Baker City, Oregon
Marjorie J. Williams, 92, a lifelong Baker City resident, died Aug. 12, 2004, at Meadowbrook Place where she had been living for the last year because of health problems.
Her graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Jack Bynum of the United Methodist Church will officiate. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home.
Mrs. Williams was born on June 28, 1912, at Haines to Harry and Grace Truscott Spence. She was sister to Elwood, Owen and Paul Spence. The Spence family lived in the Keating Valley and at Baker City, where she received her education. She was a Baker High School graduate and had lived all of her life at Baker City.
Marjorie married Jay Williams in Weiser, Idaho, on Dec. 19, 1933. She and Jay made their home in Baker City and raised their son, Frank, and their daughter, Karey Rae. Besides being a housewife, homemaker and busy mother, she worked in many downtown businesses throughout her life, including restaurants, J.C. Penney and The Mode O’Day.
She also volunteered at St. Elizabeth Nursing Home, until a few years ago when she began to lose her eyesight. Marjorie was a member of the United Methodist Church and had attended Sunday services until her health kept her homebound.
Marjorie was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. She lived life to the fullest, and loved Baker County and the beauties and wonders of Eastern Oregon. She was the Spence family matriarch, and will be missed by those who knew her and loved her.
Survivors include her son, Frank, and his wife, Mary, and her daughter, Karey Rae, and her husband, Charles Craig, all of Portland; grandchildren, Jay, and his wife, Carol, of Winston, Jennifer and her husband, Semio, Charlie, Margi and her husband, Sean, and Jodi and her husband, Todd, all of Portland; great-grandchildren, Aaron, Travis, and Kyla; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
She also was preceded in death by her parents, brothers and husband.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart or Lung Association through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, August 20, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor