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Beatrice F. Lesser
Beatrice F. Lesser, 90, of Medford, died Tuesday (Aug. 4, 1998) at the Medford Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center. Private inurnment will be in Siskiyou Memorial Park, Medford.
Memorial contributions may be made to a favorite charity.
She was born March 3, 1908, in Newark, N.J.
On June 19, 1929, in Manhattan, N.Y., she married H. Douglass Lesser, who died in 1966.
Mrs. Lesser moved to the Rogue Valley in 1994 from Hayward, Calif.
She was a volunteer at East Orange General Hospital in New Jersey for more than 30 years.
Mrs. Lesser enjoyed crocheting, needlepoint and bridge.
Survivors include a daughter-in-law, Theresa C. Lesser, Medford; and three grandchildren, Douglass Alan Jr., Half Moon Bay, Calif., Keith, Bennington, Vt., and Leila DeEugenio, Glassboro, N.C.; and eight great-grandchildren. A son, Douglass Alan, died in 1998.
Arrangements: Perl Funeral Services-Siskiyou, Medford.
Lillian Van Buskirk
The memorial service for Lillian Rose Van Buskirk will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday in the Ashland First Baptist Church. Pastors Dwayne Robinson and Don Baldrica will officiate. Inurnment will be in the Mountain View Cemetery, Ashland.
Mrs. Van Buskirk, 89, of Ashland, died Friday (July 31, 1998) at Ashland Community Hospital.
She was born Lillian Telford on Sept. 1, 1908, near Buellton, Calif.
Mrs. Van Buskirk attended high school in Southern California and the teachers college in Santa Barbara, Calif. She earned a master's degree from Southern Oregon College.
On Dec. 26, 1935, in Yreka, Calif., she married Westley Van Buskirk, who died in 1991.
In California, Mrs. Van Buskirk taught grade school at Rocky Mountain School near Happy Camp and was a school principal in Weed before moving to Olympia, Wash., where she taught for seven years.
After moving to Ashland in 1952, she taught for 20 years at the Bellevue School.
Mrs. Van Buskirk was a member of the Ashland First Baptist Church, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, the Saturday Hand Weavers and the Ashland Gun Club.
After her retirement she enjoyed meeting and visiting with her former students in Ashland.
Survivors include numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by three brothers and two sisters.
Arrangements: Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home, Ashland.
Lanell Wilkes
The memorial service for Lanell Wilkes will be at 7:30 p.m. Sunday in the West Main Church of Christ, Medford. Stan Johnson will officiate. Private interment will be in Siskiyou Memorial Park.
Mrs. Wilkes, 78, of Medford, died Tuesday (Aug. 4, 1998) at her home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the West Main Church of Christ, 1701 W. Main St., Medford, OR 97501.
She was born Lanell Shirey on March 29, 1920, in Clarksville, Texas. At age 4, she moved with her family to Floydada, Texas.
She attended Wayland College, Plainview, Texas, where she was named "Smile Girl of the Southwest." Later she attended Texas Tech University, Lubbock.
On June 28, 1941, in Lubbock, she married Roy P. Wilkes, who survives. They went to Colorado State University at Fort Collins, where he received a master's degree, then to South Dakota State University at Brookings where he was an assistant professor.
They lived in Hollywood Beach, Fla., and later Berkeley, Calif., where she was a model and telephone operator while he served as an officer in the Naval Reserve.
They returned to Texas, operating irrigated farmland for seven years. In 1954, they moved to Medford, where she organized and started the YMCA women's program.
Mrs. Wilkes was safety chairman of the Jackson County Red Cross for 25 years. She founded and directed the nation's first and only Youth Aquatic School after obtaining approval from Southern Oregon College to use their facilities between semesters.
In 1975, she was the first recipient of the Harriman Award as the Outstanding Red Cross Volunteer in America. She was honored in 1975 by Greater Medford Chamber of Commerce and the Zonta Club as Medford's Woman of the Year.
She was president of the Medford Women's Bowling Association and inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1981.
Mrs. Wilkes was a longtime member of the West Main Church of Christ and also enjoyed racquetball, ballroom and square dancing, bridge, and taking cruises.
Survivors, in addition to her husband, include a son, Philip, Medford; a daughter, Linda Scott, Portland; a sister, Edith Saul, Mineral Wells, Texas; and four granddaughters.
Arrangements: Perl Funeral Services-Siskiyou, Medford.
Lanell Wilkes
Nationally honored American Red Cross volunteer Lanell Wilkes, 78, of Medford, died Tuesday (Aug. 1, 1998) at her home.
Wilkes moved to Medford in 1954 with her husband, Roy, who survives.
She joined the YMCA and served on the board of directors, establishing programs for women in volleyball, swimming and judo.
Wilkes in 1975 received the Harriman Award of the American Red Cross, presented to the outstanding Red Cross volunteer in America. She also was honored that year as Medford's Woman of the Year by Zonta International and by the Chamber of Commerce.
Recruited as a volunteer by the Red Cross, Wilkes served 25 years as director of its safety programs.
When she took over the position, Wilkes vowed to "waterproof every youngster in Jackson County."
She organized a Youth Aquatic School in Ashland with the cooperation of Southern Oregon State College. For 22 years, she directed the school, which became the source of water safety instructors for Medford pools, Jackson County lake parks and youth organizations.
The program won her the top honor of the Red Cross as well as the title of Medford's Woman of the Year.
In 1977, Wilkes was the only person in Jackson County certified by the Red Cross as a CPR instructor-trainer. The instructors she trained were qualified to give classes for police, firefighters and lifeguards.
She had a goal to have one person in every Jackson County family trained in CPR.
Wilkes held office in the state and local women's bowling associations. She was the fifth inductee into the Medford Women's Bowling Association hall of fame.
She bowled in several national tournaments and was an early coach to professional bowler Marshall Hoffman.
Wilkes also worked with her husband in his housing development business. Roy Wilkes developed Brookhurst, Brookhurst Villa, Blossom Hill, Broadway Terrace, Tropic Isles Estates and Campus Subdivisions.
Lanell Wilkes was his "expert on carpets, drapes, light fixtures (and) kitchen appliances."
The Wilkeses celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary this year. They were married June 28, 1941, in Lubbock, Texas.
Charles `Gus' Gustafson
The memorial service for Charles Ivan "Gus" Gustafson, longtime Rogue Valley Medical Center administrator, will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Siskiyou Memorial Chapel in Medford.
Mr. Gustafson, 67, died July 29, 1998, in Alexandria, Egypt. He had been working in Cairo as a consultant with a major Egyptian medical care provider.
Memorial contributions may be made to Rogue Valley Medical Center Foundation, 2825 E. Barnett Road, Medford, OR 97504.
He was born June 29, 1931, in Chadron, Neb.
Mr. Gustafson was administrator of Rogue Valley Medical Center from 1958 to 1980.
He and his wife, Donna, were preparing for his retirement at the end of this month in Las Vegas, Nev.
Mr. Gustafson served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Survivors, besides his wife, include a daughter, Laura Cogdell, Medford; a son, Brian Gustafson, Vancouver, Wash.; a stepson, James Hess, Medford; a stepdaughter, Jennifer Hess, Medford; six sisters, Deloris Tokstad, Portland, Cleo Vickers, Newport, Josephine Norton, Vancouver, Florence White and Margaret Seibel, both Las Vegas, and Ruby Anderson, Crawford, Neb.; and six grandchildren.
Arrangements: Palm Mortuary, Las Vegas.
Dan Harold Aimone
The funeral for Dan Harold Aimone will be at 11 a.m. Friday in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Medford. The Rev. Ray Elam will officiate. Interment will follow in the Jacksonville Cemetery.
After the interment, friends and relatives will gather at the Medford Moose Lodge.
Mr. Aimone, 41, of Eagle Point, died Sunday (Aug. 2, 1998) at Providence Medford Medical Center.
He was born Feb. 9, 1957, in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Mr. Aimone moved to the Rogue Valley in 1987 from Pocatello, Idaho.
On Oct. 29, 1997, in Maui, Hawaii, he married Winona Dee Gillaspey, who survives.
Mr. Aimone was plant manager for the past five years at Medford Fabrication in White City.
He was a member of the Catholic Church and the Medford Moose Lodge. His hobbies included fishing, skiing, hiking and golfing.
Survivors, in addition to his wife, include two daughters, Michelle R. Aimone and Jaime M. Aimone, both Medford; two stepdaughters, Karlie D. Welburn, Medford, and Tyra R. Farschon, Eagle Point; his parents, Chelest and Marian Grace Aimone, Richland, Wash.; a brother, Steve, Pomeroy, Wash.; and three sisters, Rose Bunch, Pomeroy, Connie Aimone, Benton City, Wash., and Nita Berry, Kennewick, Wash.
Arrangements: Rogue Valley Funeral Alternatives, Medford.
Jessie Chandler Prosa
Jessie Chandler Thompson Prosa, 75, formerly of Medford, died July 26, 1998, in Salem, where she was living.
A memorial service was held July 29 at Workman & Steckly Funeral Chapel, Sweet Home. Interment was in the Lewis Cemetery, Foster.
She was born Jessie Chandler on June 10, 1923, in Santa Cruz, Calif. The family came to Medford in 1932, where she graduated high school in 1942.
In 1944, she married Gilbert Thompson, who preceded her in death.
Later she married Don Prosa, who also preceded her in death.
Mrs. Prosa worked many years at Slip-N-Snip in Sweet Home.
She was active in the New Life Center Church in Albany and enjoyed bowling, for which she won many trophies.
Survivors include two sons, Richard Thompson, Lyons, and Douglas Thompson, Coos Bay; numerous stepchildren; a sister, Julia Fletcher, Medford; a half-sister, Mary Ann Rhyon, Glendale, Ariz.; a half-brother, Jerry Chandler, Sparks, Nev.; her stepmother, Tressa Chandler, Phoenix, Ariz.; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. A sister, Florence Jones, preceded her in death.
Arrangements: Workman & Steckly Funeral Chapel.
