La Grande, Oregon
Della Reeder, 77, of Pahrump, Nev., and formerly of La Grande died Sept. 17. A memorial service is planned in Pahrump Saturday.
Mrs. Reeder was born to Bertha Gandy on Jan. 27, 1929, in Idaho. Her father died very early and she was raised by a stepfather, Wayne Gillis.
Mrs. Reeder went to first grade in La Grande, but grew up in Summerville. Her family remembers that the man who would be her husband, Wayne Reader, proposed to her in third grade.
She married Jay Reeder on May 16, 1945. The couple lived in La Grande until 1965 when they moved to California and then to Pahrump. She was an avid Dogers fan.
Survivors include her husband of Pahrump; children, Steve, Vernon and Virgil; a brother, Gene Gillis of La Grande; 13 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. A son, Rodney; a daughter, Janice; and a sister, Juanita Allen, all died earlier.
The Observer Online, Obituaries for the week ending Sept. 23, 2006, Published: September 26, 2006