Baker City, Oregon
Lyle Chadwick of Baker City died March 26, 2004, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise.
At his request, there will be no memorial service.
He was the firstborn son of Clifford Chadwick Jr. and Gene Paige Chadwick. He married Beverly Douglas of Halfway and they made their home at Baker City.
Lyle started his career with the Baker County Road Department where he was employed for 32 years before retiring. He started out as an oiler on the rock crusher, then as a motor grader operator. He moved to the position of assistant road master and then to road master.
After his retirement from the Baker County Road Department, he started a second career in mining, which he had done on the weekends for much of the prior 20 years. He really enjoyed mining, the study of geology, talking about the history of mining with people and teaching others how to pan gold. Lyle was involved with the Eastern Oregon Mining Association for many years and had served on the board of directors.
When his boys were younger he enjoyed playing ball with them and some of the time that he spent coaching them. He was always so proud of them and their accomplishments as they grew.
During the winter when he wasn’t able to mine, he often could be found with friends fishing for steelhead. Some of his fondest memories were those formed during the many years he spent on the Snake River with his buddy, Curtis.
He though of Curtis as a “little brother.” They were very close even to his last days. If Lyle was not seen fishing the Snake River, one might see him trying his luck on the Wallowa. Lyle also enjoyed hunting elk and camping with his wife, their two boys and their families. This is what he was dreaming of in his last days: hunting, fishing and mining with those he loved.
Survivors include his wife, Beverly of Baker City; his two sons, Michael and Norman; Michael’s wife, Linda, of Riverton, Utah; their two sons, Terry Ewing of Manhattan, N.Y., and Matthew Ewing of Murray, Utah; Norman’s wife, Gretchen, and their daughter, Gracy Kay, “the apple in Grandpa’s eye”, all of Powell Butte; his mother, Gene Chadwick, and brother, Larry, both of Baker City; his father-in-law, Marion “Dude” Douglas of Halfway; and many brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and their families.
He was preceded in death by his father, Clifford C. Chadwick Jr.; his grandmother, Edith Snyder Chadwick; his grandfather, Clifford C. Chadwick Sr.; grandmother, Nellie Marshell Paige; his brother, Lesley Chadwick; and his grandfather, Oscar Paige.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Eastern Oregon Mining Association Education Fund or to the Bishop Foote Guest House, St. Luke’s Hospital, 121 W. Jefferson St., Boise, ID.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 2, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
