Howard A. Barton, 82, of Baker City and a former longtime Halfway resident, died Oct. 28, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Leonard Hill of Halfway will officiate. Private vault interment will be at the Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Visitations will be for family only.
Mr. Barton was born on Oct. 23, 1919, at Copperfield. He was the son of Fay W. and Grace Stewart Barton. He attended schools in Baker County and graduated from Pine Valley High School at Halfway. He attended college at Tulsa, Okla. He worked in Cornucopia, Seattle and Alaska. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force and served as a B-24 bomber pilot instructor.
On May 17, 1944, he and Barbara Gover were married in Liberal, Kan. After World War II, they returned to Pine Valley where he worked for the Halfway Garage and Morrison Knudsen. In 1948, he and Barbara joined her parents, Lovell and Velma Gover, in the purchase of a group of registered Angus heifers. This was the beginning of the Gover and Barton Registered Angus Ranch, which they operated for 40 years, supplying breeding stock to many herds.
In 1988, poor health prompted the sale of the ranch and cattle, and a move to their present home on Pocahontas Road near Baker City.
Mr. Barton is survived by his wife, Barbara of Baker City; a sister, Claire Wiese of Portland; brother and sister-in-law, Bruce and Moya Barton of Roseburg; and numerous nephews and nieces.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Emmett Barton.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Eastern Oregon Chapter of the American Red Cross through Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, November 2, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor