shooting.” McCartt said four people were killed out- side the building and another four inside. Sev- eral people were also wounded, including fi ve taken to the hospital. McCartt said the slayings took place in a matter of minutes. Offi cials with the coroner’s offi ce began the process of identifying victims Friday after- noon, a process they said would take several hours. Family members gathered at a nearby hotel to await word on loved ones — and some employees were bused there for tearful reunions. The agonizing waiting was exacer- bated by the fact that most employees aren’t allowed to carry cellphones inside the FedEx building, making contact with them diffi cult. FedEx Chairman and Chief Executive Offi cer Frederick Smith called the shooting a “senseless act of violence.” It was the latest in a recent string of mass shootings across the U.S. Last month, eight people were fatally shot at massage businesses across the Atlanta area, and 10 died in gunfi re at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. It was at least the third mass shooting this year in Indianapolis alone. Five people, includ- ing a pregnant woman, were shot and killed in January, and a man was accused of killing three adults and a child before abducting his daugh- ter during an argument at a home in March. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the community must guard against resignation and “the assumption that this is simply how it must be and we might as well get used to it.” President Joe Biden said he had been briefed on the shooting and called gun violence “an epidemic” in the U.S. SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY OBITUARY POLICY The Astorian publishes paid obituaries. The obituary can include a small photo and, for veterans, a fl ag symbol at no charge. The deadline for all obituaries is 9 a.m. the business day prior. Obituaries may be edited for spelling, proper punctuation and style. Death notices and upcoming services will be published at no charge. Notices must be submitted by 9 a.m. the day of publication. Obituaries and notices may be submitted online at DailyAstorian.com/forms/obits, by email at ewilson@dailyastorian.com, placed via the funeral home or in person at The Astorian offi ce, 949 Exchange St. in Astoria. For more information, call 503-325-3211, ext. 257. NOW HIRING PART-TIME SALES & CASHIERS We offer: • Terrific Work Environment • Product Training • Flexible Scheduling • Merchandise Discounts For career-minded individuals, we offer a fully outlined MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAM. Apply online at www.big5.com/careers Contact the store for more details. 180 SE Neptune Drive, 503-861-0722. BIG 5 CORP IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER THURSDAY FRIDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 77 46 Sunny and very warm 65 44 64 45 60 45 55 43 57 44 58 44 Sunny and cooler Partly sunny and nice Chance of a shower A shower possible Showers possible A shower possible Aberdeen Olympia 79/46 83/50 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 83/42 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Thursday Tonight’s Sky: After sunset, Hercules climbs the eastern sky this evening. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 72/35 Normal high/low .................. 56/41 Record high .................. 81 in 1947 Record low .................... 30 in 1967 Precipitation Thursday ................................. 0.00” Month to date ........................ 0.34” Normal month to date ......... 2.87” Year to date .......................... 33.15” Normal year to date ........... 27.71” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021 Time High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 4:17 a.m. 6:21 p.m. 7.9 11:34 a.m. 0.5 5.9 11:20 p.m. 3.6 Cape Disappointment 4:05 a.m. 5:50 p.m. Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Hammond SUN AND MOON Sunrise today .................. 6:25 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 8:06 p.m. Moonrise today .............. 9:30 a.m. Moonset today ............... 1:01 a.m. First Full Last New 4:12 a.m. 6:05 p.m. Warrenton 4:12 a.m. 6:16 p.m. Knappa 4:54 a.m. 6:58 p.m. Depoe Bay Apr 19 Apr 26 May 3 May 11 3:16 a.m. 5:13 p.m. 7.5 10:55 a.m. 0.5 5.8 10:29 p.m. 4.0 7.8 11:11 a.m. 0.2 6.0 10:53 p.m. 3.7 8.4 11:18 a.m. 0.6 6.3 11:04 p.m. 3.7 8.2 12:35 p.m. 0.4 6.3 none 7.6 10:25 a.m. 0.4 6.0 10:03 p.m. 4.0 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Sun. Hi/Lo/W 65/51/c 49/41/c 53/38/c 64/46/pc 43/25/sf 81/69/pc 66/52/sh 74/60/s 93/72/s 58/46/pc 85/61/s 67/51/s 63/48/pc 72/48/pc 54/44/c 58/42/c 68/45/pc 55/27/s 83/69/pc 69/49/pc 88/63/s 94/74/s 62/47/pc 84/60/s 72/52/s 64/48/pc Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 74/44 Hermiston The Dalles 81/40 Enterprise Pendleton 65/35 74/41 83/44 La Grande 69/36 84/46 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W 69/40 Kennewick Walla Walla 73/48 Lewiston 83/38 87/42 Salem Pullman 78/44 Longview 77/46 Portland 86/49 71/45 Yakima 84/41 83/42 Astoria Spokane 77/49 Corvallis 84/48 Albany 84/47 John Day Eugene Bend 86/46 73/39 70/39 Ontario 71/37 Caldwell Burns 67/28 68/34 Medford 88/47 Klamath Falls 68/31 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 69/32/s 60/45/pc 71/47/s 87/45/s 69/44/s Sun. Hi/Lo/W 75/38/s 61/47/s 61/47/s 86/46/s 61/43/s City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 65/43/s 90/47/s 80/47/s 87/47/s 87/47/s Sun. Hi/Lo/W 61/43/s 89/45/s 69/44/s 88/45/s 87/50/s