Baker County OR

DeBel, Stella VanBeveren Mrs. – Obituary

Stella DeBel, 92, of Portland, a former Baker City resident, died Sept. 28, 2006, at Portland. There will be no funeral. Private family interment will be scheduled later at Mount Angel Calvary Cemetery. Stella was born on June 22, 1914, at Empire, Mich., to Adolf and Elodie VanBeveren. She moved to Baker City in 1922 with her parents, three sisters, Mary, Jerry and Florene, and a brother, Albert. She attended schools at Baker City and graduated from St. Francis Academy. Stella met her future husband, Frank Henry DeBel, in Baker City. At the age of 22, she married him and … Read more

Walker, La Vaughn Albert “Oscar Mayer” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon La Vaughn “Oscar Mayer” Albert Walker, died Jan. 23, 2003, at Twin Firs Retirement Center in La Grande. His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Island City Cemetery. Pastor Wilfred Nitz of the Faith Lutheran Church of La Grande will officiate. Mr. Walker was born April 26, 191, to Albert Ross Walker and Emma Huntley Walker. His mother died when he was a young boy. He spent most of his youth in foster homes. He lived in La Grande most of his life until a few years after the death of his wife, … Read more

Rowan, F. MaRee Beigh Mrs. – Obituary

F. MaRee Beigh Rowan, 74, died May 14, 2008, at her home in Sumpter. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave. There will be a graveside service at 3 p.m. at Evergreen Cemetery in Ontario. Friends are invited to join the family at the Lions Park for a celebration of life party in MaRee’s honor after the service. MaRee was the daughter of Millard and Florence Beigh of Cambridge, Idaho. She was born and raised at Cambridge. She married the love of her life, Durwood “Jim” Rowan of Ontario, on Nov. … Read more

Eccles, Darris Elwood – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Darris Elwood Eccles, 78, died at his Kala Point home on Oct. 14, 2004. He has been a resident of Port Townsend, Wash., since 1956. Born on Sept. 5, 1926, to Richmond and Lenore (Sturgill) Eccles in Baker City, Darris graduated from Baker High School. He was employed by Safeway Stores in several Oregon cities and entered the U.S. Navy in 1952, where he graduated as an operating room technician with honors. He loved his time in the service, traveling on a transport ship to Alaska and the Far East, according to his family. Darris married Lora … Read more

Town, Raymond Allen, Jr. – Obituary

Raymond Allen Town Jr., 68, of Portland, owner of the Sunridge Inn, Marilyn’s and Sonny’s Bar and Grill in Baker City, died Oct. 19, 2001, at Lake Powell, Ariz. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Agnes Flanagan Chapel at Lewis & Clark College in Portland. There will be a reception afterward at the Columbia Aviation Association at Aurora Airport. Mr. Town was born on Nov. 13, 1932, at Portland. He was the only son of Bertha Fern and Raymond Allen Town Sr. He was a lifelong Oregonian. His family, childhood friends and peers knew him as … Read more

Jones, Glen Loren – Obituary

North Powder, Union County, Oregon Glen Loren Jones, 72, a former North Powder resident, died Jan. 12, 2003, at Bremerton, Wash. After graduating from North Powder High School, he moved to Port Orchard, Wash. He retired from the Bremerton Naval Shipyard after 35 years of service. He loved to roller skate and in his spare time he taught young people to skate. Survivors include his wife, Marie, of Port Orchard, Wash.; a sister, Phyllis Ramey, and her husband, Harce, of Arroyo Grande, Calif.; brothers, Chuck of Modesto, Calif., Ed and his wife, Jan, and Jim and his wife, Beverly, of … Read more

Bruner, Hazel D. Jensen Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Hazel D. Bruner, 81, of Baker City died Oct. 29, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center. Her graveside service will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in the veterans section of Mount Hope Cemetery. Baker City Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 3048, will conduct miliary honors. Mrs. Bruner was born on July 19, 1920, at Redmond, Utah, to Leslie Peter and Hazel Jean Sorenson Jensen. She was raised and educated at Redmond, Utah. She enlisted in the Womens Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) during World War II. She married LeRoy Andrew Bruner at Payette, Idaho, on Jan. 31, … Read more

Senter, Willetta Wyatt Vaughn Mrs. – Obituary

Willetta Vaughn Senter, 80, of Pendleton, a former resident of La Grande and Baker City, died July 11, 2002, at Pendleton. Her graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Island City Cemetery. Harold McKay will officiate. Mrs. Senter was born on Jan. 30, 1922, at Boring, Ky., to William Gibson and Louann Foister Wyatt. She was educated in Laurel County, Ky. During World War II she worked as a seamstress and as a tobacco sorter in the tobacco barns. She married Robert L. Vaughn Sr. in October of 1946 in Kentucky. In 1960 they moved to the … Read more

Savage, J. L. Mrs – Obituary

Mrs. J.L. (Taylor) Savage Dies At Haines Mrs. J.L. Savage, a pioneer of 1852 died Sunday at her home four and a half miles west of Haines. She was born September, 1849, in Illinois, and came to Oregon with her parents, crossing the plains with an ox team. Her parents settled near Harrisburg in the Willamette valley, the fall of 1852, and she was a resident of Baker county for 52 years. She witnessed the development of Baker valley from a wild sage brush country to a community of prosperous farms. The deceased is survived by her husband, eight children; … Read more

Osborn, Charles W. “Ozzie” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Charles W. “Ozzie” Osborn, 71, of Baker City, died July 4, 2001, at his home. His memorial service will be Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Mr. Osborn was born Oct. 5, 1926, at La Grande to Iran and Floea (Bingaman) Osborn. He was raised in La Grande and in Fresno, Calif. Mr. Osborn married Gloria A. Keider on Feb. 17, 1962, in Las Vegas. He moved to Baker City in 1971 from California. He worked at various photography businesses until he started his own in 1974, “Photo by Ozzie.” He … Read more

Reed, Sarah E. Graham Mrs. – Obituary

Sarah E. Reed, 79, a Richland native, died Feb. 2, 1981, in Scappoose, where she had lived for the past three years. Mrs. Reed was born April 8, 1901, the daughter of Albert K. and Sarah C. Graham. Survivors include a son, Norman L. Wirth of New Orleans; a daughter, Avis A. Corley of Baker; a sister, Inez J. Wirth of Baker; two brothers, Albert K. Graham of Squim, WA., and Eldon E. Graham of Chico, CA.; eight grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by a son, Dan D. Wirth, who was … Read more

Booker, Elaine Anne Shuck Mrs. – Obituary

Elaine Anne Booker, 78, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 16, 2007, at her home in Sacramento, Calif. Elaine was born on Nov. 13, 1928, at Baker City to Lesley and Anne Shuck. She was raised at Baker City and was a 1947 Baker High School graduate. She moved to Sacramento in August 1972 with her husband, Leslie Booker. Elaine was a friend to everyone and truly loved children of all ages. The walls of her home are covered with pictures of all of her family. She had a knack for remembering birthdays and anniversaries and always had a … Read more

Gray, Franklyn Isaiah “Frank” – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Franklyn Isaiah “Frank” Gray, 77, a longtime Baker City resident, died March 1, 2001, at his home. His funeral will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Baker City Seventh-day Adventist Church, corner of 17th Street and Pocahontas Road. Pastor Leon Cornforth will officiate. Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be today until 7 p.m. at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Mr. Gray was born Dec. 19, 1923, at Baker City to John Osborne Gray and Lurana Ann (Hall) Gray. His family homesteaded in the Baker Valley area and later moved to … Read more

