Baker City, Oregon
Verna Lee Burril, 65, died March 29, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
A celebration of life will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at the McEwen Bible Fellowship, which is located 23 miles south of Baker City on Highway 7.
Verna was born June 6, 1938 to Vernon and Ernestine Kirkwood at Prairie City.
In the early 1950s she married Harry “Ted” Barnhart and had three children, Terry, Ted and Mitch. They were divorced in the early 1970s. She later remarried.
Her son Ted now resides in Lolo, Mont., and Terry and Mitch live in Baker City.
Her favorite hobbies were reading, fishing, camping, hiking, mushrooming and crocheting. She was also very active in her church for as long as her health permitted.
In her younger years, Verna loved to water ski, play softball and for years held several track records for running at Prairie City High School.
Most of all she treasured the time with her four grandchildren: Desiree Johnson of the U.S. military in Hawaii; Trace Wood of Bend; Derek LaTray of Baker City and Jessica Barnhart of Cody, Wyo.
And the time spent with her two great-granddaughters, Justice and Hope, put a sparkle in her eye.
Verna was preceded in death by her father.
Survivors include her mother, Ernestine, of Spokane, Wash.; a brother, James Kirkwood of Spokane; a sister, Joyce Guerrero of Sacramento, Calif.; her three children; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; cousins; nephews; nieces and countless friends and other family members.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 2, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor