Morrow County OR

Biographical Sketch of Homer McFarland

HOMER McFARLAND, – Mr. McFarland, one of our most able young men, was born at The Dalles June 22, 1865, the youngest son of J.C. McFarland, and a nephew of E.B. McFarland, who was one of the oldest settlers of The Dalles, and one of her most substantial citizens. He received his early education at the Wasco Academy, attending until his nineteenth year. In 1885 he came to Lexington, Oregon, where he has been engaged in the general merchandise business ever since. This enterprise was the first of its kind in that town; and the firm, in which he holds … Read more

Appleton, Arnold E. – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Arnold E. Appleton, 65, of Heppner and formerly of La Grande died Nov. 14 at his home. A memorial service will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at the New Hope Community Church in Hermiston. A graveside memorial will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Sweeney Mortuary of Heppner is in charge of arrangements. Mr. Appleton was born Sept. 9, 1941, to Howard and Ruth Arnold Appleton in Van Nuys, Calif. He was raised and attended school in Van Nuys, graduating from high school in 1959. In 1965 he married Pamela Passick. The … Read more

Hill, Laura Belle

Elgin, Union County, Oregon Sisters-in-Law Die In Elgin Sisters-in-law, Laura Bell Hill and Dora Florence Hill, both resident of Elgin, died within three days of each other in local hospitals this week. Laura Belle Hill of Elgin, for 55 years a resident of Union county, died at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, of a stroke at the age of 68. Surviving are five children, Mrs. Louie Hale of Elgin, Mrs. Luther Cummins of Portland, and Mrs. Warren Metcalf of Chester, California, 11 grandchildren, two sisters, Miss Grace Crawford of Pendleton, and Mrs. Chester Kuykendoll of Pomeroy, Washington, and other relatives. Funeral services … Read more

Rash, LeRoy R. – Obituary

Funeral services for LeRoy R. Rash, 74, Boardman, will be Monday [March 22, 1951] 2 p.m. at the Burns Chapel in Hermiston. Dr. James Bennett of the Hermiston Baptist Church will preach the services. Burial will be in Olney Cemetery in Pendleton. Mr. Rash died at Boardman at the home of a son, Harold Rash. Another son survives him, Lloyd Rash of Estacade, Ore. A daughter, Mrs. Roy Thomas, lives at Hermiston. There are two brothers and five sisters and 13 grandchildren surviving Mr. Rash. He came to Umatilla county seven years ago from Silverton, Ore., where he was a … Read more

Ingle, Bess O. Wiglesworth Mrs. – Obituary

Bess O. Ingle, 97, a longtime Baker City resident, died Jan. 8, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Ralph Holcomb of Baker City will officiate. The funeral will conclude in the chapel. Private vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be from noon to 7 o’clock tonight at the funeral home. Mrs. Ingle was born on June 28, 1907, at Galloway, a Morrow County community. She was the daughter of William Earl and Bitha Leona Turner Wiglesworth. She was raised … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Otis Patterson

OTIS PATTERSON. – Mr. Patterson, editor of the Heppner Gazette, at Heppner, Oregon, and one of the representative men of common sense and energy in the Inland Empire, was born at Danville, Indiana, September 4, 1858. He remained in that city until the age of eighteen, receiving a good common-school education. He also improved himself by a scientific course, graduating as B.S. from the Centeral Normal College of Danville. In 1876 he acted upon the advice of a celebrated father of his profession, and came to Emporia, Kansas, where he engaged in educational work. In 1882 he performed the rest … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles P. Rutherford

Hon. Chas. P. Rutherford, County Judge of Harney County. Is essentially a self-made man. Left an orphan at an early age, his education was that of the tallow dip and district school. At the age of sixteen he began ruining through Idaho and Oregon, also packing from Umatilla landing to Boise Basin. In 1873 he began raising stock in Grant County, but moved five years later to Morrow County. Returning in 1887 to Grant, now Harney, County, he has resided here since. He was formerly a member of the Democratic Party, but was elected County Judge in 1894 on the … Read more

Ward, William T. “Bill” – Obituary

William T. “Bill” Ward, 60, of Cornelius and a former Baker City resident, died Monday, April 14, 2003, at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland. Memorial services were held Thursday, April 17, 11 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in Hillsboro. The staff of Fir Lawn Mortuary in Hillsboro were in charge of the cremation arrangements. Mr. Ward was born the youngest and only son of Guy M. and Lyla (Montgomery) Ward on Aug. 7, 1942, in Dayton, Wash. He grew up in Hood River where he graduated from high school and then attended college at Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton … Read more

Benge, Mary – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Mary Benge, 92, died June 21 in La Grande. A memorial service will be held at the Heppner Masonic Cemetery at 11 a.m. Saturday. A potluck will follow at the Heppner Elks Club. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Mary was born April 9, 1915, in Coffey, Mo., to Claude and Ethel Brumfield Cartwright. She had four siblings. Raised by her grandparents, she grew up in Coffey and graduated from Coffey High School at age 16. After graduating, she met and married Dem Reninger and they had three children. They lived in Denver, where they … Read more

Biography of James H. Raley

JAMES H. RALEY. – Prominent among the pioneers of Eastern Oregon may be mentioned this gentleman whose name and portrait appear here with, and who now sits as joint senator in the Oregon legislature from Umatilla and Morrow counties. He was born in Nebraska City in 1855, and as a boy, in 1862, crossed the plains with his parents, arriving at Portland at a time so early in the history of that metropolis as to find an excellent spot for camping near the present site of the St. Charles Hotel. A year later the family found a location at Vancouver, … Read more

