Biographical Sketch of W. H. Kirkland

W. H. Kirkland, who raised the first American flag in 1856 in the town of Tucson, was born in Petersburg, Virginia, July 12th, 1832, and emigrated to Arizona shortly after the Gadsden Purchase, eight or nine years before the organization of the Territory. He and his wife were the first white couple married in Arizona, being married in Tucson May 26th, 1860. In 1863 and 1864, he spent a good deal of time around Walnut Grove mining and ranching, about which time he purchased the ranch located by Pauline Weaver, and there engaged in stock raising. Later he settled in … Read more

Bowerman, Sally – Obituary

Joseph, Oregon Though Sally Bowerman of Joseph recently celebrated her 81st birthday she was “at the top of her game” when she died in a car crash in a dangerous intersection in Portland last week, according to both her daughters. Bowerman enjoyed many lives during 81 years and, in some ways, was many different people. She was a mother and nurse, a writer and sports fan, a patron of the arts and community booster, a world traveler. During her high school years Bowerman was a prize winning equestrian, a show jumper in an English saddle. Though later she became the … Read more

Biography of J. W. Swilling

J. W. Swilling, known as “Jack Swilling,” was born in the state of Georgia in 1831. He emigrated to Missouri in early life, and there settled down. After having resided in that state some four years, his wife died, leaving one child, a girl, who afterwards married and lived in Missouri. About the year 1857, Swilling emigrated to Texas where he remained for two years, when he came to Arizona, and was in the employ of the Overland Mail Company for quite a length of time. During the Rebellion, Swilling was a lieutenant in Captain Hunter’s company of volunteers in … Read more

Rosedale Cemetery, Phoenix, Arizona

This cemetery lies in the southwest part of Phoenix, near 20 Ave. and Washington street. It was platted 1898, deed acknowledged January 21, 1898, and recorded April 30, of the same year. There have been no burials there since 1911 or 1912, and the grounds are unfenced, untended and in general disrepair. Many of the board markers are so worn by the weather that the inscriptions can scarcely be deciphered, and large numbers have all marks worn off, while some are partly destroyed by fire. Many really fine marble and granite monuments are thrown off the bases, and while it … Read more

Bennett, Laurajo Roberts Mrs. – Obituary

Laurajo Bennett, 74, of El Monte, Calif., died Aug. 28, 2002 at her home. Her funeral service was held in Halfway on Saturday, Aug. 31. Interment was at Pine Haven Cemetery. Laurajo was born in Phoenix, Ariz., on Nov. 23, 1927, to Kenneth and Edith Roberts. She was raised and educated in Los Angeles. In 1947 she married William Bennett, and on Aug. 10 of this year they celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. Bill and Laurajo made their first home in Texas. It was there in Texas where their daughter Karen was born. Not long after, they left Texas for … Read more

Schricker, Richard Alex – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Richard Alex Schricker, 65, of Baker City and formerly of La Grande, died Aug. 11 in Phoenix, Ariz. A viewing will run from 3 to 8 p.m. today at Coles Funeral Home in Baker City. A memorial service begins at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Agape Christian Center in Baker City with a reception immediately following at the church. Pastor Garth Johnson will officiate. A graveside service with military honors will follow at 3 p.m. at Hillcrest East Cemetery in La Grande. Richard was born March 7, 1943, to Richard Clifford and Patricia Louise (Wynegar) Schricker in … Read more

Abrams, Larry Lee – Obituary

Larry Lee Abrams, 52, of Spokane and a former Baker City and Huntington resident died Oct. 12, 2005, at his home. A rosary and memorial service was held Saturday, Oct. 15, at 10 am at Heritage Funeral Home. Private internment was at Mount Saint Michaels. Larry was born in Weiser, Idaho, on Jan. 27, 1953. During grade school he moved with his family to Phoenix, Ariz., where they resided for six years. They then returned to Huntington where Larry attended high school, was a big part of the winning football team, and graduated with honors in 1971. He attended Treasure … Read more

Nord, Larry C. – Obituary

Larry C. Nord, 53, of Pendleton and a former Baker City resident, died March 19, 2003. It was his request that there be no funeral service. Inurnment will be at Phoenix, Ariz. Mr. Nord was born Jan. 18, 1950, at Bagley, Minn., to Sigurd and Carol Annonson Nord. He was employed at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution for 12 years. Mr. Nord loved spending time with his best friend and wife, Judy, with his grandchildren, with his father and other relatives; and he loved his “girls” — his cocker spaniels, Taffy and Missy. He and his sons-in-law, Don Thompson and Dwayne … Read more

Poole, Elwyn L. – Obituary

Elwyn L. Poole, 85, of Pendleton, died Thursday, Jan. 23, 1986, at Delamarter Care Center. He was born Feb. 21, 1900 in Rio, Miss., the son of Richard and Inez Poole. He attended Emerson Institute of Technology in Washington, D.C., and worked for various agencies of the federal government. When he retired in 1962 he was employed by the General Services Administration as an air conditioning engineer. On March 8, 1924, he married Ethel Alline Bound of Bailey, Miss. They lived in the District of Columbia, Arlington, Va., Walla Walla and Phoenix, Ariz. Poole came to Pendleton in 1977 to … 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

Stevens, William Odell – Obituary

William Odell Stevens, 54, of Baker City, died July 2, 2004, at his home. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2625 Hughes Lane. Bishop Thomas Brock of the Valley Ward will conduct the service. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home. Bill was born July 29, 1949, at McNary, Ariz., to Robert Odell and Geneva R. Pettyjohn Stevens. He married Nancy Jefferies on Nov. 9, 1974, at Phoenix, Ariz. They moved to Baker City in 1981 from Abilene, … Read more

Biography of Addison Fox McCaleb

Addison Fox McCaleb, one of the most prominent and prosperous citizens of northeastern Oklahoma, where he first took up his abode forty-three years ago, was elected mayor of Bartlesville in April, 1920, and has since capably discharged the duties devolving upon him in that important position. He was born at Harrison, Tennessee, on the 10th of January, 1861, a son of Charles and Elizabeth (Gardenhire) McCaleb, the former a native of east Tennessee and the latter of Hamilton county, that state. The father held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Civil war and was wounded in battle, but his … Read more

Attaway, Bessie McCulley Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Baker County, Oregon Bessie Attaway, 102, of Baker City, died Oct. 16, 2005, at St. Elizabeth Care Center. Her memorial graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Lennie Spooner of the First Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Bessie was born on Nov. 7, 1902, at Attica, Ind. She was the fourth of nine children born to James and Stella McCulley. As a young girl she moved with her family to Phoenix, Ariz. She spent most of her childhood and school years there. Bessie met and married her high school sweetheart, Alford … Read more

Buckley, Doris Gake – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Doris Gake Buckley Doris Gake Buckley, 75, of Phoenix, Ariz., and formerly of La Grande and Wallowa County, died Jan. 25 at a care home in Phoenix. A memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bollman Funeral Home in Enterprise. Mrs. Buckley was born in La Grande Sept. 18, 1931, to Albert and Anna Gake. She lived in La Grande for a few years until the family moved to Enterprise and then to Joseph, where she attended school. During World War II, the family moved to Huntington, where her father worked for the Union Pacific … Read more

Biography of King S. Woolsey

Among the most notable of the early pioneers of Arizona, was King S. Woolsey. He was a native of Alabama, but was raised to manhood in Louisiana, from which state he emigrated to California when only eighteen years of age. He came into this territory in 1860 in company with Mr. Benedict of Tucson, and Colonel Jackson, who settled in Yavapai County. When they landed in Yuma, all the money in the party was five dollars, which King Woolsey had. In addition he had a horse, rifle and pistol, and the others were similarly mounted and armed. They had ridden … Read more

Stevens, Ova Belle Anderson Mrs. – Obituary

Richland, Oregon Ova Belle Stevens, 90, of Richland, died Jan. 11, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Richland Christian Church. Pastor Gordon Bond will officiate. Visitations will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. There will be a graveside service at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego. Ova Belle was born to James M. and Eva L. Anderson on Dec. 20, 1913, at Carnegie, Okla. She attended school and was raised in Caddo … Read more

Buckley, Doris – Obituary

Enterprise, Oregon Doris Buckley died at a care home in Phoenix, Ariz. on Jan. 25, 2007. She was 75. Mrs. Buckley was born in La Grande on Sept. 18, 1931, to Albert and Anna Gake. She lived in La Grande for a few years until the family moved to Enterprise and then to Joseph, where she attended school. During the war, the family moved to Huntington where her father worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. She graduated from Huntington High School. She married Glen Buckley in 1949. They worked on ranches in Wallowa County for a number of years, and … Read more

Biography of Michael Goldwater

One of the earliest business men to settle permanently in Arizona was Michael Goldwater, who came to Arizona in 1860, locating at La Paz on the Colorado River. At that time he was associated in business with Mr. B. Cohen, and founded a large forwarding and trading business besides being Government contractors and merchants. They erected the first mill upon the Vulture Mine, and when it was completed, Mr. Goldwater, with Mr. James Cusenberry, the superintendent, took charge of the property, and ran the mill for about ninety days, paying off all the debts upon it and then turning it … Read more

Jacobson, Oscar Lee “Bud” – Obituary

Oscar Lee “Bud” Jacobson, 66, died Oct. 31, 2001, at Phoenix, Ariz., from complications of pneumonia. There will be a memorial gathering in his honor at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Haines Methodist Community Building adjacent to the Haines Methodist Church. Mr. Jacobson was born on Aug. 30, 1935, to Walter “Bud” Jacobson and Marian Steward Jacobson in Baker City. He grew up on a ranch between Haines and North Powder. He graduated from Powder Valley High School at North Powder in 1954 and from Oregon Technical Institute (now Oregon Institute of Technology) at Klamath Falls in 1956. He … Read more

Talich, Sylvia Nelson Mrs. – Obituary

Sylvia Talich, 95, of Phoenix, Ariz., a former longtime Baker City resident died May 23, 2005, at her home. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Agape Christian Center at 650 Highway 7. Pastor Aaron Oglesbee of the Agape Christian Center will officiate. Burial will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Agape Christian Center. She was born Sylvia Nelson on March 15, 1910, at Bristow, Neb. She lived on a farm on the Niabrera River and attended school at Bristow. When she was about 10, she was … Read more