Horace Gaylen “Bud” Reese, 81, died Jan. 18, 2001, at Evergreen Health and Rehab Center in La Grande.
His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Loveland Funeral Chapel, 1508 Fourth St., in La Grande. There will be a full military honor service at Hillcrest Cemetery afterward. Visitations will be until 8 o’clock tonight at the funeral chapel.
Mr. Reese was born on Jan. 22, 1919, at Tyrone, Okla., to Cline Maynard and Mary Gurtrud Hampton Reese. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1936 at the age of 17. He changed his birth date from 1919 to 1918 in order to join.
He served at various commands and duty assignments including Fort Logan, Colo.; Fort Jackson, S.C.; Fort Custer, Mich.; Fort Hood, Texas; Camp Kilmer, N.J.; the Oregon National Guard at Pendleton; and finally the Oregon National Guard at La Grande.
He entered the Army as a private in 1936 and was promoted to first sergeant in 1941 and then to the rank of warrant officer.
He participated in World War II and the Berlin Air Lift. He received these decorations and awards: Armed Forces Reserve Medal, expert rifle badge, Oregon Faithful Service Medal (20 years), Silver Medal, excellence in competition (rifle/national), Oregon Faithful Service Medal (10 years), World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupational Medal, EAME with three Bronze Stars, American Defense and Good Conduct.
He retired from the Oregon National Guard in 1975 and began working at Eastern Oregon State College. He continued working until 1983.
He married Esther Adoline Keller in November 1953. She died in January 1982. He married Marjorie Hale Taylor on Oct. 25, 1983 at Colorado Springs, Colo. He loved his family very much and enjoyed joking with his friends.
He had a passion for woodworking. He would spend endless hours making handcrafted toys for family, friends and his many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He will truly be missed.
Survivors include his wife, Marjorie of La Grande; sons, Tommy Gaylen Reese of Clovis, N.M., Bill Barnes of Liberal, Kan., Les Taylor of O’Fallon, Mo., Tim Taylor of Baker City and Nathan Taylor of La Grande; daughters, Tonie Reese Fry of Garden Valley, Idaho, Bobbie A Kaczkowski of Oak Harbor, Wash., Melanie Fronk of Houston and Michelle Robarge of San Antonio, Texas; a sister, Betty Barbara Moser of Idaho Falls, Idaho; 30 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his father, Cline Maynard Reese; his mother, Mary Gurtrud Reese; brothers, Marvin Lemen Reese and Cline Maynard Reese Jr.; and a sister, Naomi Lee Stevens.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Elks Eye Clinic in La Grande or to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 26, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor