Doyle Glenn Densley, 78, of Baker City died Feb. 10, 2006, at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise from complications of a head injury.
His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. There will be a graveside serve at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Pastor Ralph Holcomb of the Baker City Christian Church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at Richland.
Glenn Densley was born on Sept. 24, 1927, at Richland. He was the second son of Aaron and Edna Eidson Densley. He received his early education at the Eagle Valley elementary school and high school at Richland.
Glenn’s love for nature and the outdoors was nurtured during his youth. As a boy, he assisted his parents in operating a pack service business that guided tourists on horseback into the Wallowa Mountains on hunting and fishing trips. He also helped his grandfather, William Densley, on the Densely family sheep and cattle ranches.
Like most young men of his era, he served his country in World War II. In 1945, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines. He also served in the U.S. Army as company supply sergeant and was stationed at Pusan, Korea, during Occupational Japan. He was honorably discharged on Sept. 30, 1947.
After leaving the military, Glenn worked in Baker County sawmills and the timber industry. Glenn and Lillian Caroline Cummings were married on June 1, 1948, at Baker City by Joe Jewett, pastor of the First Christian Church. The couple had four children: Carla, Aaron, Jody and Julie.
Glenn started his career in construction by working on the Brownlee Dam as a heavy-duty tire man, where he specialized in servicing and maintaining huge equipment tires. He followed this occupation for most of his working years and was involved in many road and dam projects in Oregon, California and Washington as well as the Alaska pipeline until his retirement in 1988.
Glenn had an appreciation of history and a love of the outdoors. His recreational time was devoted to collecting and preserving local history, trapping, gold mining and metal detecting. After retirement, he took up woodworking as a wood turner, designing laminated bowls from exotic wood. These beautiful bowls were given to family and friends and in appreciation to each nurse at the Eastern Oregon Dialysis Clinic where he was a patient.
Glenn’s interest in local history and of the Sparta area motivated him to write a book about Sparta’s colorful history. The book, titled “Sparta Gold,” is nearing completion.
Survivors include his wife, Lillian; his children, Aaron Densley and Carla Koplein of Baker City, Jody Munsey of Florence, Ariz., and Julie Green and her husband, Doug Green, of Lebanon, Ohio; a sister, Margaret Corning of Baker City; a dear friend and cousin, Jim Eidson of Baker City; 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren; sisters-in-law, Emma Jean Greener and Madonna Ashby; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, February 17, 2006
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor