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Pearl Groves
Pearl Groves, 84, of Wallowa died April 22, 2000, at Wallowa Memorial Hospital.
She was born November 14, 1915, at Halfway, the daughter of Luther J. and Matilda Anne "Fields" Johnson. She married
Imon William Fagan on Feb. 2, 1937, in La Grande. He preceded her in death on Oct. 4, 1980. She married
Lee Groves on Jan.19, 1987, at Reno, Nev.
Mrs. Groves went to school in Lower Valley and graduated from Wallowa High School in 1933. She then attended LaSalle Extension University at Chicago, Ill. She loved cooking, growing irises, quilting and crocheting.
She is survived by husband Lee of Wallowa, five stepchildren, aunt Isabell Musum of La Grande, cousins and many friends.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, April 25, at 10 a.m. at the Wallowa Church of Christ, with vault internment following at the Wallowa cemetery. Memorial contributions in her memory may be made to the Cascade College in care of Bollman Funeral Home, 315 W. Main St., Enterprise OR 97828.
Louise Thoen
Louise Vesta Thoen passed away March 29, 2000, at age 92.
She was born on April 6, 1908 in Alder Slope outside Enterprise to Josie (Homan) and Alexander Murray. She married
Erling K.J. Thoen in Enterprise, May 27, 1927, and they celebrated their 60th anniversary in 1987. Erling passed away in 1988.
She studied music and sang on many occasions. She was also an accomplished photograph retoucher and tinter working with several studios in Vancouver and Portland over the years. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star as Worthy Matron and she was active in the Senior Citizens Council for many years.
Louise is survived by daughters Erliene Taylor of Vancouver, WA, and Nancy Denis of Sacramento, Calif ; son Gerhard Thoen of Kelso, WA; 11 grandchildren and 18 great- grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at the Memorial Gardens Funeral Chapel, 1101 N.E. 112th Ave. in Vancouver, WA, on April 1, 2000.
Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.
Alta M. Estes
Alta M.. Estes, 83, of Weston died April 18, 2000, at her home.
Alta was born Aug. 9, 1916 in Joseph. She was the daughter of Frank and Viola Campbell Keener. She grew up in Joseph and attended her schooling. On Oct.14, 1933 she married
Lawrence Estes in Joseph. The couple began their married
life together at Imnaha and them moved to Lostine and Joseph.
In 1963 they moved to the Milton-Freewater area settling in Umapine. In 1979 they moved to Weston when she retired from Lamb-Weston. Alta was involved with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed cooking, crocheting and crossword puzzles. She was preceded in death by her husband in May of 1980.
Survivors include three daughters, Sally Babcock of Milton-Freewater, Darlene Green of Arlington, WA, and Vi Marlatt of Eagle, Idaho; three sons, L.J. Estes of Milton-Freewater, James Estes of Richland, Ore., and John Estes of Hermiston; sister Francis Struble of Corvallis; 17 grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by her sisters, Nancy Hall and Shirley Downs, and her parents.
Funeral services were held Friday, April 21, in the chapel of the Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home, Milton-Freewater. Concluding services and burial followed in the Milton-Freewater cemetery. Officiating was pastor Roger Johnson. Contribution can be made to the American Diabetes Association through the funeral home, 902 S. Main St., Milton-Freewater OR 97862.
C. Gregory Johnson
C. Gregory Johnson, 59, of Challis, Idaho, died Tuesday, April 18, 2000, in St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, Idaho.
Memorial services were held Friday, April 21, at the Challis Golf Course. Graveside services were held April 24 at the Bramlett cemetery at Wallowa .
Greg Johnson was born Dec.11, 1940, in La Grande, the son of Clifford A. and Laura Gregory Johnson. He graduated from Wallowa High School in 1959 and Washington State University in 1963. He married
Sandra L. Baird in Wallowa on Jan.8, 1966.
He was employed with the U.S. Forest Services for many years, starting as a summer employee in 1962. In 1963 he was hired full time, working in range and resources. In 1980, Greg spent four months working with the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in response to the Mt. St. Helens crisis.
Greg was the ranger of the Yankee Fork Ranger District from 1984 until he retired in 1997. Greg's first love was his family, sharing in their lives and offering love, time, and support to them. He especially enjoyed firewood gathering, Christmas celebrations or any event involving the entire family. He enjoyed helping kids and supporting the school and school activities. He enjoyed golf, carpentry, bowling, fishing and hunting.
He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and was a member of the Challis Golf Association and the City of Challis Planning and Zoning Commission.
He is survived by his wife, Sandra (Baird) Johnson, Challis; three children, Timothy G. Johnson and his wife, Charlene, Kenai, Alaska, Debora L. Sheppeard and her husband, Mike, Challis and Katrina A. Johnson, Boise; his grandchildren, Kassandra M. Johnson, Lincoln G. Johnson, Luke H. Johnson, Ian T. Johnson, all of Kenai, Alaska, and Brielle Z. Sheppeard, Challis; and a sister, Beverly K. Kane, Boise.
Memorials are suggested to the Challis School District Trust Account Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 304, Challis, ID 83226, or the American Cancer Society, 2676 S. Vista, Boise, ID 83705.
JAKE JOHNSON
Jake Johnson of Apache Junction died recently at the age of 19 years.
He was the son of Chris (Johnson) Vielehr, formerly of Wallowa and Enterprise, and Bob Vielehr.
Grandparents are Don and Vesta Jacobs of Enterprise.
Memorial services will be held Monday, April 3, at Apache Junction, Ariz. Contributions may be made to Jake Johnson memorial fund.
ELZIE MAKIN
Elzie Milton Makin, 84, died March 31, 2000, at Evergreen Rehab Center in La Grande. He was the great-grandson of William Makin, a Wallowa County pioneer.
Elzie was the eldest of five children of Walter and Mural (Simmons) Makin, born at Imnaha on Dec. 16, 1915. He was married
to Ruth E. Stein, May 19, 1939, at Walla Walla, Washington. Ruth and Elzie lived in several places throughout Wallowa County until 1948, when they bought a farm in Middle Valley between Lostine and Wallowa. They lived and farmed there for more than 50 years, and then retired and moved to Enterprise. During the last 10 years of living on the farm, they traveled in the winter and spent the summers here.
Elzie spent most of his life in Wallowa County. He had a great love of the outdoors, including hunting, fishing, camping and love of sight seeing her in Wallowa County.
Elzie is survived by his wife, Ruth; three children, Melvin, Raymond and Diane; 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
Preceding Elzie in death was one grandchild, Coby; one brother, Eugene; and one sister, Iva Prince. Memorial service were held Tuesday, April 4, 2000, at the First Baptist Church in Enterprise.
Memorial contributions may be made to Wallowa Memorial Hospital in care of the Bollman Funeral Home, 315 W. Main St., Enterprise, OR 97828.
HELEN ATKINSON
Helen Isabel Atkinson, 89, passed away at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Clackamas on March 11, 2000.
Helen was born in Wanette, Okla., on August 21, 1910. In 1942 she moved to Southern California and lived in and around the Los Angeles area for many years. She retired from the executive offices of J.C. Penney in 1975, and resided in Enterprise from 1976 until 1985, before moving to Lake Oswego.
She is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law, Cari and Jack Orr of West Linn and Willa and Vince Correll of Fresno, CA; grandchildren, Stefanie Webb of Carnation, WA, Doug Orr of West Linn, Jon Orr of La Grande, Mike Rich of Beaverton, Craig Correll of Carlsbad, Calif., Susan Kehler of Fresno, Calif. and Melinda Franklin, Fresno, CA; and 12 great-grandchildren.
PHYLLIS LERZ
Phyllis M. (Hansen) Lerz, 60, passed away March 20, 2000, in her home in Enterprise.
She was born on Sept. 7, 1939, in Bedford, Ohio, the daughter of Phil and Nettie (Matejka) Hansen.
Phyllis was raised in Bedford with her brother and graduated from Bedford High School in the Class of ‘57.
In 1962 she married
and had a son. They moved to California where she continued her education studying interior decorating. Moving back to Ohio in 1974, Phyllis bought her first house in the town of Twinsburg and eventually started a business, "Creative Interiors by Phyllis".
Getting remarried
in 1991, she and her husband moved to Enterprise. There she pursued her dreams of creating beautiful gardens and living a quality life in the mountains. Her efforts contributed to the lasting beauty of Enterprise.
A memorial gathering will be announced in July.
Phyllis is preceded in death by her parents, Phil and Nettie, and a brother Russell.
She is survived by her husband, Arthur Lerz, and son, David Carpenter, both of Enterprise; nephew, Rusty Hansen of California; nieces, Andrea Wick and Dee Hansen of Ohio. Additional family members include Scott Lerz, Dawn Materni and Jodi Hultz, with grandchildren Jordan Elise Materni and Gabrial Hultz, all of Ohio.
TERRY CRENSHAW
Long-time Wallowa teacher and coach Terry Jay Crenshaw, 53, died April 1, 2000, at his home in Wallowa.. He was born Dec. 30, 1946, in Salem to Edith Naomi (Light) Cummings and Oswald J. Crenshaw. Terry married
Nancy Todd on Sept. 7, 1968, in Grants Pass. They moved to Wallowa where Terry was employed as a teacher at Wallowa School District until he retired because of health reasons in 1997. He was preceded in death by his mother Edith Naomi (Light) Cummings. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; father, Oswald J. Crenshaw; son, Jason and his wife Melanie of Wallowa; daughter, Marnie and her husband Troy Montgomery of Portland; and sister, Gail Crawford of Clark Fork, Idaho. A Celebration of Life and potluck will be held at Wallowa Senior Center at 3 p.m. Thursday (today). Donations can be made to the ALS Society, Crenshaw Memorial, the Wallowa Valley Health Care Foundation or the Nez Perce Homeland project, in care of the Bollman Funeral Home, 315 W. Main St., Enterprise OR 97828.
KEN BESKE
Ken A. Beske, 48, of Fayetteville, N.C., formerly of Wallowa County, died Jan. 9, 2000, from head injuries sustained when a motorist struck Mr. Beske's motorcycle.
Ken was the son of the late Paul and Mary Beske of Wallowa Lake. He is survived by a sister, Panthea Rogers of Mesa, WA; a son, Jeremy Beske of Wallowa; a four-year-old daughter, Jessica Beske of Fayetteville, N.C.; and two grandchildren, Arayah and Lane.
AL BEARD
Al Beard, 88, Milton-Freewater, died March 25, 2000, at his home..
One of seven children, Al was born in Kaycee, Wyo., on July 17, 1911, to John and Charlotte Bybee Beard. At the age of seven he moved with his family to Milton-Freewater and then to Enterprise where he graduated from high school.
During World War II he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1942 and received his honorable discharge in 1945. He married
Grace Wallace Crimins in Tijuana, Mexico, on Feb. 1, 1963.
Mr. Beard was involved in various businesses. He owned the Shell Oil distributorship for a time and was owner of Twin City Auto Parts in Milton-Freewater, Elgin Auto Parts in Elgin, and Oregon Motor Service in Pendleton. He was also co-owner of several other businesses, including Twin City Motor Supply in Pasco, Kennewick, Dayton, Ritzville, Walla Walla, Connell, Colfax, Washington, and Umatilla. He was also co-owner of Alaskan Seafood's in Homer, Alaska; Pendleton Cable TV; Melridge Aviation in Vancouver, WA; and KEXI FM Radio and Eagle Tribune in Milton-Freewater.
He loved going to the mountains, hunting fishing and picking mushrooms. He was a avid outdoorsman and in his later years, when he had to give up some of the more active sports he enjoyed such as skiing and riding his motorcycle in the mountains, he began spending a lot of his time on the golf course.
He was an accomplished pilot and owned his own plane for 40 years, using his plane for business and also pleasure. He was a former members of several organizations including Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and Blue Mountain Ski Club. He is a member of B.P.O.E. #2146, Milton Lodge #96 AF&AM;, Blue Mountain Shrine, Al Kader Shrine 40 & 8, 20/30/ Club, Milton-Freewater Golf Club and Walla Walla Country Club.
Among his accomplishments, Mr. Beard received the Carnegie Medal for saving a man's life from suffocation in a quarry tunnel on March 24, 1933.
He is survived by wife Grace; son, Ty Beard of Tigard; daughter, Greg Gerking of Portland; step-daughter, Lari Hodecker of Redmond; stepsons Jerry Crimins of Milwaukie and Tom Crimins of Milton-Freewater; sister, Nora Wallace of Escondido, CA; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, March 28, in Milton-Freewater. Ritualistic service were conducted by Milton-Lodge #96 AF&AM;, with concluding services followed by the Milton-Freewater cemetery. Contributions can be made to the Milton-Freewater Junior Golfers through Munselle-Rhodes Funeral Home.
BEN ROBINSON
Ben Lawrence Robinson, 93, of Corvallis died Feb. 23. 2000. at the Heart of the Valley Care Center in Corvallis.
Ben was born Dec. 1, 1906, in Spangle, WA, to Carl and Sophia (Grunewald) Robinson. He moved with his family to Wilshall, Mont., when he was nine years old to grow wheat, and raise cattle and sheep.
He is survived by his daughters Louise Dane of Corvallis, Elaine Hill of Oregon City; Ann Robinson of Yakima, WA; six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandson, four nieces and four nephews.
Ben was preceded in death by wife, Amy Belle Robinson; sister, Florence Ayers; three brothers, Ralph and Frances, Chester, and Lester and Carmen; niece, Marion Robinson. (Frances and Carmen are respective sister-in-laws).
The memorial service for Ben will be Thursday, March 30 (today) at 10 a.m., at the United Methodist Church in La Grande. The Rev. Patricia A. Hale will officiate. A luncheon fellowship will follow at the Oddfellows Hall in Summerville.
Interment will be at Summerville cemetery in Summerville.
Memorial contributions can be made to OHSU Foundation, Parkinson's Disease Research in care of DeMoss-Durdan Garden Chapel, 815 NW Buchanan, Corvallis, OR 97330.
ALVIN FORDICE
A memorial service for Alvin L. Fordice will be held on April 1, 2000, at the First United Methodist Church in Pendleton. Disposition will be by cremation.
Mr. Fordice 74, of Pendleton, died Dec. 16, 1999, at the Johnathan M. Wainwright Memorial Veterans Medical Center in Walla Walla of lung cancer.
He was born Aug. 9, 1925, at Flora, one of the four children of Erville and Minnie Doran Fordice. He attended school at Lost Prairie and then at Palouse, WA, where he graduated from high school in 1943. The family moved to Kennewick in 1943 and he entered the U.S. Navy at Kennewick, serving aboard a repair ship as an electrician, primarily in the South Pacific. He was discharged as Electrician First Class in May 1946 and came to Pendleton.
On Sept. 5, 1948, he married
Betty Deason at Clarkston, Washington.
In 1947, he his father and brother opened Liberty Cleaner in Pendleton, and later added OK Textiles Laundry. The business was sold in 1980.
Mr. Fordice enjoyed golf and bowling and playing tricks on friends and neighbors. He was very community-oriented and believed in shopping "at home."
He belonged to many organizations, including the American Legion for over 54 years; Oregon State Dry Cleaners, where he had served as a director; Jaycees where he held several offices; the Pendleton Elks Lodge for over 40 years; Eastern Oregon Council on Alcoholism; United Way; Country Club; School Board Budget Committee for three years; and City Council for four years. He worked on "B" Basketball when it first started with Father O'Hara, was a member of the First United Methodist Church, and had been active in Boy Scouts when his son was small.
Survivors included his wife of 51 years, Betty, Pendleton; son, Steve of Medford; daughter, Tracey of Tigard; two grandsons; sisters Carol Thews of Concord, Calif., and Florence Chase of Palouse, WA; and several other relatives.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or St. Anthony Hospice, directly or through Burns Mortuary, P.O. Box 489, Pendleton OR 97801.
