Rhoda J. Roth, 83, of Pendleton, a former longtime Baker City resident, died Aug. 23, 2002, at Willowbrook Terrace in Pendleton.
Her graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Dennis Hickman of the First Lutheran Church will officiate. Visitations will be from noon until 5 p.m. today and from 8:30 a.m. until noon Tuesday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
Rhoda Jane Coles Mattes Roth was born March 1, 1919, at Twin Falls, Idaho. She was a daughter of Joseph Joel Coles and Nettie May Locken Coles Carlson.
She moved with her family back to Haines at the age of six months. She received her education in Haines and graduated from Haines High School. She played basketball during school. She loved swimming and picnicking at Radium Hot Springs. Rhoda was a member of First Lutheran Church.
In June 1936, she married George Richard Mattes. They had two children: Myra Diane and Richard Michael. In 1949, she went to work for Pacific Northwest Bell and remained employed with that company until her retirement in 1975.
She loved her cabin property on Griffin Gulch and the farm on Burnt River Canyon. Mr. Mattes died on Feb. 11, 1969. Rhoda and George adopted their granddaughter, Soraya Jane, in 1965.
She married Leonard G. Roth in May 1972. He died in 1985.
Mrs. Roth loved to work in her strawberry garden, drive her car and take care of her daughters. She lived in Baker County until 1998 when because of ill health she moved to Pendleton to be near her son.
She was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; and a brother, Emery Coles.
Survivors include her children, Myra D. Stout of Siloam Springs, Ark., Richard M. Mattes of Pendleton, and Soraya J. Kanakis-Campbell, of Bellevue, Wash.; grandchildren, Camille Morehen of Novhea, Calif., Maverick Salangsang of Alameda, Calif., Deon Mattes of Beaverton and Dustin Mattes of La Grande; great-grandchildren, Michael Biel of Chicago, Stephen Blum and Cory Blum, of Bellevue, Wash., Michael Mattes of Pendleton, and Deon “D.J.” Mattes Jr. and Shayla Mattes of Beaverton.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Lutheran Church through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, August 30, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor
