Richland, Oregon
John R. Sass, 89, a longtime Richland resident, died Dec. 7, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Care Center.
There will be a family memorial gathering later. Burial will be at the Richland Cemetery.
John Sass was born on Jan. 19, 1912, at Richland to Henry and Elizabeth Detlefsin Sass. He was a 1929 graduate of Eagle Valley High School at Richland and attended Oregon State University at Corvallis for two years.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1941 to 1945 in the European Theater where he received the Bronze Star. After the war he returned to Richland to farm and ranch with his father.
In 1948, he married Rowena Howell Sass at Baker City. After their marriage, he and Rowena bought his father’s interest in the ranch where they continued to ranch and raise Hereford cattle. John and Rowena had two children: Robyn Ann and Dean.
John was preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Elizabeth Sass; his sister, Elizabeth; and his daughter, Robyn.
Survivors include his wife, Rowena of Richland; his son, Dean Sass, and his wife, Sheri; two grandchildren, Jill, and her husband, Ken Dooley, and Ryan Sass, all of Boise; sister-in-law, Catherine Howell of Baker City; sister-in-law, Colleen, and her husband, Bill DeGrofft, of Wallowa; and several nieces.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Richland Ambulance Fund through Grays West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, December 14, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor