Helen Alford, the daughter of Eugene Albert Houck and Doris Francis Houck, was born on Nov. 5, 1930 in Enterprise. She grew up in the Zumwalt area of Wallowa County. In 1949, she married Glen Emory Alford of Joseph. During their lives together they lived in Wallowa County, Baker City and the Willamette Valley.
Helen enjoyed family gatherings, playing pinochle and table games, and sewing for her family. She loved being outdoors and often instigated family adventures from fishing the nearby lakes and streams to picking huckleberries on the mountain side, sharing a picnic in the park, sledding and building snowmen with the grandchildren. Helen loved singing “cowboy music” and yodeling with her sisters.
Helen is survived by her children: David of Albany; Janet Schultz of Hillsboro; Glenda Farmer of Keizer and Susan Smith of Pismo Beach, Calif.; a brother Eugene “Bud” Houck of Dallas, Ore.; a sister Margaret Walter of Pasco, Wash.; 10 grandchildren and five great grand-children.
Wallowa County Chieftain – February 28, 2008 – Photo with original obit.