System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Ruth Stehwien
Ruth Stehwien, 89, of Baker City, died March 12, 2003, at her home.
Her memorial service and a celebration of her life will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Calvary Baptist Church at Third and Broadway streets. Pastor Ed Niswender of the church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Calvary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
Mrs. Stehwien was born June 24, 1913, at Rockville, Mo., to Emma and Isaac Everson. She attended school at Humansville, Mo.
She married Otto Stehwien on Nov. 25, 1931, at Rockville, Mo. They moved from Missouri to Oregon in 1942 and then to Washington until settling at Priest River, Idaho, in 1945.
They had been married for 43 years when Otto died. Ruth moved to Baker City with her sons and their families in 1977 to be near her sister and brother. She remained in Baker City until her death. Ruth was a very loving and dedicated wife and mother. Everyone who knew her remembers her as a woman with a very caring and giving spirit.
Mrs. Stehwien attended Calvary Baptist Church for several years until her health declined. She loved the Lord and spent many years doing the Lord's work.
Ruth spent numerous hours at the quilting frame with her sister, Bertha Simrell, and good friend, Midge Stellman.
Many people around the world have been recipients of their handiwork including many local families who lost their homes to fire. She was a faithful member of the church mission circle and spent many hours rolling bandages for missionary hospitals and making lap robes for nursing homes and shut-ins.
Survivors include daughters, Wanda King of Baker City, Winona Sunderman and her husband, Gilbert of Clarinda, Iowa, and Willa Benjamins and her husband, Jonas of Sequim, Wash.; sons, Wesley Stehwien of Baker City and Warren Stehwien and his wife, Melody, of Sparks, Nev.; a brother, Roy Everson and his wife, LaJeanne of Baker City; 13 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Otto; a son, Wendell; a sister, Bertha Simrell; and three brothers, John, Clarence and Paul Everson.
Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of one's choice or the Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR, 97814.
Ralph Bell
Ralph Edward Bell, 81, of Boise, a former longtime Baker City resident, died March 13, 2003, at Valley View Retirement Center in Boise.
His graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Terrace Lawn Memorial Gardens in Boise. Visitations will be until 7 o'clock tonight at Summer Funeral Homes, Boise Chapel, 1205 W. Bannock St.
Ralph was born April 15, 1921, at Marsing, Idaho, to Clifford and Flo Benson Bell. He was a Baker High School graduate.
He married Blanche Hickerson on Oct. 14, 1939. She died on April 15, 1996.
During his life, Ralph was employed by Baker La Grande Grocery. When it closed he went to work as a truckdriver for Olympia Distributing and later for Meadow Gold Dairies in Baker City and La Grande. In 1969, he and Blanche moved from Baker City to Boise where they later retired.
Survivors include his sons, Clinton of College Place, Wash., Danny of La Grande, Roger of Boise and Clifford of Twin Falls, Idaho; his daughters-in-law, Ethel, Barbara, Cherylin and Chris; his brother, Harold Bell of Baker City; and grandchildren, Danny Jr. and Gary of La Grande, Rachelle, Kelly and Glenn of Boise and Becky of Twin Falls.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Blanche; his sister, Dorathea Pierson; and a brother, Ernst.
Hertha Witham
Hertha Witham, 85, of Baker City, died March 5, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her memorial service will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Calvary Baptist Church at Third and Broadway streets. Pastor Ed Niswender of the church will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Calvary Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
Mrs. Witham was born on Jan. 30, 1918, at Idaho Falls, Idaho. She was raised by Eugene and Mattie Lee LaBrier.
Her early education was received in Boise and at Middleton, Idaho. She graduated from high school at Ontario in 1935. After graduation, she worked for Cables Chevrolet at Ontario where she developed a lasting friendship with Mrs. Cable.
She married Harvey E. Witham on July 26, 1941, at Payette, Idaho. They had been married for 61 years. The couple had four daughters: Evelyn, Jeanne, Reba and Anna Lee.
Mrs. Witham was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church for 55 years or more. She loved the Lord and He was very important in her life and in the lives of her family. Her favorite verses were Philippians 4:11-17. She accepted the Lord while she lived at Middleton.
She was a deaconess for many years. She delivered Meals on Wheels to many a lonely soul. She loved to visit the shut-ins with flowers and to catch them up on the activities of the church and their friends.
She also played the piano for church services for more than 25 years. This was the highlight of her week. She could accompany anyone and she loved to do it. She truly possessed the gift of music and lovingly shared it with all.
She took great delight in having birthday parties for the widows of the church and would take a cake and a card with her. She never missed the birthdays of any one of her 14 grandchildren or great-grandchildren.
Tuesday was her pinochle day and she liked to play with her lifelong friends. She crocheted angels for many people and made the roses that were given out at the church to new visitors. She was a member of the Eastern Star, the Rebekah Lodge, the Irene Mauger Group and she was an Awana leader.
Survivors include her husband, Harvey of Baker City; daughters, Evelyn Ryan and her husband, Robert, and children, Mike, Molly and Mitchell, all of Clark Summit, Pa., Jeanne Schumacher and her husband, Terry, and children, Thomas, Jackie and Carolyn, all of Baker City, Reba Sharp and her husband, Kenny, and their children, Shad and Silene, of Beaverton, and Anna Lee Baum and her husband, David, and their children, Regan, Aleck, Karl and Leigh, of La Grande; and four great-grandchildren, Brendan Ogan, Alyson Ogan, Ashley Reagan and Josie Reagan.
She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Julia and Leona; and a brother.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund through Gray's West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97824.
Olga Gregg
Olga W. Gregg, 89, of Baker City died March 3, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her memorial service was at 10:30 a.m. Friday at First Lutheran Church, 1734 Third St. Pastor Dennis Hickman of the church officiated. There was a reception afterward at the First Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall.
Mrs. Gregg was born on Feb. 3, 1914, at Riga, Latvia, to Ludwig and Gottlieb Janson. She spent her childhood in Lithuania, where she was educated. She enjoyed learning folk dances of the Baltic states. She was a secretary for a major power plant.
After World War II, while working in Germany as an interpreter, she married Wilfred P. Gregg of Berwick, Pa. He died in 1997. They lived in Germany until 1948 when Will was transferred stateside.
They lived at various military bases in the United States and one in Germany before moving to Baker City. Olga had lived in Baker City since 1959 when her husband was transferred to the Baker Air Force station.
Olga was a member of First Lutheran Church and was a former member of Eastern Star. Her interests included cooking, hunting and fishing.
Survivors include a son, Fred, and his wife, Melissa, of Rochester, Minn.
She also was preceded in death by a brother and a sister.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Lutheran Church through Gray's West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Etta Cook
Etta Lorene Cook, 89, a long-time Baker City resident, died Feb. 22, 2003, at her home.
Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Ralph Holcomb will officiate. There will be a reception at the Baker City Eagles Aerie, No. 3456, 2935 H St., after the memorial service.
Etta was born Jan. 20, 1914, at Pine Town to Roy E. and Hazel L. Schultz Hilbert. Her grandmother, Mary Marr, came to Pine Valley in a wagon in 1812.
Etta was one of five daughters. Her sisters were Ruth, Mary Jane, Georgia and Leota. She was educated at Pine Valley and through her life experiences.
On Sept. 4, 1932, she married Ralph William Cook at Kilgore, Texas. After their marriage, Etta went to work for various organizations including Boeing Aircraft, as manager of the cafeteria at Ordnance Depot Hermiston, and in the shipyards at Vancouver, Wash. She worked for 17 years at Tektronix and was a housewife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother.
Etta and Ralph had a daughter, Hazel Erlene. They took in many children to give them a loving home when the need arose. She returned to Baker City in 1972 from Hillsboro after the death of her husband, Ralph.
Etta was a member of the Baker County Sheriff Possettes, the Eastern Oregon Chapter of the American Red Cross and she was a founding member of the Hells Canyon Junior Rodeo.
She loved the outdoors and really enjoyed camping, fishing and hunting. She grew a beautiful garden and enjoyed preserving her fruits of labor through canning. She spread lots of love to her family and friends. She will be remembered for her loving kindness.
Survivors include her daughter, Hazel Erlene of Lake Tahoe, Nev.; grandchildren, Ralph Donnie Vinyard and Debbie Lorene Ewing of Baker City and Heidi Marie Miller of Santa Rosa, Calif.; great-grandchildren, Allen James Otto of Hillsboro, Amy Machell Younger of Baker City, Alicia Erlene Fenk, Mellisia Alice Fenk and Derrick James Fenk all of Santa Rosa, Calif.; two great-great-grandchildren, Emilie Jaine Otto and Sydney Elizabeth Younger, making five generations; brothers and sisters-in-law, Fred, Ruby, Carl, Marie, Glenn, Lloyd, Juanita and Betty Cook; and numerous nephews, nieces and many friends who were all loved dearly.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Ustious Cummings Sr.
Ustious G. Cummings Sr., 84, of Baker City, died Feb. 23, 2003.
His memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Nathaniel Neff of the Lighthouse Church in Baker City will officiate. Inurnment will be in the veteran's section of Mount Hope Cemetery after the chapel service. A reception will be held at the Calvary Baptist Church in Baker City.
Ustious was born Feb. 13, 1919, at Potter, Ark., to Richard and Mary Cummings. He moved to California in the 1930s. In 1942 he entered the U.S. Army to serve his country during World War II.
He served in the Wildcat 322nd Infantry Regiment. He was awarded several decorations and citations. Ustious was discharged in 1945 with the rank of staff sergeant.
He then worked as a steel worker at the U.S. Steel Co., at Pittsburg, Calif., for the next 30 years. After his retirement, he continued to serve the public for another 20 years.
He did community work for the senior citizens and government give away, providing food for the less fortunate. He really enjoyed helping people. Ustious and his wife, Lola, moved to Baker City in September of 2000.
Survivors include his wife Lola, of 61 years; two sons, Ustious Cummings Jr. of Concord, Calif., and Johnny and his wife, Donna, of Baker City; two daughters, Geraldine Krigbaum, and her husband, Tom of Antioch, Calif., and Shirlene Taylor and her husband, Ken, of Caldwell, Idaho; 10 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren; one sister, Mamie Taylor and her husband, Frank, of Texas; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother and three sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice or the Lighthouse Church through Gray's West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Eva Dickerson
Eva E. Dickerson, 85, of Baker City died Feb. 22, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services after a short illness.
Recitation of the rosary will be at 7 p.m. Friday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, First and Church streets. The Rev. Robert C. Irwin will celebrate. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the funeral home. There will be luncheon in the basement of the Cathedral after the service, provided by St. Francis Altar Society.
Mrs. Dickerson was born at Hereford on Sept. 30, 1917, to Henry Lance Koontz and Orpha Lucretia Willey Koontz. She was the fourth child of the family, joining a sister, Mary Ferne, and brothers, Clifford and Leslie. Her childhood was spent on the family farm at Hereford, which had been homesteaded by her grandfather, Orlando Chester Koontz in the late 1800s.
Both brothers were taken by illness at the age of 18, leaving her and sisters, Ferne and Colleen (born in 1925) as the "ranch hands." They worked side by side with their parents, Lance and Orpha, to keep the ranch going.
After a brief move to Cascade, Idaho, during the Depression, where Lance and the boys worked in the Eccles Lumber Mill and Orpha baked pies for a local boarding house, the family returned to the ranch in 1930.
Eva attended her junior year of high school at Grant High School in Portland, then returned to graduate with her longtime class friends from Hereford Union High School in 1935. In November of that year, she married Thomas J. Higgins Jr., son of Baker City doctor, Thomas Sr., and wife, Maud.
They had four children: Nancy (1937), Mary Jo (1940), Mike (1941) and Richard (1944). Tragedy again touched Eva's life in June 1944, when Tommy was struck and killed by lightning while irrigating their farm ground. Left with four children between the ages of 6 and three months, a high school education, and no formal job training, Eva, through her family support group and a lot of determination, moved her small family to Baker City. In 1946, she met and married James Dickerson. She and Jimmy had four children: Kay (1947), Don (1950), Pat (1952) and Percy (1960). In addition to this family of eight, Eva and Jimmy helped raise Jimmy's two children, Judy (1940) and Bill (1943).
Hereford was the magnet that kept drawing Eva back in those days, to live and to raise her children. After short stays in Baker City, Caldwell, Idaho, and John Day, the family moved back to Hereford in 1949.
After the partial shutdown of Ellingson Lumber Co. at Unity in 1959, Eva and Jimmy and the five children who were still at home relocated to Baker City, where Jimmy continued his employment with Ellingson's until retiring in 1976.
He and Eva worked to develop their newly started Amway business. They met new friends, traveled (especially on an airplane, for Eva!) and they thrived on this experience.
After Jimmy's sudden death in October 1983, Eva continued her involvement with her Amway group and her bowling group, while residing in the home she and Jimmy bought in 1978.
With the responsibility of caring for that home becoming more of a burden, Eva decided to move to an apartment, now owned by a niece, Mary Lou, and husband, Alex Sackos, in 1997. With the loving care and assistance of her sister, Colleen, she was able to live in her apartment until her death.
Eva will be remembered by her family and friends as a positive, up-beat person who, in spite of life's challenges and stresses, continued to look for the good in each person and each situation. Through her determination and persistence, she provided opportunities for her children to grow up in a close-to-ideal situation, first in Hereford, then in Baker City.
She had the knack of knowing when to be a firm guide and when to back away and give her kids room to grow and learn from their own experience, which resulted in a family of children and grandchildren with the self-confidence to choose their own paths.
Her love of the outdoors was passed on to her children, in the form of an appreciation for and respect of nature, a legacy she was extremely pleased and proud to pass down to her offspring.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Clifford and Leslie; sister, Ferne Anderson; husbands, Tommy Higgins and Jimmy Dickerson; and her grandsons Jeremiah Dickerson, Donny and Mark Curtiss.
Survivors include her sister, Colleen Jones of Baker City; children, Nancy and her husband, Alan Endicott, of Pendleton, Mary Jo Higgins and her husband, Bob Kowing, of John Day, Mike Higgins and his wife, Donna, of Halfway, Dick Higgins of Baker City, Kay and her husband, Vernon Nakada, of Ontario, Don Dickerson and his wife, Dorothy, of 100 Mile House, British Columbia, Pat Dickerson and his wife, Jill, of Jacksonville, and Percy Dickerson and his partner, Leslie Maiwald, of Baker City; stepchildren Judy and her husband, Bill Blevins, of La Grande, and Bill Dickerson and his wife, Tami, of Boise; sister-in-law, Mary Ann Slocum of Portland; an aunt, Erma Cole of Hillsboro; 30 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, Eva could best be honored by planting a tree or a rose bush in her memory, by taking a walk in the buttercup-covered hills, by putting up a bird feeder, or by thinking good thoughts of her on your next picnic. Buttercups were one of her favorite wildflowers as they emerged from the snow-covered, sagebrush hills around Hereford in the spring.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Francis Cathedral's music ministry through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Oregon 97814.
George McLeish
George D. McLeish, 77, of Baker City, died Feb. 23, 2003.
His memorial service will be at 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Coles Funeral Home. Pastor Lura Kidner-Miesen of the United Methodist Church will officiate. Private interment will be Monday at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Mr. McLeish was born Feb. 20, 1926, at Wiggins, Colo. He was a son of James Andrew and Gertrude Amy Baker McLeish. He received his education at Wiggins, Colo., Payette, Idaho, and Baker City.
In 1943, he entered the U.S. Navy to serve his country during World War II in the South Pacific. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After his discharge, he returned to Baker City and went to work for Ellingson Lumber Co. as a planer operator. On July 21, 1951, he married Jessie Elizabeth Emery at Carson City, Nev.
George continued to work for Ellingson's until his retirement in 1989 as a shipping clerk. After his retirement, George and Jessie liked to travel, especially their twice annual trips to Nevada.
Jessie died in April 2001. Since that time, George had enjoyed going to the Senior Center. He volunteered serving meals and wherever needed. He provided several entree meals at the center in memory of his wife, Jessie, and for his birthday last Thursday, Feb. 20. He also enjoyed watching ball games on television and doing yard work.
On Dec. 8, 2002, he became a member of the United Methodist Church. He was also a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post No. 3048, the American Legion and the Baker Elks Lodge.
Survivors include his sister and brother-in-law, Doris and Dan Burton of Milwaukee; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, George and Effie Turner of Baker City; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Jessie.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Senior Center or to the United Methodist Church through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
