Wallowa, Wallowa County, Oregon
Ivan Carper, 87, of Wallowa, died Tuesday. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wallowa Christian Church. A full obituary will be published later. Bollman Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
La Grande Observer, La Grande, Union County, Oregon, November 4, 2004
Contributed by Sue Wells
Ivan Curtis Carper, 87, passed away on Oct. 26,2004, in Enterprise.
He was born on Aug. 27, 1917 in Promise to Charles Paris and Bertha Jane (Doud) Carper. He was the 13th child born out of 15 children, and spent his childhood growing up in Promise during the Great Depression. Due to family hardships, he had to quit school after the eighth grade to help run the family homestead. He used to bring loads of firewood by horse drawn wagon or sleigh to Maxville and Wallowa to sell for supplies.
Ivan was a sheepherder in Oregon and Idaho. He herded sheep from Enterprise, down in the Snake River and around into the Grangeville area.
Ivan went into the Navy in 1941 during World War II, and served on five different ships, the SS W.S. Miller, SS Silverado, SS Henry Failing, SS Wallace, and the USS Hornet.
When he got out of the Navy he worked at a small sawmill in Wallowa until it burnt down. He then worked at the Wallowa County Grain Growers until 1952. Ivan then went to work for the U.S. Forest Service in Wallowa County until he retired in 1981.
He married Wyleigh Hunter on Dec. 21, 1951, in Asotin, Wash. After getting married they moved to Wallowa and resided in the same house for their 53 years of marriage.
He is survived by his wife Wyleigh in Wallowa, his sons: Kirk Carper and wife Kari of Wallowa; son Jack Carper and wife Cassandra of Boise, Idaho; daughter Ena May Dempsey and husband Jim, of Wallowa; brother Lewis Carper and wife Rose of La Grande; and many beloved grandchildren and other relatives.
Funeral services were held at Wallowa Christian Church with burial services at Lostine Cemetery on Oct. 30. Memorials can be contributed to the Wallowa Christian Church.
Wallowa County Chieftain, Thursday, November 04, 2004