Barbara E. Ringer, 77, of McMinnville, and a former Baker County resident, died Dec. 20, 2000, at a McMinnville assisted living facility.
Her funeral will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Macy & Son Chapel in McMinnville. The Rev. Jim Kirby of Community Christian Church will officiate. Entombment will be at Evergreen Memorial Park Mausoleum. Visitations will be Thursday from noon to 7 p.m. at Macy & Son Chapel.
Mrs. Ringer was born Nov. 12, 1923, at Pollock, Idaho, to James and Maude Irvin Strong. She spent her youth in Baker City, graduating from Baker High School in 1942. She married Fred Ringer Sr. on June 3, 1942, on the Ringer Ranch at Medical Springs. She became a ranch housewife and raised three sons on the homestead.
The couple retired in 1977 and moved to McMinnville in 1987. Mrs. Ringer was well known for her scrumptious meals and baking. She won many ribbons for her canned foods and cakes at the Baker County Fair and the Oregon State Fair. She once won the cake bakeoff of the Oregon Wheat League. She was active with the Christian Church Ladies and spent many years touching the lives of youth in Sunday school, junior church and volunteering to teach 4-H youth groups.
She drove the school bus, drove a haying truck and worked on the farm. She served on the board of the Baker Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Baker County Election Board and was an active member of the Medical Springs Grange No. 427 and the Baker County Cattlemen’s Association. She was also a receptionist at the Baker County Courthouse.
She was a member of the Community Christian Church in McMinnville and the First Christian Church in Baker City. Her hobbies were crafts, table decorations for the church, tole painting, crocheting, reading and cake decorating.
Mrs. Ringer is survived by her husband, Fred Ringer Sr. of McMinnville; her sons, Robert Ringer of The Dalles, Ron Ringer of Carlton and Fred Ringer Jr. of McMinnville; her brother, Joe Strong of Baker City; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Philip and Lee; and four sisters, Ivy Triplett, Violet Meek, Mary Strong and Doris Goins.
Contributions in Mrs. Ringer’s memory may be made to the Community Christian Church in care of Macy & Son Funeral Directors, 135 North Evans, McMinnville, Ore., 97128-4682.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, December 22, 2000
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor