Granite, Oregon
Bonnie LaVone Skidgel, 58, of Granite, died Sept. 25, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services after a valiant 15-month battle with cancer.
Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the McEwen Bible Fellowship Church. Pastor Bill Cox of the church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Skidgel home on Clear Creek.
Mrs. Skidgel was born on Sept. 13, 1943, at San Diego to Alva and Wilma Burgess.
She attended high school at Salem. She also attended Central Oregon Community College at Bend and took a geology course in La Grande.
She met her future husband, Steve, one morning at 3 o’clock at a restaurant in La Pine where she worked as a waitress. He was a logger who came in for a cup of coffee on his way to work. They were married on July 1, 1962.
In 1966 they moved to John Day where they lived until 1980, when they moved to Granite.
Mrs. Skidgel loved to paint. She painted the sign on the Depot Inn at Sumpter and a picture of a train inside the inn. She took lessons from some notable artists and gave art lessons herself while living in John Day. Some of her students are still painting.
She was very interested in mining history and geology. She enjoyed digging into the history of the area and did research on the Sumpter Valley Railroad. She also dabbled in politics.
While living in Granite, she and her husband owned the Granite Store in 1991 and 1992. It became know for the best hamburgers around and as a great place to go just to have coffee and visit.
She was a good mother and an excellent wife.
Survivors include her husband, Steve Skidgel; her daughter, Kelly Skidgel Elliot; her parents, Alva and Wilma Burgess; her brother, Larry Dell; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: The Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, October 7, 2001
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor