Mabel Ann Dinnick, 93, a longtime Baker Valley resident, died June 28, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Care Center.
There will be no funeral, at her request. A private family celebration of life will be scheduled later.
Mabel, the daughter of Arch and Lizzie Long, was born on on June 26, 1912, at Muddy Creek at the home of her grandparents, Alonzo and Julia Long. She was the fourth of six children and attended her first 12 years of school at Haines.
Mabel was the final surviving member of the Haines High School Class of 1930. After graduating from high school, she continued her education at Eastern Oregon Normal School in La Grande. In 1960, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in education from Eastern Oregon College.
Mabel taught 28 years in the Baker School District, 26 of those years were at North Baker School and two years were at Muddy Creek. Her great-grandparents donated land for the first Muddy Creek School in 1876.
She also taught for three years at Bourne and Columbia mines. One of the greatest pleasures Mabel experienced was a visit from her former students.
During her first year of teaching, she met and later married Wilbur “Bill” Dinnick. They were married on Dec. 30, 1933, at Weiser, Idaho.
Wilbur and Mabel moved to Cornucopia, where Wilbur worked in the mines. Their first daughter, Evelyn, was born during that time.
During World War II, Mabel and her family lived in the Los Angeles area where their second daughter, Roberta, was born. In 1946, they returned to Baker Valley, where they spent their remaining years.
The many interests Mabel had through the years included fishing, hunting, camping, lapidary, crocheting, reading, dancing, playing cribbage, and collecting antique bottles. She made beautiful winter scene collages, was an avid Trailblazer fan and always exercised her dry wit as well as her great sense of humor.
Mabel was outspoken, adventurous and spirited. She liked to have a good time and will be missed by many.
Mabel belonged to the National Education Association, Baker Retired Teachers Association, Oregon National Educational Foundation and Order of Eastern Star Halfway Inland Chapter, No. 136. She also did volunteer work for Baker Senior Citizens and the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.
Survivors include her daughters, Evelyn Davis and her husband, Larry of Bend, and Roberta Donaldson and her husband, Jim, of Baker City; a sister, Georgia Sieg, of Baker City; grandchildren, Buck and Joe Davis of Bend, Eric Donaldson of Portland, and Laura Palmer of Framingham, Mass.; great-grandchildren, Brandon Davis of Pendleton and Olivia Palmer of Framingham, Mass.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Wilbur; her siblings, Floyd Long, Beulah Bell, Pansy Maxwell and Dora Allen; and her nephew, Mike Allen.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice or Eastern Oregon Museum at Haines, through Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 1, 2005
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor