Halfway, Baker County, Oregon
Della Viola Morris Curry, 88, of Halfway died Jan. 3, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Halfway. Interment will be at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends are invited to join the family afterward for a reception at the Halfway LDS Church.
Della Viola Morris Curry was born on Sept. 28, 1914, at Richland to Thomas Lemuel Morris and Bertha Olive Makinson Morris.
Della was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She had a quick wit and a good sense of humor. No matter how dark the cloud, she knew there was always a silver lining. She loved to read, which was her hobby.
She was from pioneer stock. Her grandfather had the stage line stop at the bottom of the Halfway grade in Eagle Valley, and he was also the local doctor.
She was a professional cook for years. She then attended college where she earned a teaching degree while living at Guam and then Alaska. She also worked at the Hermiston Ordinance Depot during World War II doing her part for the home front. While living in Alaska she worked for the State of Alaska and for Harbor View Memorial Hospital at Valdez for five years.
She was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She dearly loved the Lord and held various positions in the church throughout the years.
The American Poetry Society recognized Della as one of its accomplished poets. Her poems will be passed down from one generation to the next, because of the preciousness of her printed prose.
She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.
“But she is where she can have peace, and we are so thankful for that knowledge,” family members said.
Survived include her sons and daughters-in-law, Roscoe and Sharlene Curry, of Spokane, Wash., John and Billie Curry of Halfway, and Jim and Edna Schell of Umatilla; daughters and sons-in-law, Louise and Dave Clark of Richland, and Vernona Rhea of Las Vegas, Nev.; a brother, Lester, and his wife, Naomi Morris, of Tacoma, Wash.; a sister, Nellie, and her husband, Lee, of Walla Walla, Wash.; and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great- grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Vernon Edwin Curry; two sons, Eddy and Bob Schell; and several brothers and sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Halfway Senior Meal Site or to the Granite Peaks Building Fund through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January, 10, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor