Sylvia Talich, 95, of Phoenix, Ariz., a former longtime Baker City resident died May 23, 2005, at her home.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Agape Christian Center at 650 Highway 7. Pastor Aaron Oglesbee of the Agape Christian Center will officiate. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Visitations will be from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Agape Christian Center.
She was born Sylvia Nelson on March 15, 1910, at Bristow, Neb. She lived on a farm on the Niabrera River and attended school at Bristow. When she was about 10, she was convinced that one of her classmates, Paul Talich, would someday be her husband when he conducted a funeral for a sparrow that had met an untimely death.
She and Paul were married on Dec. 21, 1936. Paul worked for the U.S. Forest Service, which meant that every promotion required a move to another part of the country, so they moved around quite a bit before settling at Baker City.
They were married at Vancouver, Wash., and lived at Corvallis. Soon after they were married, they moved to Ketchikan, Alaska, where among other things, she worked as a waitress at a local restaurant. She often said that she quit that job before she got fired.
The family next moved to Porterville, Calif., and then returned to Corvallis. Other moves took them to Pierce, Neb., Bend, Medford, John Day, back to Corvallis again, and then to Worcester, Mass., Athol, Mass., Hutchinson, Kan., and Lyons, Kan.
Their first son was born at Lyons in 1942. They then traveled to Riverside, Calif., Hemet, Calif., and Newman, Calif., where her second son, David, was born in 1944. One more move to Sisters and her family was complete with her third son, Bill, in April of 1956.
Her husband died in 1987. She remained in Baker City until 2003 when she moved to Phoenix to be closer to immediate family. Her three sons live at Kwajalien, Marshal Islands; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Clemmons, N.C.
Sylvia taught school at Muddy Creek and was a substitute teacher at Baker City and Durkee. She and Paul were very active in several churches including the Presbyterian, St. Stephens Episcopal, Foursquare and they were instrumental in starting the Agape Christian Center.
Survivors include three sons, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 27, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor