Malheur County OR

McGregor, John Vernon – Obituary

John Vernon McGregor, 87, a longtime Livermore, Calif., resident, formerly of Baker City, died suddenly on May 13, 2005, after a brief decline in health. John was born to John and Frances McGregor in Ontario. He spent his first years on the family farm. He later moved to Baker City where he married Sadie Darlene Tripp in 1941. They lived briefly in Wonderland, Calif., where he worked as a welder helping in the construction of Shasta Dam. In 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps. He served as a tail gunner in a B-24 during World War II. He flew … Read more

Bates, Charles – Obituary

Charles Bates, 48, of Ontario, died July 30 at his home of natural causes. A celebration of life will be from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the LDS Church house at 710 S. Curtis Road in Boise. Cremation was held. He was born Sept. 16, 1958, to Jay and Jeanne Bates in Rigby Idaho. He was the fourth child. Chuck grew up in Boise where he was active in sports. After marrying he moved his family to Oregon where he spent many years coaching multiple sports. Chuck worked hard at being a positive influence and was proud of his … Read more

Biography of Archibald W. Turner

The subject of this sketch is one of Malheur County’s heaviest property owners, having an estate of eleven hundred and sixty acres of fine soil and very valuable as a hay producer. He is one of the prominent men of the country, a man of fine capabilities, and highly respected and esteemed by all. Mr. Turner was born in Boone County, Missouri, on February 1, 1827, being the son of James and Sarah Turner. He was reared on a farm, gained his education in the primitive log school house of the time and at the native place on October 7, … Read more

Foster, Letha Ardelle Mrs. – Obituary

Letha Ardelle Foster, 89, died July 9, 2001, at Ontario. Her memorial service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. in Baker City. Interment will be at Medford. Mrs. Foster was born July 14, 1911, at Ashgrove, Mo., and was raised in the Idaho Falls, Idaho, area. She was schooled there and graduated from LIFE Bible College in Los Angeles in 1941. She was pastor of a Mission Church at Long Beach, Calif., during World War II, worked as assistant pastor and secretary of Long Beach Foursquare Church for many years, and spent most … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Weaver, James

A man of sterling worth and a well-known citizen of Malheur, was born in Minnesota in 1860, and with his parents moved to this state in 1864, settling near Walla Walla, Wash. He received his education in the schools of Milton, Or. and then followed farming in that section until 1885. Moving to Morrow County, near Heppner, he followed the sane avocation until 1890. He then moved to Malheur County, and in 1892 bought out the drug store of A. W. Rime of Vale, and has successfully conducted it since. He carries a complete line of drugs and sundries, schoolbooks, … Read more

Cress, John M. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon John M. Cress, 91, of Baker City died Dec. 24, 2003, at Ashley Manor Care Center. His memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Bishop Tom Brock of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at Gray’s West & Co. His ashes, along with those of his wife, will be scattered in their beloved mountains next spring. John was born on Aug. 7, 1912, at Portland to Harry J. and Leona L. Warren Cress. He was … Read more

Hoffman, Leona Maxine Cartwright Mrs. – Obituary

Leona Maxine Hoffman, 80, of Ontario, died Friday, Aug. 30, 2002, at a Boise hospital. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Park Community Church, Highway 201 and Holly Road on the Oregon Slope across from Vern’s Market. Ed Renk will officiate. Burial will be at the Fairview Cemetery. There will be a dinner afterward in the Park Community Church basement. Visitations will be Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Ontario Lienkaemper Chapel, 78 N.W. First Ave. Maxine was born Sept. 5, 1921, at Rye Valley to Elsie and Alvin Cartwright. She lived at … Read more

Whitnah, Calvin Hugh – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Calvin H. Whitnah, 70, of Richland, died Aug. 10 at his home. A funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Halfway. A vault interment will follow at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. A reception will take place at the New Bridge Grange. The Observer – August 12, 2008 _______________________________ Calvin Hugh Whitnah, 70, of Richland and formerly of La Grande, died Aug. 10 at his home. A funeral service will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at the LDS Chapel in Halfway, with a viewing to … Read more

Wilson, Lem Edward – Obituary

Lem Edward Wilson, 87, a longtime Northeastern Oregon farmer and rancher, died Jan. 3, 2006, at Ontario. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Bethany Presbyterian Church, 1712 W. Idaho Ave., in Ontario. Burial will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Prairie View Cemetery in Grangeville, Idaho. Lem was born on Sept. 22, 1918, near Nyssa. He was the seventh of 12 children. His parents, Lemen Elijah and Nancy Isabelle Wilson, were children of pioneers who had moved West in covered wagons. Lem grew up working on his father’s farm and herding sheep at an … Read more

Andrew, Wilma LaRee “Babe” Hickey White Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Wilma LaRee “Babe” White Andrew, 80, of Baker City, died July 7, 2004, at her home. Her graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Lennie Spooner of the Baker City Church of the Nazarene will officiate. The grave site will be dedicated by Bob Brady of Baker City. Babe was born on Oct. 9, 1923, to William Thomas Hickey and Emile Cole Hickey on the family farm near Ontario where she grew up with 11 brothers and sisters. She married Jack White on June 22, 1939. They made their home in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James T. Davis

One of the worthy pioneers of this County, a man of ability and executive force and unswerving integrity, the subject of this sketch is now one of the leading citizens of Nyssa, and a prominent man in Malheur County. He lives one mile northwest from the town of Nyssa, having a ‘farm of one hundred and twenty acres, well improved and handled in a skillful manner, which is a good dividend producer. James T. was born in Unionville, Putnam County, Missouri, on October 25, 185o, being the son of Hamilton and Saline Davis. In 1862, the father and the oldest … Read more

Biography of Thomas C. Fletcher

One of the earliest pioneers of this region of the country, a man whose life has always been dominated by wisdom prudence and upright principles,. having ever manifested also stanch virtues and a reliability that are becoming a good citizen and faithful man, the subject of this article is vie of the leading men of Malheur County, and a prominent resident of Ontario. Thomas C. was born in Mercer County, Kentucky, on October 11, 1841, being the son of Jewett and Elizabeth Fletcher. When our subject was six years of age he had the misfortune to lose his father and … Read more

Helman, Terry – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Terry Helman, 62, of La Grande, died May 30, 2003, at his home. A celebration of life service will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 28, at the La Grande Eagles Lodge. Mr. Helman was born on Sept. 19, 1940, at La Grande to Virgil and Cleo Campbell Helman. He was a 1958 La Grande High School graduate. He served with the Oregon National Guard and later became active in the U.S. Army. On Aug. 21, 1961, he married Marilyn Scott at Boise. The marriage later ended in divorce. On May 7, 1982, he married Carolyn Roberts. … Read more

Farson, Eileen Withrow Mrs. – Obituary

Halfway, Oregon Eileen Farson, 75, died Jan. 25, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services from complications of diabetes. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. MST Tuesday at the Haren-Wood Payette Chapel, 840 6th Ave. S. at Payette, Idaho. Vault interment will be at the Riverside Cemetery in Payette. Eileen Muriel Withrow Farson was born to Wallace and Viola May Hofeldt Withrow on March 7, 1926, at Cleveland, Mont. She spent her youth traveling with her family while her father worked construction. Eileen was a 1944 Baker High School graduate. On July 3, 1947, she married W.H. “Bill” Farson at … Read more

Biography of Alva P. Mack

This enterprising and intelligent gentleman is one of Malheur County’s leading agriculturists, being a man of good ability and possessed of thrift and those talents which make the successful man, which in its full degree he has demonstrated himself to be, for he came to Ontario in 1890 with less than twenty dollars in finances, and by his own endeavors he has amassed a goodly holding of valuable property; his estate of one hundred and twenty acres, which is highly improved and excellently tilled, lies four and one-half miles southwest from Ontario. It is a model rural home, and shows … Read more

Cathey, Laura Louise – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Laura Louise Cathey, 101, of Ontario and formerly of Baker City and La Grande, died April 28 in Ontario with family at her side. Graveside services will begin at 2 p.m. Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City. Pastor Jon Privett will officiate. Following the services there will be a reception at the Church of the Nazarene in Baker City for family and friends. Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel in Payette, Idaho, is in charge ofarrangements. Laura was born Nov. 1, 1906, to James and Hulda Ray in Rushville, Neb. She was the second of 12 children. Laura’s … Read more

Lofton, Bruce Martin – Obituary

Summerville, Oregon Bruce Martin Lofton, 63, of Huntington and formerly of Summerville, La Grande and Union, died Feb. 20. A funeral service is planned for 1 p.m. Saturday at the VFW Hall in Huntington. Bruce was born June 1, 1943, to Carlos and Dorothy Lofton in Ontario. He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was retired from the Union Pacific Railroad. Survivors include his sister, Frances; daughters, Wendy, Sheila and Lena; son, Kelley; and eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. The Observer – Obituaries for the week ending Mar. 3, 2007 Published: March 3, 2007

Smith, Dorothy Mrs. – Obituary

Dorothy Smith, 85, of Unity, died July 30, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center. Her graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Helix Cemetery. Jack Pittman of the Baker City Christian Church will officiate. Dorothy was born on Aug. 23, 1919, at Burns. She was the valedictorian of her high school class at Entiat, Wash. She attended Washington State College and later earned a degree in education from Western Oregon University at Monmouth. She taught elementary school for many years at Nyssa, The Dalles and the Reynolds School District in Portland. She married Arthur W. Smith … Read more

Dinger, Margaret Hack Smith Mrs. – Obituary

Margaret Hack Smith Dinger, 84, of Ontario, died Sept. 9, 2003, at her home after an illness. At her request, there will be no funeral. Burial is under the direction of Ontario’s Lienkaemper Chapel. Margaret was born on Jan. 20, 1919, at Jasper. She was the fourth daughter of Loyal R. and Frona Hills Hack. She graduated from high school at Springfield and later attended the University of Oregon at Eugene. She married Goff M. Smith in 1938. She worked in accounting for the U.S. Forest Service for many years, retiring in 1981. Goff died in 1975. She married Lloyd … Read more

Wingerd, Claude “Shorty” – Obituary

Claude “Shorty” Wingerd, 60, a former resident of LaGrande, OR, died Friday, July 26, in West Virginia. Graveside services for “Shorty” will be held Friday, August 2 at 10:00 a.m. in the Veterans section of Mt. Hope Cemetery, Baker City. Military rites will be accorded by the Mt. Home Air Force Base Honor Guard, Mt Home, Idaho. Friends may call for visitation at Gray’s West and Co. Thursday, August 1 from 9:00 a.m. until ?p.m. Mr. Wingerd was born, February 12, 1931 at Longmont Colorado, the son of Claude and Virginia (Black) Wingerd. At a young age, with his family … Read more