Mary Christine Rich, 82,of North Bend, a former Baker County resident, died March 30, 2007, at Baycrest Memory Care Center at Coos Bay.
Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at North Bend Chapel. Interment will be at Sunset Memorial Garden in Coos Bay.
She was born on Dec. 24, 1924, at Baker City to Mattie and Wilson Whited. She was one of six girls. She was raised on the Whited family ranch at Unity and was a Baker High School graduate.
She attended business college and then joined her sister, Anna Belle, in Washington, D.C., where she worked in the Navy Personnel Bureau during World War II.
She met James L. Rich on a troop train to the Los Angeles Navy Department. They were married at San Francisco on Nov. 26, 1944. Jim was a U.S. Marine.
After the war, they settled at Mount Vernon and John Day for 20 years. In 1964, they purchased B & B Janitorial Co. at North Bend. The business is now owned by their son, Jim.
Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Jackie and James L. Rich III; daughter and son-in-law, Sam and Sharon Seebart of Indio, Calif.; grandchildren, Kirsten Fimbres of Indio, Calif., Megan Rich of Portland and Brady Rich of North Bend; a great-granddaughter, Lauren Fimbres; and sisters, Betty Erwin of Fairfield, Colo., and Elizabeth Wood of Hood River.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Wilson and Mattie Whithed; her husband, Jim Jr.; and three sisters, Ora Mae, Anna Belle and Lorena.
Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, April 4, 2007
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor