Baker City, Oregon
Michael V. “Mickey” Mason, 81, of Baker City, a former North Powder-area rancher, died May 13, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Visitations will be Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
His vigil service will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, First and Church streets. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday at the cathedral. Bishop Emeritus Thomas J. Connolly, pastor and friend of the Masons for more than 30 years, will preside at the service, with concelebration by Pastor Robert C. Irwin of the Baker City Cathedral and other priests of the Baker Diocese.
Honor Guard will be by the Knights of Columbus, 4th Degree. Private family vault interment will be in Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City.
Mr. Mason was born on Nov. 12, 1920, at Cambridge, Idaho, the youngest of eight children. His parents, John and Anna Phillips Mason, had emigrated from County Down, Ireland, in 1905.
He began his long working life at age 12 to help support his family, and left formal schooling at age 14 to work as a farm hand in the Cambridge Valley. He became a skilled heavy equipment operator at a very early age, and later formed Hopkins & Mason Logging Contractors with his brother-in-law, Orin Hopkins.
The company contracted for many years with Burnt River Lumber Co. and Ellingson Lumber Co. of Baker City, Oregon. Hopkins & Mason later purchased the Farewell Bend Ranch near Huntington, and continued logging and ranching operations for several years in Baker and Malheur counties.
Mr. and Mrs. Mason purchased ranching properties on Antone Creek in the North Powder area in 1962, and later the Elkhorn Ranch on Powder River Road, retiring to Baker City in 1994. They received the Elkhorn Wildlife Area Appreciation Award from the State of Oregon upon retirement.
Mr. Mason was a lifelong member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1971 received the Papal Medal, the second-highest award to laity in the church. He was a 4th Degree member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal and service organization.
He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers and three sisters.
Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Betty Jo Howland Mason; children, Joseph and his wife, Katherine, Carl and his wife, Donna, and Deborah Johnson and her husband, Ronald; nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Elizabeth Health Care Foundation, or to the church or a charity of one’s choice. This may be done through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, May 20, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor