Washington

Irey, Keith – Obituary

Keith Irey, 67, a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 23, 2005, at Spokane, Wash. His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Mount Hope Cemetery. There was a service in Spokane earlier. Keith Irey was born on Jan. 1, 1938, at Baker City. He attended Baker schools and was a Baker High School graduate. He was a loving husband, brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He served in the U.S. Air Force for four years and, retired in 1994 from the Federal Aviation Administration after 38 years as an engineer. He enjoyed watching the Seattle Mariners and playing … Read more

Moberly, Cora “Lois” Speelman Mrs. – Obituary

Cora “Lois” Moberly, 78, of Milton-Freewater and a Haines native, died Sunday, Nov. 20, 2005, in Walla-Walla, Wash. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Nov. 26, at 10 a.m. in the chapel of the Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home, 902 S. Main St., Milton-Freewater. Private burial will be in the Milton-Freewater Cemetery. Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, or to the Diabetes Association through the funeral home. Lois was born Dec. 15, 1926, in Haines to LeRoy and Lela Cross Speelman. She received her schooling in Haines, North Powder and Baker City. She married Joseph D. Moberly … Read more

Keithey, Keith Carol – Obituary

Keith Carol Keithley, 76. formerly of Midvale, passed away on Saturday, June 18 in Moses Lake. Washington. He was born at Weiser on June 28, 1928 to Claude F. Keithley and Agnes Pickett Keithley. He grew up on a ranch west of Midvale, graduating from Midvale High School in 1945, after which he attended the University of Idaho at Moscow. Keith married Phyllis “Sue” Lesh in Weiser in 1950. They ranched in the Midvale area and later lived in Halfway and Baker City. They had three children, Colleen, Chip and Jay. Keith and Sue were divorced after 15 years of … Read more

Kidder, William Ross “Bill” – Obituary

William Ross “Bill” Kidder, 85, of Lewiston, Idaho, died Sunday, Sept. 11, 2005, from complications related to age at the Lewiston Veterans Home, where he had been a resident for the last five years. Bill was born Dec. 26, 1919, in Ridgefield, Wash., to David and Olive Kidder. He attended grade school in Oregon and graduated in 1937 from Pendleton High School. He joined the U.S. Navy the same year and served for more than seven years in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was discharged in 1946 as a lieutenant (jg) with many decorations for his efforts. … Read more

Carter, Stella Sharpe Mrs. – Obituary

Stella Carter, 99, of Baker City, died Sept. 1, 2005, at Meadowbrook Place. Her funeral was at noon today at the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pastor Tony Brandon officiated. Vault interment was at Mount Hope Cemetery. Stella was born on May 13, 1906, at Mabton, Wash., to Pearle and Edson Sharpe. Her childhood years were spent with her three brothers and two sisters in the Horse-Heaven Hills. She attended college at Ellensburg, Wash., earning a teaching certificate. She began her teaching career in the Horse-Heaven Hills area where she met Carl. Stella and Carl were married on Nov. 12, 1927, at … Read more

Hunt, Ross D. – Obituary

Ross D. Hunt, 81, of Baker City, a former Baker County sheriff, died Jan. 17, 2005, at his home. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Baker City Christian Church, 2998 Eighth St. Pastor Roger Scovil will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at Community Connection, 2810 Cedar St. Visitations will be from noon to 8 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Eastern Oregon Pioneer Crematory will conduct the cremation after the funeral. Ross was born on Aug. 15, 1923, at Richland, Wash., to Harry and Florence Cline Hunt. As … Read more

Weideman, Glenn August – Obituary

Glenn August Weideman, 71, a former longtime Baker City resident, died July 5, 2005, at his home in Moses Lake, Wash. There will be a memorial service for Glenn at Phillips Lake on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. For more information, call his son Wayne at Anacortes, Wash. He was born on May 14, 1934, at Mount Clemens, Mich., to Robert and Clara Lipke. Glenn lived for nearly 40 years in Baker City where he made a career as an engineer for the U.S. Forest Service. He worked mostly on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest and later commuted to John Day … Read more

Tonning, John O. – Obituary

John O. Tonning, 88, of Baker City, died Aug. 21, 2005, at his home. His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Haines Cemetery. John was born on July 20, 1917, at Kladesholmen, Sweden, to Karl and Bertha Tonning. He and his family arrived at Ellis Island, N.Y., in 1920. He was proud to be an American and embraced the American dream. He graduated from Columbia University School of Engineering in 1939 and began a long and varied engineering career. During his career he worked for the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Anaconda Copper Mining and finally 22 years … Read more

Gardner, Chester William “Bill”, Jr. – Obituary

Chester William “Bill” Gardner Jr., 87, of Washougal, Wash., whose name was familiar in the logging enterprise throughout Baker County, died Aug. 22, 2005, at his home after an extended battle with cancer. His graveside service was Aug. 30 at Mount Hope Cemetery. Pastor Ed Niswender of Calvary Baptist Church officiated. Military rites were accorded by the Baker Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, No. 3048. Bill was born on May 9, 1918, at Baker City to Chester William Gardner Sr. and Cora Young Gardner. He was raised and educated at Baker City. After graduating, he logged with his uncles until … Read more

Blaylock, Thomas Reed “Tom” – Obituary

Thomas Reed “Tom” Blaylock, 79, died Sept. 8, 2005, at St. Charles Hospital in Bend. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the McEwen Bible Fellowship. Pastor Bill Cox will officiate. Interment will be at the Sumpter Cemetery. Military rites will be accorded by Baker City AMVETS, Post No. 1874. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Tom was born on Aug. 8, 1926, at Seattle, Wash. He came to Oregon in 1945. He rode a horse to Arlington to work on a ranch. He graduated from school at Arlington. He … Read more

Bieber, Olive D. Grunig Mrs. – Obituary

Medical Springs, Baker County, Oregon Olive D. Bieber, 82, of Port Angeles, Wash., a former resident of the Medical Springs-Pondosa area, died Sept. 7, 2005, at the Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Wash. Funeral arrangements will be announced later. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Mrs. Bieber was born on Sept. 7, 1923, at Montpelier, Idaho, to William and Daisy Grunig. She attended Union High School. She was a farmer’s wife and worked as a school bus driver, a bookkeeper for Tide Water Oil at Mossyrock, Wash., and retired after working for 25 years as a clerk at Johnson … Read more

Bradford, Darren Roland – Obituary

Darren Roland Bradford, 34, of Heppner, a former Unity resident, died Sept. 10, 2005, at Pilot Rock. His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Burnt River High School in Unity. Interment will be at the Unity Cemetery. Visitations will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Burns Mortuary of Pendleton. Darren was born on Jan. 14, 1971, at Seattle, Wash., to Gail and Lea Clevenger Bradford. At the age of 6 weeks, he moved with his family to Baker City where he lived until he was 9 months old. From Baker City, the … Read more

Dale, Naoma Jean Johnson Mrs. – Obituary

Naoma Jean Johnson Dale, 69, a former Baker City resident, died Sept. 15, 2005, at Bremerton, Wash. Her husband, Roger Dale, died in 2000. She enjoyed sewing and gardening and she loved to cook. Survivors include her daughter, Kaye Ginter of Washington; sons, Ed Hasbrook of Montana and Russell Hasbrook of North Carolina; four sisters, Francis Parker, Raye Bacus, Virginia Humphress and Gerry Herbes, all of Baker City; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 23, 2005 Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor

Young, Steven Eugene – Obituary

Steven Eugene Young, 55, of Hereford and formerly of Blackfoot, Idaho, died May 2, 2005, at Holy Rosary Medical Center in Ontario after a long illness. His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Gilliland Cemetery in Sweet Home. Vault interment will be at Gilliland Cemetery. Steve was born on Aug. 5, 1949, at Longview, Wash., to Oscar Gene Young and Betty Alaine Wood. As a family they traveled extensively, wherever the logging jobs took them. The family finally settled at Sweet Home, where Steve attended high school. Steve became quite an athlete and loved sports, especially football. … Read more

Shephard, La Neva E. Scott Mrs. – Obituary

La Neva E. (Scott) Shephard, 89, of Ontario, died May 7, 2005 in an Ontario assisted-living facility. Funeral services will be Friday at 11 a.m. (MDT) at the First United Methodist Church in Ontario. The Rev. Linda Tucker will officiate. A graveside service will follow at 1 p.m. (PDT) at Mount Hope Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Lienkaemper Funeral Chapel in Ontario. La Neva was born July 10, 1915 to Herbert H. and Myrtle F. (Powell) Scott in Oroville, Wash. As a small child she moved and eventually settled with her family in Baker City, where she … Read more

Miller, Odetta F. Jacobs Patterson Mrs. – Obituary

Odetta F. Miller, 78, a lifetime Baker City resident, died May 14, 2005, at her home of natural causes. Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Mr. Larry Albert will conduct the service. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be fro 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. Odetta was born on June 12, 1926, at Baker City to Howard and Goldie Jacobs. Her best childhood memories included living on the homestead out at Five Mile (Lookout Mountain). She spent most of her time with her … Read more

Welch, William Jerry “Doc” – Obituary

William Jerry “Doc” Welch died Dec. 17, 2004, at home in Tacoma after a valiant battle with cancer. Although he lived in Thailand and Tacoma much of the time after his 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, he always considered Haines and the Welch Ranch as his home. He was born in Glendale, Calif., on Aug. 25, 1926, to William Ray Welch and Pearl Welch Ercum. When World War II threatened the California Coast he and his sister, JoAnn and his paternal grandmother, Clara M. Welch, came to Haines and spent time with his Aunt Emma and Uncle Albert … Read more

Acton, G. Adrian – Obituary

Baker City, Baker County, Oregon Adrian G. Acton, 87, died Jan. 9, 2005, at his home. A private memorial service will be held later this year. Adrian moved to Baker City one and one-half years ago with his daughter and son-in-law, Ruth and Larry Craft. He was born in Marysville, Wash., and grew up in Granite Falls, Wash., with his nine brothers and sisters. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and served in the South Pacific. He lived in San Diego, Calif., for 40 years and retired in 1986 as a Fire Chief at North Island … Read more

Miles, Elizabeth E. “Betty” Mrs. – Obituary

Elizabeth E. “Betty” Miles, 70, of Salem, a former longtime Granite resident, died Dec. 29, 2004, after a long battle with lung disease. At her request, there will be no memorial service. She was born on Lopus Island, Wash., on Oct. 26, 1934, and spent her early years in the Puget Sound area. She married James L. Miles on Nov. 3, 1956. Jim was in the U.S. Air Force. As a military family, they lived in Japan for several years where they adopted two daughters, Tammie from Japan and Linda from South Korea. They returned to the United States and … Read more

Smelcer, Lawrence J. – Obituary

Lawrence J. Smelcer, 97, a lifelong Pine Valley resident, died Jan. 1, 2005, at his winter home in Yuma, Ariz. His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Monday at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church in Halfway. Interment will be at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception afterward at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church. Lawrence was born on Aug. 4, 1907, in the Panhandle of Baker County to Marion X. and Milda Schmidt Smelcer. He was raised in Pine Valley and attended Pine Town grade school and Halfway High School. He married … Read more