1934 – 2022

Phil was born on a 160-acre farm in North Central Pennsylvania two days after Christmas in 1934. The doctor from a town about 15 miles away was notified and drove over. Unfortunately the road over the last four miles was snowed in; so the doctor walked the distance on foot, mostly uphill! (Talk about a house call!)

Phil, like most kids in the farming community, was driving a pickup at age eight. He remembered during WWII that toy cardboard airplanes existed with a 45-degree mirror inside; you could look thru a hole in the tail and see a map on the floor of Germany. You could then drop a marble from the plane and try to hit a spot on the map!

When Phil was, about age 10 his family sold the farm for $2000 and moved into town. (Back then a dollar was a dollar!) After high school he was admitted to MIT and graduated with an engineering degree in 1957. His first job was with a small consulting engineering firm in Massachusetts—near Cape Cod. With this firm, he did test work on everything from an offshore radar platform, to nuke subs, to helicopters.

Phil then joined Omega Helicopters, doing structural testing on the BS-12, the first twin-engine helicopter to be certificated in the US.

1918 – 2022

Anna Costa Brett passed away at Hilltop Commons in Grass Valley, California on Sunday, February 27, 2022. She was 104. Anna was born, at home, on February 21, 1918 in Goodyears Bar, California to Antonio (Tony) J. and Janette (Nettie) Costa.

Anna attended school in Downieville and played saxophone in the high school band. After graduation she attended business school in Oakland, California, then worked in Sacramento for a telephone company and then in one of the State of California offices. When two of Anna’s brothers enlisted in the Navy, during World War II, she returned to Downieville to help her parents run their business, the Costa Grocery Store. On Christmas Eve 1943, Anna met recovering WW II veteran, Ray Brett, at a community dance and six months later they were married in Grants Pass, Oregon. Anna and Ray made their home in Downieville, where they raised two daughters. In 1946 they purchased the Yuba Theater from Vern Shattuck and operated it as a part-time venture for 29 years. In addition to helping run the theater, Anna also “collected” for the Downieville Water District – back then it was done in person with residents paying $3.50 per month and businesses paying $5.00. In the late sixties Anna went to work for the Sierra-Plumas Unified School District, first as the playground duty person at Downeiville Elementary, then moving on to becoming a classroom aide for many years. Anna and Ray remained full-time Downieville residents until the early 1990’s when they became snowbirds, spending winters in Arizona. They moved to Hilltop Commons, an independent living facility for seniors, the summer of 2009.

1949 – 2022

Janis Betty Hunt Boucher, our beloved mother, sister and aunt left this earth on March 11th. She will be remembered for her intense love of her daughter, Rana, and life in the Sierra.

Janis was born in Chicago, on September 9, 1949, but her family soon travelled to Lincoln, CA where she and her siblings grew up on the Hunt family dairy. She was an accomplished ballerina from an early age until her teens, performing solo in Sacramento recitals. Jan graduated from Lincoln High School in 1967 later becoming a legal aid in Auburn followed by world travel visiting Europe and much of South America.

Jan worked for the Tahoe National Forest, where she developed her lifelong appreciation of the Sierra and knew much about its flora, fauna and geography before going to work for her parents at Sardine Lake Resort, later becoming a partner and shared owner. She was an instrumental member of the Lakes Basin Coalition created for the protection of the Upper Sardine Lake and Sierra Buttes special treatment areas. Before joining the Resort, Janis was co-owner of the now gone pizza tavern, the “Ore House”, which many residents in Sierra City will remember as a great gathering place.

Jan’s love of living in the mountains in her little cottage where the birds and wildlife gathered, was where she was the happiest. Crystals hanging in the windows, plants brought in every winter to survive the weather and Bob Marley & the Whalers playing on the radio while she painted or made waxed roses was who we will remember. Her sister Elizabeth adds that she will always cherish the wonderful, lifelong sister love and will always carry Jan in her heart with memories of the antics they got into together.

1955 – 2022

Roxanne “Rocky” Louise Alexander Tervort died on February 23, 2022 in Truckee, California at the age of 67. She was born on January 29, 1955 to Kenneth Martin and Elsie Marie Alexander in Loyalton, California.

She is survived by her mother Elsie, her siblings Suzanne, Rebecca, Kenneth, Kathy, Christopher, Erin, Karin, and Nicholas; and by her grandchildren Kaydie and Hunter. She was precceded in death by her father Kenneth, her husband Daniel, and her sons Glenn and Wayne.

Rocky grew up in Loyalton with her eight brothers and sisters and made her mark as a fun and adventurous girl who loved horseback riding.

While attending Loyalton High School, Rocky spent time as a foreign exchange student in Mexico. After graduation, she married Danny Tervort in the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, and worked as a security guard at the Sierra Pacific Mill in Loyalton.

While they began their journey in Loyalton at the Lucky Hereford Ranch, they eventually set out to live in a variety of Nevada towns such as Green Gulch Ranch, Beawowe, Battle Mountain, Eureka, Tonopah, Fish Springs, Carlin, Ryndon, and Elko. During this time shebecame a mother and also had a career with the United States Postal Service. Happily for her, her friends, and her family, she moved back to Loyalton in 2019.