Baker City, Baker County, Oregon
Margaret Mary Kempfer, 90, a former Baker City resident, died Jan. 5, 2003, at Valley View Assisted Living in John Day.
Rosary will be said on Thursday at Driskill Memorial Chapel in John Day, 241 S. Canyon Blvd. Mass will be celebrated Friday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral in Baker City. Burial will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Mrs. Kempfer was born Feb. 7, 1912, in Moline, Ill., to John and Eliza Van Beveren, recent immigrants from Belgium. In 1915 the family moved to Baker City. She graduated from St. Francis Academy in 1930.
She married Charles Kempfer in the mid-1930s. He passed away in 1970.
She was employed by St. Elizabeth Hospital for many years until her retirement. She moved to John Day in 1994 and had resided at Valley View Assisted Living since 2000.
Survivors include her children, John Kempfer Sr. of Aurora, Colo., and Charlene Gardner and her husband, John, of Canyon City; grandchildren, Tony Gardner and his wife, Carmen, Amy Walker and her husband, Mike, all of Canyon City, Linda Enloe and her husband, Don, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., Andy Gardner and his wife, Amber, of Sublimity, Patricia Kempfer of Aston, Penn., Jennifer Van Komen and her husband, Larry, of Nampa, Idaho, John Kempfer Jr. of Aurora, Colo.; great-grandchildren, Garret, Carli, Meghann, McKenzie, Christina, and Jacob; a sister, Palma Abbot of Yreka, Calif.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grant County Hospice or St. Elizabeth’s Church Fund for the Needy in care of Driskill Memorial Chapel, 241 S. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January, 10, 2003
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor