Haines, Oregon
Mark D. “Monk” Shoemaker, 65, a longtime St. Helens resident, died Dec. 21, 2003, of natural causes.
At the family’s request, disposition was by cremation. No service is planned.
Mark was born on March 27, 1938, at Toppenish, Wash., to Marcus T. and Lorraine V. Embrey Shoemaker. He attended grade schools at Hermiston, where he lived a large part of his life. He was a 1957 Hermiston High School graduate and later moved to Coquille and then to the Myrtle Point area where he went to work for Roseburg Lumber Co. for several years.
In the mid-1960s, Mark moved to St. Helens where he broke ground for the Trojan Nuclear Plant. He worked there for about 30 years for the Laborers Local Union 320, where he was well-known and respected.
He moved to Haines in 1999 after he retired. He enjoyed the outdoors, seeing the snow-covered mountains, being in the fresh air and being closer to the Snake River, where he enjoyed fishing. He also enjoyed deer and elk hunting each season with friends and family.
Mark loved gardening and going to the mountains to pick mushrooms. He enjoyed trips to the coast to visit his family, especially during Easter time. He loved to hide the Easter eggs and watch his grandchildren hunt for them. And he enjoyed picking bouquets of daffodils.
Mark was involved with his senior citizen neighbors and enjoyed his newly found friends. He was said to be their adoptive son — a son who always had a smile, joke or wave for anyone who passed by.
Survivors include a son, Mark Shoemaker; two daughters, Maxine Crawford of Sweet Home and Celene Horlacher of Myrtle Point; his mother, Lorraine Woodward of Hermiston; sisters, Margaret Ball of Lexington and Jacqueline Hartman and Betty Doman of Hermiston; a brother, Boyd Woodward, and a close friend and nephew, Douglas Ross, both of Hermiston; six grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father, Mark Shoemaker; a stepfather, Ralph Woodward; and a sister, Virginia Brock.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 2, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor