Washington County ID

Sample, Lois L. – Obituary

Wallowa County, Oregon Lois L. Sample died at St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Wash., July 9, 1987. She was 65. No funeral services were held at her request. Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children or the Elks Eye Clinic through Munsell-Rholdes Funeral Home Chapel in Milton-Freewater. Sample was born in Wallowa to Cecil and Thelma (Crow) Childers, on April 29, 1922. She attended schools in Lostine and Joseph, completing high school at Enterprise in 1940. She moved to Weiser, Idaho following high school graduation and attended the National Youth Business College. She … Read more

Biography of Cornelius G. Morehead

A native of the Web foot State, the son of about the earliest pioneers of this state, raised amid its environments, both eastern and western Oregon, the subject of this article is thoroughly an Oregonian and a typical representative of its energetic and progressive citizens. Cornelius G. was born in Linn County, Oregon, on June 26, 1865, being the son of Robert M. and Martha (Curl) Morehead. The parents came with ox teams to Oregon in 1848 and settled in the Willamette valley and the father being a millwright, built the first mill of the state. It was located at … Read more

Linkous, Oscar – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Oscar Linkous, 89, a former Baker City, Haines and La Grande resident, died April 24, 2004, at a local care facility. A celebration of Oscar’s life will be conducted Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Haines Methodist Church. Sally B. Wiens will officiate. A lunch and gathering of family and friends will follow after a brief ceremony at the Haines Cemetery. Visitations will be Tuesday from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St. in La Grande. Oscar was born November 25, 1914, in Knoxville, Tenn., to Millum and Monty Bernard … Read more

Biography of James Colson

One of the respected pioneer farmers of Salubria is James Colson, who came to Idaho in 1864, and has since been engaged in stock raising. He was born in Ripley county, Indiana, October 23, 1834, a son of John and Polly (Allen) Colson, the former of whom was a farmer in Kentucky, moving to Iowa in 1850, where he was successful as a business man and landowner. He died at the advanced age of seventy years. To him and his wife were born eight children, three of whom survive. James Colson was reared on his father’s farm and received his … Read more

Maxwell, Robert Wesley – Obituary

Robert Wesley Maxwell, 85, of Weiser, Idaho, a former Baker City resident, died at his home March 18, 2002. His funeral was at 2 p.m. March 21 at Thomason Funeral Chapel in Weiser. Inurnment was at Hillcrest Cemetery at Weiser. He was born to Robert John and Marguerite Pringle Maxwell on Jan. 15, 1917, at Weiser. He attended Hale School and was a 1935 graduate of Weiser High School. He was a member of the Horse Cavalry for two years. After high school, he attended the Intermountain Institute, Lewiston Normal School and the University of Idaho at Moscow. He married … Read more

Shumway, Letha M. Laxson Mrs. – Obituary

Letha Shumway, 91, of Baker City, died Feb. 1, 2006, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center. Her graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Ed Niswender of Calvary Baptist Church will officiate. Visitations will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at Coles Funeral Home. Letha M. Laxson Shumway was born on June 10, 1914, to Jess P. and Susie Mae Laxson at La Grande. As a girl, she spent time at Cambridge and Weiser, Idaho, and at Mount Vernon and Baker City. She lost three brothers in a house fire at Weiser, … Read more

Graven, Ethel L. Gillett Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Baker County, Oregon Ethel L. Graven, 96, of Weiser, Idaho, a former resident of Baker City and Halfway, died Jan. 19, 2003, at an assisted living center in Weiser. Her graveside funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Pastor Gordon Bond of the Richland Christian Church will officiate. Visitations will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Ethel Graven was born on Sept. 9, 1906, at Halfway to William T. Clark and Lillie Gillett. Ethel was raised at Halfway by … Read more

Nevins, Francis – Obituary

A long time Baker resident, Francis Joseph Nevins, 78, 1602 Broadway, died suddenly Thursday morning at St. Elizabeth Hospital. Recitation of the Rosary will be conducted at Sunday evening at 7:30 at Gray’s West and Company Pioneer Chapel. Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a. m. Monday, January 4, at St. Francis Cathedral with the Reverend Calvin E. Schwenk officiating. Interment will follow in the family plot at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Mr. Nevins was born in Weiser, Idaho on Feb. 14, 1892. He is the son of John J. and Julia A. Barrett Nevins. He was educated in Weiser … Read more

Shephard, Wallace D. – Obituary

Wallace D. Shephard, 82, of Ontario, a former longtime Baker City resident and well-known chef, died Sept. 22, 2001, at an Ontario hospital of natural causes. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Ontario’s Lienkaemper Chapel. There will be a graveside service at 2 p.m. PDT at Mount Hope Cemetery. Mr. Shephard was born Nov. 13, 1918, at Baker City to Delbert W. and Cordelia Yeager Shephard. He married La Neva E. Scott on June 20, 1937, at Klamath Falls. The couple returned to Baker City soon after their marriage and remained here until 1964. Mr. Shephard … Read more

Keithey, Keith Carol – Obituary

Keith Carol Keithley, 76. formerly of Midvale, passed away on Saturday, June 18 in Moses Lake. Washington. He was born at Weiser on June 28, 1928 to Claude F. Keithley and Agnes Pickett Keithley. He grew up on a ranch west of Midvale, graduating from Midvale High School in 1945, after which he attended the University of Idaho at Moscow. Keith married Phyllis “Sue” Lesh in Weiser in 1950. They ranched in the Midvale area and later lived in Halfway and Baker City. They had three children, Colleen, Chip and Jay. Keith and Sue were divorced after 15 years of … Read more

Scheloske, Edgar Albert – Obituary

Baker City Edgar Albert Scheloske, 79, a former Baker City resident, died Feb. 22, 2006, at Ontario. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Thomason Funeral Home in Weiser, Idaho. Interment will be at Hillcrest Cemetery in Weiser, Idaho. He was born on Jan. 20, 1927, at Weiser, Idaho, to Albert Antone and Addie Rose Glascock Scheloske. He was their fourth child, born after three older sisters: Helen, Georganna, and Maxine. He was known as “Buster” to his family. He was raised on a farm at Weiser and at the family sawmill on Stacy/Manns Creek above Weiser. He … Read more

Biography of Isaac F. Smith

Isaac F. Smith, of Weiser, who is serving as clerk of the district court and ex-officio auditor and recorder of Washington County, was born in Butte County, California, on the 28th of July, 1854. His father was born in Ohio. July 27, 1823, and married Miss Josephine C. Whitaker. In 1849 they crossed the plains with ox teams to California, bringing with them their firstborn. Walter W. Smith, who is now a resident of Washington County, Idaho. The father engaged in mining on Feather River for a time, and in 1854 removed to Nevada and thence to Utah, remaining in … Read more

Hill, Maggie E. Marx Mrs. – Obituary

Baker City, Oregon Maggie E. Hill, 82, a longtime Baker City resident, died Nov. 10, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. Her graveside funeral was at 1 p.m. today at the Rosedale Memorial Park Cemetery at Payette, Idaho. Bishop Dick Hindman of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officiated. Mrs. Hill was born on Sept. 17, 1919, at Moroni, Utah, to James R. and Mary E. Daniels Marx. She married Chester W. Hill at Weiser, Idaho, on Dec. 3, 1938. They lived at Weiser where she was a homemaker until moving to Baker City in the late 1960s. … Read more

Ham, Verdice Van Leuven Mrs. – Obituary

Verdice Ham, 83, of Nevada City, Calif., a former Baker City resident, died March 27, 2003, at her daughter’s home in Nevada City. Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Bishop Greg Baxter, 1st Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will conduct the service. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the funeral home. Verdice Ham was born Dec. 16, 1919, at Weiser, Idaho, to Andrew L. and Ida Jackson Van Leuven. She was the youngest … Read more

Colson, Naomi June Crisp Mrs.

Keating, Baker County, Oregon Naomi June Crisp Colson, 78, of Weiser, Idaho, a former Baker County resident, died June 15, 2005. Her memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Payette, Idaho, S. Ninth and Third avenues. Pastor Skip Johnson will officiate. Inurnment will be later at Hillcrest Cemetery in Weiser. June was born on Feb. 4, 1927, at Parma, Idaho, to Sidney and Alice Snyder Crisp. She attended Keating School and Gem State Adventist Academy at Caldwell, Idaho. She was married to Benjamin E. Colson at Baker City on March 30, 1947. She … Read more

Guyer, Gail Elaine Hoopes Mrs. – Obituary

Gail Elaine Hoopes Guyer, 64, of Ontario, a former Huntington resident, died July 17, 2009. A graveside memorial honoring her life will be held at the Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City on Saturday, July 25 at 10 a.m. Gail was born on Oct. 27, 1944, at Weiser, Idaho. She was the third child and only girl of Roland Leroy and Marie Rebecca (Paulson) Hoopes. They were known to all as Rollie and Sally. Gail’s dad called her mom Sally because he liked the name and thought it better suited her. Their first child was Alan Leroy, born in July … Read more

Averett, Tom Joseph – Obituary

Tom Joseph Averett, 72, of Austin, a former Baker City resident, died Dec. 13, 2002, at his home. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., in John Day. The Rev. Darryl Johnson will officiate. Mr. Averett was born on Jan. 13, 1930, at Weiser, Idaho, to Ray Henry and Oma White Averett. He lived at Weiser and New Meadows, Idaho, before moving by train to Bates at the age of 6. He lived at Camp Creek near Galena with his family. They lived in a tent in Peter O’Rorke’s … Read more

Bloom, Joan Smith Mrs. – Obituary

Joan Bloom, 72, of Weiser, Idaho, and formerly of Halfway, passed away Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003, at a Weiser care center. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 2, at Thomason Funeral Chapel, Weiser. Joan was born Feb. 3, 1931, at Hill City, Kansas the daughter of Ray and Dorothy Stearns Smith. She received her education in Halfway where she met her future husband. Joan married Bud Bloom May 24, 1947, at Baker. The couple resided in several places in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, finally settling in the Ontario area where both children were raised. She was … Read more

Rayburn, Mary – Obituary

La Grande, Oregon Mary Rayburn, 71, of Portland and formerly of La Grande, died April 5. A funeral will begin at 6 p.m. today at Adam’s Chapel in the River View Cemetery, Portland. She was born Mary Tyschenko Aug. 20, 1935, in Chernin, Ukraine. She immigrated to the United States in 1951, settling in Weiser, Idaho. In 1955 she moved to La Grande, where she married Claude Eldon Rayburn in 1956. She was nationalized in 1960 and graduated from what is now Eastern Oregon University in 1964. The Rayburns moved to Portland in 1974. Passionate about many things, Mrs. Rayburn … Read more

Hammack, Cornelia Mrs. – Obituary

Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon Mrs. Hammack Passes At Walla Walla Mrs. Cornelia Hammack passed away October 29th at the Walla Walla hospital, where she had been taken a few days before. Mrs. Cornelia Peden of Weiser, Idaho, was married to the Rev. N.E. Hammack June 16, 1924. After their marriage Mr. Hammack built a nice home on the slope, where they made their home until Mr. Hammack passed away in July 1929. Shortly thereafter Mrs. Hammack moved to Freewater, where she bought a small home. She lived there until shortly before her death. A few months ago, when her health … Read more