Obituary

Rayl, Julia Theresa – Obituary

Julia Theresa Rayl, 62, of Baker City died Aug. 31, 2007, at her home after a long struggle with cancer. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Inurnment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception at the home of Brian Rayl after the service. Julia was born on March 20, 1945, in London, England, to Lloyd Rayl and his wartime bride, Mary Ratcliffe Rayl. The family came to the United States on the Queen Mary in 1946 and first settled … Read more

Dalton, James Everett – Obituary

James Everett Dalton, 81, of Umatilla and formerly of Baker City and La Grande, died Aug. 28, 2007, at his home. His graveside service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Grandview Cemetery in La Grande. Arrangements are under the direction of Daniels Chapel of the Valley. Mr. Dalton was born on March 14, 1926, the son of Isaac Clayton and Stella Viola March Dalton, in La Grande. After graduating from La Grande High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served his country until he was honorably discharged in May of 1946. Mr. Dalton was employed as … Read more

Germond, Mary Kathleen Sherman Mrs. – Obituary

Mary Kathleen Sherman Germond, 71, of Baker City, died Sept. 2, 2007, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise, Idaho, after a short illness. Her memorial service will be at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, 1:30 p.m. at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 975 S. Bridge St. Cremation was handled by Coles Funeral Home of Baker City. Mary was born at Ontario on Aug. 31, 1936. Her parents were William Sherman and Bertha “Peggy” Emerson Sherman. She attended school in Baker City until the age of 15 at which time she moved to Castle Rock, Wash., to live with her … Read more

Gray, Donna Mae Green Mrs. – Obituary

Donna Mae Gray, 83, a longtime Baker City resident, died Sept. 1, 2007, at her home. Her funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at First Lutheran Church, 1734 Third St. Pastor Mel Harris will officiate. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. There will be a reception afterward at First Lutheran Church. Visitations will be Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Donna was born on Nov. 21, 1923, at Coulee City, Wash., to Mae and Donovan Green. She moved to Spokane and graduated from North Central High School where … Read more

Dunn, Naomi June Frost Mrs. – Obituary

Naomi June Dunn, 68, a former Baker City resident, died Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2007, in Warrenton. Her funeral was today at the Warrenton First Baptist Church. Interment was at Ocean View Cemetery in Warrenton. Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary in Astoria was in charge of arrangements. Mrs. Dunn was born on June 8, 1939, in La Grande, to Ronald E. and Barbara I. Simonis Frost. She was raised in Baker City. On Nov. 21, 1958, she married Lonnie Dunn in Baker City. In 1967, the family moved to Clatsop County. She was a sales clerk at Sears, Roebuck and Co. for 20 … Read more

Spriet, Frank Julian – Obituary

Frank Julian Spriet, 95, of San Bernardino, Calif., a former Baker City resident, died Aug. 26, 2007, at the home of his daughter, Darlene. His funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Friday at Montecito Memorial Park at Colton, Calif. Frank was born on Dec. 30, 1911, at Baker City. He worked as a carpenter and building contractor for 36 years. He was skilled in every phase of building. He had an inventive mind and always had projects in the making. Frank’s favorite sports were hunting and boxing. He was a faithful Catholic until he was “born again” in 1974, his … Read more

Melton Gerald Wayne Sr. – Obituary

Gerald Wayne Melton, Sr., 62, died Aug. 26, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. His memorial service will be at at 1p.m. on Friday at Grays West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Robin Harris of the Cornerstone Baptist Church at North Powder will officiate. Friends are invited to join the family afterward or a dinner being held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Club, 2005 Valley Ave. Jerry was born at Yuba City, Calif., on Feb. 4, 1945. He was very close to his parents and they kept tabs on each other daily as his health declined. … Read more

Crowell, Elizabeth Issaacson Mrs. – Obituary

Elizabeth Issaacson Crowell, 86, of Baker City, died August 25, 2007, at Settler’s Park where she had lived for four years. At her request, there will be no service. Liz was born on Aug. 14, 192,1 to Anna and Peter Issaacson at Duluth, Minn. Liz always had a smile and a “hi-hi!” for everyone. She will be missed by all, her family said. Survivors include her daughter, Connie, and her husband, Craig Sundblad; sons, Ronald, Peter, and Tom and his wife, Connie Crowell; grandchildren, Lori, Kari, Amy, Chad, Shawn, Robbie, Emily, Kara, Dustin, Jeremy and Jacob. Memorial contributions may be … Read more

Kolasinski, Gary Lee – Obituary

Gary Lee Kolasinski, 53, of Baker City, died Aug. 24, 2007, at St. Elizabeth Health Services. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, 1002 L Ave., in La Grande. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception afterward at the church. Gary Lee Kolasinski was born on Oct. 12, 1953, four minutes earlier than his twin brother, Terry Lee, at Alpena, Mich., to Ardath Snitgen and Donald Kolasinski. He grew up in Alpena and then at St. John’s, Mich., later moving to Portland and then to La … Read more

Woodard, Lynn Thomas Mrs. – Obituary

Lynn Thomas Woodard, 56, died Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007. She was in her home in Baker City with her family close by. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, First and Church streets. Lynn Thomas Woodard was born Dec. 28, 1950, in Colusa, Calif. Lynn moved to Baker City only last fall. She loved Baker City and the many wonderful people she met. She was described as a great friend: fierce, loving and loyal. She loved to travel, whether Canada by train, across the United States by car, the … Read more

