Baker City Oregon

Goodrich, Donald Spencer – Obituary

Donald Spencer Goodrich, 79, a former Baker City resident, died Aug. 3, 2006. His memorial service was Aug. 13 at the United Church of Christ at Sun City, Calif. Don was born on Jan. 14, 1927, at Olympia, Wash., to Charles Spencer Goodrich and Hazel MacPherson Goodrich. The family moved to Baker City in 1935. Don was a 1945 Baker High School graduate. After serving in the U.S. Navy on the USS Iowa, Don attended Oregon State University at Corvallis where he earned a degree in forestry. While in college, he met Donna J. Drake. The couple were married for … Read more

Calder, Viola M. Lucas Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Viola M. Calder, 90, a longtime Baker City resident, died March 17, 2002, at Troutdale from complication of breast cancer. A celebration of Viola’s life will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hugest Lane. Ernie Collard of the 1st Ward will conduct the services. Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be from today until 7 p.m. at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Viola was born April 5, 1911, in Sumpter to Andrew and Libby Lucas. She was the third daughter in a family … Read more

Scarbrough, Robert E. “Bobby” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Robert E. “Bobby” Scarbrough, 79, died March 25, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. His graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. The Rev. Robert C. Irwin of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral will officiate. Vault interment will be after the service. Military rites will be accorded by Co. A 3/116th Cavalry Oregon Army National Guard. Everyone is invited to a luncheon at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral Parish Hall, First and Church streets, after the service. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Bobby … Read more

West, Phyllis Louise Schnackenberg Mrs. – Obituary

Phyllis Louise West, 82, of Montesano and Aberdeen, Wash., and a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 15, 2007, at Montesano Health & Rehab Center, Montesano, Wash. Her funeral will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Central Park Baptist Church in Aberdeen, Wash. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Phyllis was born on Dec. 3, 1924, at Baker City to Melvin B. and Grace Harrison Schnackenberg. She was a 1942 Baker High School graduate. Her family moved to Vanport, a government housing project for workers at the Kaiser Defense Shipyards where … Read more

Chamberlin, Nolan Glenn – Obituary

Nolan Glenn Chamberlin, 78, died Tuesday, July 11, 2006, at his home in Klamath Falls, Ore. Mr. Chamberlin died of leukemia. A service was held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 15, at the First United Methodist Church in Klamath Falls. A private service for interment will be held at a later date. Mr. Chamberlin was born Sept. 26, 1927, in Richland, Ore., to Levi and Lula Chamberlin. He was raised in Richland and graduated from Eagle Valley High School in June 1945. He served in the Army Air Force form 1946-1948, stationed in Florida. He graduated from the University of … Read more

Fuller, Hazel Betty Tanner Mrs. – Obituary

Hazel Betty Tanner Fuller, 81, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 10, 2002, at Brigham City, Utah, after suffering a massive stroke Feb. 3. Visitations will be at Gillies-Petersen Funeral Chapel, 634 East 200 South, Brigham City, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and at the Brigham City 19th Ward Chapel, 105 W. Fishburn, from 9 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Her funeral will be at this chapel at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Concluding services will be in Baker City Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Baker Second Ward, Hughes Lane Chapel, 2625 Hughes Lane. Family will meet … Read more

Wright, Calvin Ray “Cal” – Obituary

Calvin Ray “Cal” Wright, 52, of Hamilton, Mont., a former longtime Baker City resident, died Aug. 24, 2008, as the result of an accident. There will be a memorial barbecue Sunday in his honor at Hamilton, Mont. He was born March 10, 1965, at Waynoka, Okla., to Coral Belle Boren. When he was 2, Cal moved with his mother to Idaho. There she met and married Robert Boren who Cal respected and loved as his father. Cal grew up on a ranch at Emmett, Idaho, along with his eight brothers and two sisters. On Jan. 8, 1976, he married the … Read more

Lewis Howard Wirth – Obituary

Lewis Howard Wirth, 81, a former Baker City resident, died July 29, 2009, at Orem, Utah. His funeral was Monday at the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home in North Orem, Utah. Interment was at the Orem City Cemetery. Lewis was born on July 10, 1928, to Joseph and Inez Wirth at Burns Lake, British Columbia, where he lived until the age of 8. His family then moved to Medical Springs where they farmed and ranched. He graduated from Baker High School, where he met and married Arlene Johnson. They were married on April 9, 1950, at Baker City. Together they raised … Read more

Anderson, Evelyn Ruth Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Evelyn Ruth Anderson, 80, of Baker City, who pioneered the 4-H horse program, died Nov. 10, 2004, at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Boise. Her memorial service was Friday at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in North Powder. She was born on Sept. 15, 1924, at San Francisco. She enjoyed many careers in her lifetime, some of which included working as a computer operator, phone system administrator, elementary school secretary and nurses assistant. But the true love of her life was horses. She successfully lobbied to have horses accepted as a legitimate 4-H project in the 1950s. She had … Read more

Spriet, Marcel H. – Obituary

Marcel H. Spriet, 85, a lifelong Baker Valley resident, died May 22, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center. At his request, there will be no funeral. His body was cremated. Mr. Spriet was born Nov. 5, 1915, at Baker City to Ivo and Alida Verhagey Spriet. He married Naomi Hall in Walla Walla, Wash., on March 17, 1936. He was a longtime employee of Burnt River Lumber Co. Mr. Spriet loved his children and grandchildren and hunting and riding his four-wheeler. Survivors include his wife, Naomi Spriet of Baker City; son and daughter-in-law, Frank and Ginger Spriet of Winnemucca, … Read more

Spence, Toye L. – Obituary

Toye L. Spence, 73, of Baker City died Sept. 13, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. At her request there will be no service. Cremation will be at Eastern Oregon Pioneer Crematory. Arrangements are under the direction of Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel. Used with permission from: The Record Courier, Baker City, Oregon, September, 2005 Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor

Hanson, Roy E. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Roy E. Hanson, 88, of Baker City died May 12, 2001, at Settler’s Park Assisted Living Center. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Agape Christian Center, 650 Highway 7. Rod Dickison will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the church. Mr. Hanson was born on Dec. 4, 1912, at Decatur County, Iowa. As a young man, he farmed with his dad in South Dakota until the Depression came and they lost almost everything. He married Rose Fox at Rockham, S.D., in 1934 and shortly afterward, the family moved to Nampa, … Read more

Kaemming, Carson, Jr. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Carson Kaemming Jr., 18, of Cheney, Wash., died Oct. 22, 2004, from injuries received in an automobile accident at Cheney. His funeral was today at Cheney Funeral Chapel in Cheney. Burial will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Carson was born on March 30, 1986, at St. Augustine, Fla. He moved to Cheney, Wash., with his family in 1987 and lived at Cheney and Ritzville where he attended school and worked at Zips restaurant in both communities. Survivors include his father, Carson Kaemming Sr. of Spokane,Wash.; his mother, Sharon Kaemming of Four Lakes, Wash.; … Read more

Braswell, Katheryn Sullivan Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Katheryn Braswell, 90, of Baker City, died April 8, 2002, at Ashley Manor Care Center. Her graveside funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. The Rev. Lennie Spooner of the First Church of the Nazarene will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the home of Pat and Bobbie Braswell. Visitations will be until 6 o’clock tonight at Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave. Mrs. Braswell was born on April 5, 1912, at Baker City to A.P. and Lulu Sullivan. She attended Baker schools and was a 1930 … Read more

Incidents in Pioneer Days in Baker County, Oregon

People who come to the Pacific States in palace cars, making the trip in four or five days, can have but a faint conception of the toils and hardships endured by those who crossed the plains with teams before the advent of railroads. Experience would also be necessary, perhaps, to enable one to fully appreciate the humorous phases of the journey; but doubtless scores of old pioneers have smiled at sight of a certain paper which was posted on a tree by the side of the trail between Elk creek and Auburn in the fall of ’62, for it could … Read more

Irey, Keith – Obituary

Keith Irey, 67, a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 23, 2005, at Spokane, Wash. His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mount Hope Cemetery. There was a service in Spokane earlier. Keith Irey was born on Jan. 1, 1938, at Baker City. He attended Baker schools and was a Baker High School graduate. He was a loving husband, brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years and, retired in 1994 from the Federal Aviation Administration after 38 years as an engineer. He enjoyed watching the Seattle Mariners and playing … Read more

Quartz Mining, Baker County Oregon

About two thousand claims on quartz lodes have been recorded in Baker County since 1862. More or less development work has been done on most of them, perhaps one half of them having been worked to the extent which the law requires in order to make the claim secure. Nineteen quartz mills have been built, ranging in capacity from two to sixty tons per day. The first one built was the Ruckles mill at Baker City, which was put in operation in 1864. The mill was run by waterpower, and was built to work the ore from what was then … Read more

Miller, Arlene Mrs. – Obituary

Arlene Miller, 80, died April 3, 2009, surrounded by her family. There was a reception at Arlene’s home Saturday for loved ones and friends. Arlene was born and raised at Halfway. She was the daughter of ranchers. She married Forest Miller, also from Halfway, in 1948. Upon Forest’s graduation from Oregon State University at Corvallis, the couple made their home in Hillsboro where they raised three children: Scott, Macie and Marty. Their house was a popular gathering place for their children’s friends and many sought her out for her sage advice and sharp wit. Arlene was an avid reader, gardener … Read more

Foersterling, Willis Emil – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Willis Emil Foersterling, 78, a longtime Baker City resident, died March 2, 2004, at his home. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Private interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. The Rev. Susan Barnes of the First Presbyterian Church will officiate. Masonic Ritualistic Rites and military honors also will be conducted. Visitations will be from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Willis was born on July 30, 1925, at Baker City, to Willis Herbert and Zelda Mae Sparks Foersterling. He was educated at Sisley … Read more