Rumney, Inez Fields Mrs. – Obituary

Inez Rumney, 93, of Prairie City, a former La Grande resident, died Nov. 16, 2001, at Blue Mountain Nursing Home at Prairie City. There was a celebration of her life Sunday at the Island City Cemetery. Mrs. Rumney was born on March 12, 1908, to William H. and Bessie Rimbey Fields at Elgin where she attended school. She met Stuart Francis Rumney in a construction camp where she was cooking. The couple were married on Oct. 13, 1928, at Walla Walla, Wash. They lived mainly in La Grande and later moved to Island City. Mr. Rumney worked as a heavy … Read more

Mikesell, Nina Joane Moore Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Nina Joane Mikesell, 71, a longtime Baker City resident, died June 21, 2006, at her daughter’s home in Pasco, Wash. Her graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pat Brunner will officiate. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception after the service at Nina’s home at 2704 Ninth St. Nina was born on Oct. 27, 1934, at Atwood, Kan., to Earl and Deloris Bohall Moore. She married Donald Mikesell on Aug. 30, 1949, at Ukiah, Calif. In her younger years, Nina was quite a businesswoman. She and her husband … Read more

Fuge, Fred Leroy – Obituary

Fred Leroy Fuge, 84, died May 21, 2009 at his home in Haines. His memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Chaplain Eugene Sutton of the American Legion Post 41 will officiate. After the service, friends are invited to join the family for a reception at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall, 2005 Valley Ave. Fred was born on Sept. 12, 1924, at Seattle. He was the middle child of Fredrick and Ethel Albertine North Fuge. His father worked for Simmons Bed Co., so the family traveled to Glendale, … Read more

Karg, Margurite Maria “Margaret” McCarty Mrs. – Obituary

Margaret Karg, 100, a former Baker City resident, died June 27, 2009, at the Idaho Falls Care and Rehabilitation Center, where she had been a resident for 10 years. There will be a joint memorial service for Margaret and her husband, Otto Karg, at 2 p.m. Friday at Wood Funeral Home, 273 N. Ridge Ave., Idaho Falls. There will be a visitation time afterward. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery. Her maiden name was Margurite Maria McCarty. She was born on Nov. 30, 1908, at Woodland, Wash., to Riley and Addie Chandler McCarty. She was the third of four … Read more

Kolb, Louis Edward “Louie” – Obituary

Louis Edward “Louie” Kolb, 56, of La Grande, a former Baker City resident, died April 18, 2006, at Boardman. His funeral will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at the First Church of the Nazarene, 1250 Hughes Lane. Pastor Kirk Sager will officiate. After the service, friends are invited to join the family for a reception at the Baker Elks Lodge, 1896 Second St. Louie, Baker Valley’s version of Sam Elliott, was born at Baker City on Dec. 8, 1949, to George W. Kolb Sr. and Juanita A. Errend Kolb. He attended Baker Valley Schools and never met a teacher smarter … Read more

Hoopii, Catherine Eleanor Bach Mrs. – Obituary

Catherine Hoopii, 87, a longtime Baker City resident, died Nov. 24, 2006, at St. Elizabeth Care Center where she had lived for the past year. Catherine’s ready smile and twinkly eyes will be fondly remembered by the staff and residents of Meadowbrook Place where she was its first resident in 1992. Catherine was a very wise women and just a delight to be around; her friends and the staff at Meadowbrook always felt they could talk to her about anything. A lifetime lover of literature, Catherine’s first project at Meadowbrook was to see to it that she and other residents … Read more

Pine Haven Cemetery, Halfway, Oregon

Pine Haven Cemetery, located at Halfway, is also known as Pine Creek Cemetery and Pine Valley Cemetery. It is on the eastern outskirts of town easily visible from State Highway 86 approaching Halfway from the east. Land for the cemetery was donated by Mrs. Rebecca Lloyd who came to the valley as a widow with several children from Missouri. The late Mr. W. W. Lloyd, a well-known historian of the area, was one of her sons. It is believed the cemetery was started in the middle 1880’s, the first burial being 1885. There are older interments in the cemetery due … Read more