Karp, Sister Clare Inez – Obituary

Sister Clare Inez Karp, 88, a resident of St. Ann Convent at Tacoma, Wash., and a former longtime Baker City resident, died Aug. 12, 2007. Father Julian Cassar will offer a Memorial Mass at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 29, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center Chapel. A rosary will be said at 8:45 a.m. Sister Clare Inez had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 69 years. She was born in Baker City. Although she left Baker City for about 20 years, she returned to the community for ministry and was a Baker City … Read more

Wright, Velma “Juanita” Deining Mrs. – Obituary

Velma “Juanita” Wright, 86, formerly of Baker City, died Aug. 19, 2007, at Valley View Retirement Facility in Boise, Idaho. A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007, at 1 p.m. at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., in Baker City. Pastor Mel Harris of the First Lutheran Church will officiate. A reception will follow at the First Lutheran Church, 1734 Third St. Juanita was born March 7, 1921 in Portland to Alfred & Hilja (Taskinen) Deining. She attended school in Helix, Portland and Gresham. She married Earl Wright Dec. 8, 1949 in Baker City. … Read more

Jewett, Helen M. Fry Mrs. – Obituary

Helen M. Jewett, 93, of La Grande, a former longtime Baker City resident, died Aug. 17, 2007, at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande. Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cove Christian Camp. Helen was born on June 22, 1914, at Montesano, Wash., to Harold and Thena Mae Moak Fry. She spent most of her growing-up years on a ranch on the Wynooche River near Montesano, with a brief time spent at Alberta, Canada. Her elementary years were in a one-room school that included high school students at Montesano. She attended Eugene Bible College (now Northwest … Read more

Rogers, James Leonard – Obituary

James “Jim” Leonard Rogers, 66, of La Grande, died of natural causes while cutting wood on Sept. 25. A celebration of life will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, 1308 Washington Ave., La Grande 97850. Loveland Funeral Chapel is in charge of arrangements. Jim was born on Feb. 16, 1941, to Lawrence and Ella (Guptil) Rogers in Priest River, Idaho. He married Shirley Bernice Olson on July 13, 1963, in Orville, Calif. They have lived in La Grande since 1965. He was a carpenter and built homes, traveling with his wife doing heavy construction and building … Read more

Halliday, Grace Bertha – Obituary

Grace Bertha Halliday, 75, of La Grande, died Sept. 25 at St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise. A celebration of life will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at Daniels Chapel of the Valley. Burial will follow at the Hillcrest East Cemetery. Viewing will run from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday at Daniels Chapel of the Valley. Grace was born on Oct. 26, 1931, to Raymond and Anna (Gritzmacher) Viergutz in Wausau, Wis. She played semi-pro softball on an all-women’s team and loved the sport. She graduated from high school in Wausau and moved to Oregon. On Oct. 9, 1951, she … Read more

Allen, Blaine Evans – Obituary

Blaine Evans Allen, 68, of Haines, died Sept. 24 peacefully at his home. Visitation will run from 10 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday with the funeral service following at noon at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Hughes Lane in Baker City. Vault interment will be held at the Haines Cemetery immediately following the funeral service. Blaine was born March 29, 1939, to Louis and Merle Bracken Allen in Ogden, Utah, the fifth of seven children. On Oct. 13, 1956, he married the love of his life, Ann Searle Allen. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Logan … Read more

Turner, Oris Mark – Obituary

Oris Mark Turner was called home by God on Dec. 19, 2007, in Sierra Vista, Ariz. He was born in North Powder, Ore., to Mark Anthony Turner and Lizzie Newman Turner on July 21, 1919. After graduation from North powder High School in 1938, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1940. He was assigned to the Signal Corps and later to the Adjutant General Corps. A veteran of World War II, Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War, his duty stations included Fort Warren, Wy.; Headquarters Far East Command, Tokyo; Fort Monmouth, N.J.; another tour in Japan; … Read more

Dowdy, Roy Dee – Obituary

Roy Dee Dowdy, 58, died Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007, at his home in Baker City, Ore. A memorial service was held on Friday, Dec. 7, 2007, at 1 p.m. at Gray’s West & Company Pioneer Chapel in Baker City. He was born Feb. 7, 1949, in Baker City to Adolph and Mabel Dowdy. Roy served in the U.S. Marines for two years from which he received an honorable discharge, he served in the Army Reserves as well. Roy returned to Baker City where he was employed with the city of Baker City for 30 years from which he retired in … Read more

Nelson, Glenn “Gordy” – Obituary

Glenn “Gordy” Nelson, 73, died on Nov. 3, 2007 in Hines, Ore. He was born on Aug. 19, 1934, in Baker City. Nelson went to school in Baker City, graduating from St. Francis Academy in 1952. He entered the United States Air Force in September of that same year. Upon completion of his basic training at Parks Air Force Base in California, Nelson served as personnel clerk at Larsen Air Force Base in Washington. In April 1954, he was assigned as administrative clerk with the 1503rd USAF Infirmary, a unit long-noted for its superior performance in handling of air evacuees … Read more

Haefer, Ellen Green Mrs. – Obituary

Ellen Haefer, 88, of Boise, Idaho, formally of La Grande, Ore., died Nov. 23, 2007, in Kuna, Idaho, at the Kuna Living Center. Graveside services will be held Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 1 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City, Ore. Ellen was born June 5, 1919, in Baker City to Herbert Green and Esther Lane Green. She married Willard Haefer in Walla Walla, Wash., in 1936. They had one child, Amelia (Amy) Worm. Ellen lived in Cornucopia and Muddy Creek and cooked in the Muddy Creek School in the 1940’s. She became a license practical nurse in 1950, … Read more