William Stephen Barany: December 8, 1917 to January 16, 2018 

William Stephen “Bill” Barany was born in Flint, Michigan on December 8, 1917.  His parents, John Dominic Barany and Josephine Junas Barany were immigrants from Hungary and Czechoslovakia, arriving at Ellis Island around 1911.

As a youth, Bill attended St. Mary’s Catholic School near his home in Flint, a school whose motto was “Knowledge is Power.”  Bill believed strongly in that motto.  He played the violin and also was the chief salesperson for the freshproduce his father raised on a plot of land outside town, going door to door by horse and wagon.

Bill left General Motors Training School to join the US Marines.  It was during his assignment in Honolulu, Hawaii that he met and married Johanna Louise Sieps Barany.  After World War II, they returned to the Mainland and settled in Spokane in 1946.  Bill is ‘The General’ of the General Store in Spokane, a business he established and led until his retirement.  The store is still family owned.

Bill devoted much energy to his business and to his family.  But he had other pursuits, including hunting and fishing.  He was a member of the Westerners, the Marketeers, the Elks Club, and the Spokane Club.

Bill’s legacy includes his five children, Kathryn Elizabeth Whittaker, John Stephen Barany, Helen Margaret Hansen, William Paul Barany, and Bruce Richard Barany; thirteen grandchildren and fourteen great grandchildren. The family recently gathered to celebrate Bill’s 100th birthday.

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