Sutherland, William Morrow – Obituary

Private family services for William Morrow Sutherland, 76, of Charleston, will be held in Heppner where he will be laid to rest in the Morrow family plot beside his father and mother. Mr. Sutherland died in Roseburg of complications of age on Jan. 19, 1995. He was born to Mr. and Mrs. Martin VanBuren Sutherland on Oct. 11, 1918. He attended Lincoln High School in Portland, then attended Reed College and majored in economics, graduated in 1941. Immediately following graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, becoming a second lieutenant in the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. After separation … Read more

Jewett, Helen M. – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Helen M. Jewett, 93, of La Grande, died Aug. 17 at Grande Ronde Hospital. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cove Christian Camp. Helen was born June 22, 1914, to Harold and Thena Mae Moak Fry in Montesano, Wash. Helen spent most of her childhood on a ranch on the Wynooche River near Montesano, with a brief time spent in Alberta, Canada. She attended a one-room school, and graduated high school in Montesano. She attended Eugene Bible College (now called Northwest Christian College) in Eugene. She and her husband, Joe, ministered during college … Read more

Lawyer, Brian Wayne – Obituary

Brian Wayne Lawyer, 18, of Boardman and North Powder, died Nov. 10, 2000, at his home in Boardman. His memorial service was Wednesday at the United Methodist Church in North Powder. Inurnment of cremains was at the North Powder Cemetery. Mr. Lawyer was born Dec. 12, 1981, at La Grande to Rick L. and Connie Schwabrow Lawyer. He grew up in North Powder. He recently had lived in both North Powder and in Boardman where his parents own homes. He was a member of the Laborers Union Local No. 121 at Hermiston. He loved to play baseball and was on … Read more

Perdue, Delcie Elma Hogeland Mrs. – Obituary

Unity, Baker County, Oregon Delcie Elma Hogeland Perdue, 86, of Unity, died Dec. 27, 2005, at Phoenix, Ariz. There will be no service at this time. A Celebration of Life service will be announced later. Delcie was born on May 26, 1919, at Heppner to Russell and Ida Crewdson Hogeland, and grew up at Mount Vernon. She spent almost all of her life in Oregon and held a variety of jobs through the years. In 1961, she and her her husband, Darrel Perdue, purchased the Waterhole in Unity. It was not uncommon for people to drive from as far away … Read more

Cate, Jenice E. – Obituary

Flora, Oregon Jeniece E. “Jenny” Cate, 57, died March 12, 2005, at Kadlec Medical Center in Richland, Wash. She was born on Aug. 24, 1947 in Enterprise to Glenn (Blackie) McElroy and Jean Burleigh McElroy. Mrs. Cate grew up in Flora and Irrigon. She graduated in 1965 from Riverside High School and attended Blue Mountain Community College. She enjoyed reading, knitting, science fiction movies and cats. In 1970 she married Robert Cate and they had four children together. They divorced in 1983. She moved back to Irrigon in 1981 from Happy Camp, Calif. She worked for Cong Agra for 23 … Read more

Biographical Sketch of W. J. Leezer

W. J. LEEZER. – Mr. Leezer, one of the most active of all ourcitizens, was born March 21, 1846, at Rushville, Illinois, where he received a common-school education and learned the tinner’s trade. In 1870 he crossed the plains, locating at Umatilla Landing, and working for his brother, J.M. Leezer, who was then doing a tin and hardware business at that point. A year later he bought the establishment and conducted the business for himself, until in 1880 he closed out his interests there and moved to Heppner, Oregon, where he has established and carries on successfully a mercantile business … Read more

Dowdy, Janice “Roselle” McNair Mrs. – Obituary

Janice “Roselle” Dowdy, 64, of Irrigon, a former Baker City resident, died Nov. 5, 2001, at her home with her family at her side. A Celebration of Life Memorial Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Angels Catholic Church in Hermiston. Disposition was by cremation. Mrs. Dowdy was born the third of eight children on Aug. 22, 1937, in Baker City to John Joseph and Edith Maxine McNair. She attended St. Francis Academy in Baker City. In the summer of 1955, she and Adolph M. Dowdy met at a Grange dance in Haines. They were married … Read more

Biography of Hon. Theron E. Fell

HON. THERON E. FELL. – Mr. Fell has become especially known in Oregon as a representative to the state legislature from Morrow county. The manner of his election shows his popularity among his neighbors and the people of his own region. He was the grandson of an abolishionist Quaker, and the son of an original Republican, and himself has been true to the family record. Having received the regular nomination by the Republican party, his rival “bolted” and accepted an independent nomination. The Democrats seeing this rupture did not fail to improve the opportunity, and presented an excellent ticket. The … Read more

Mayfield, John – Obituary

Elgin, Union County, Oregon Mayfield Murdered Monday Morning Shot With Rifle While Asleep; Coe Held On Open Charge John Mayfield, a long time resident of the Elgin vicinity was murdered at an early hour Monday morning at the home of A.J. Coe, between Imbler and Cove. According to reports, Mr. Mayfield was killed with a rifle, the bullet entering his lower jaw, and going out near the top of his head. A J. Coe, at whose home Mr. Mayfield was staying, is being held on an open charge pending the coroner’s inquest, which was held Wednesday evening at 7:30 at … Read more

Morrow, Jackson L. – Obituary

Jackson L. Morrow passed away at Salem on April 29,1984. He was born February 11, 1896 at Heppner son of James William and Katie Rea Morrow. On July 23, 1917 he was married to Irene Johnson at Portland. He was a WWI veteran, a life member of Harmony Lodge No. 12 AM & AM, a 50 year member of the American Legion. He moved from Joseph to Salem in 1977. Survivors include two sons, S.W. Morrow of Portland, and S.L. Morrow of Longview, Washington; a sister, Mrs. M.V. Sutherland of Salem. Funeral services and interment of remains will be held … Read more