Sumpter, Oregon
Juanita Gaylene German, 55, died Jan. 7, 2007, of breast cancer at her home on Deer Creek Road near Sumpter.
There will be no funeral.
Gaylene was born Sept. 7, 1951, at Firebaugh, Calif. She grew up at Gerber, Calif., where she graduated from grade school. Later, her family moved to Gustine, Calif., where she graduated from high school.
After high school, she attended Sacramento State College for a year majoring in interior design, which she loved to do. After college, she moved with her family to a ranch at New Haul, Calif., where Westerns such as “Gunsmoke,” “The Trackers,” and “Monty Walsh” were filmed. She was an accomplished horsewoman and had a great affinity for animals.
Gaylene was a beautiful, sweet, and kind woman who was loved by everyone who knew her. She was a strong and hard-working woman who, until moving to Sumpter in 2005, had worked every day of her life.
Even in Sumpter, she decided to work and became the City of Sumpter’s market coordinator. She loved to sew and quilt. She was a 4-H sewing leader. Her most difficult sewing project was trying to teach her own girls how to sew.
She quickly became involved with the Bag Ladies at Sumpter and was very excited about the new quilting machine that they just purchased.
Gaylene was also a lover of the outdoors. She loved hunting, hiking, camping, and riding four-wheelers and snowmobiles. She especially loved having her grandchildren come to spend the summer with her at Sumpter.
She was a fantastic grandmother.
Living in the pine trees was a dream come true for her. She will be truly missed by all of her family and friends.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Wanda O’Rear; and her father, Bill O’Rear.
Survivors include her husband and best friend, Lee German; her children, Kim Bolstad, Marissa Rhodes, and Joe Hight; and six grandchildren, Jake and Jared Bolstad and Kassandra, Samantha, Amanda and Emma Rhodes.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 9, 2007
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor