System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Jessie Chambers
Jessie Elmeda Moses Chambers, 89, a lifelong Baker City resident and retired longtime teacher, died Feb. 17, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Vigil services will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, First and Church streets. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the cathedral. The Rev. Robert C. Irwin and the Rev. John R. Jasper will concelebrate the Mass. Visitations will be until 5 p.m. today at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
Mrs. Chambers was born on April 8, 1911, at Baker City to D.B. “Bud” and Carrie “Janney” Moses. She attended Baker City schools and was a Baker High School graduate. She attended Oregon College of Education at Monmouth and was a graduate of Eastern College of Education at La Grande. She did her post-graduate work at Washington State University at Pullman.
She married Howard Chambers on June 7, 1930, at Stevenson, Wash. He died on May 22, 1939. They had two children, Bonnie and Bea.
After completing her education, Mrs. Chambers began her 40-year teaching career. She taught for 10 years in rural schools and the remaining 30 years at Brooklyn School for the 5J district. All of the schools except the first one were in Baker County.
Mrs. Chambers also worked part-time at J.C. Penney for about 20 years. After her retirement, she enjoyed traveling and working at the Baker County Public Library as a volunteer.
Her other volunteer work included helping at the museum and at St. Elizabeth Hospital. She was a member of St. Francis de Sales Catholic Cathedral, the Altar Society, the hospital auxiliary and the Retired Teachers Association.
Survivors include her daughters, Bonnie Baggerly and her husband, Richard, of Echo and Bea Bottger of Portland; 12 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and 17 great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Howard; her brother, George Moses; sisters, Thelma Morris and Margaret Morris; and son-in-law, Jim Bottger.
Memorial contributions may be made to a charity of one’s choice through the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Ore., 97814.
Shirley Hageman
Shirley H. Hageman, 82, of Baker City, died Feb. 18, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her graveside funeral will be Thursday at 2 p.m. at Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Pastor Gordon Bond of the Richland Christian Church will officiate. Interment will follow the service. Visitations will be Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. in Baker City.
Mrs. Hageman was born Oct. 27, 1918, in Washington to George and Daisy (Wixom) Evans. She received her education in Richland.
Mrs. Hageman worked as a waitress at various restaurants and also enjoyed being a homemaker. She loved to knit and crochet and gave her crafts to many friends and family members. She was very proud of the bowling team she was on that went to a national competition, and also bowled with two of her sisters on that team.
She enjoyed her grandkids and was very proud of them. Mrs. Hageman loved to garden and grow flowers, and she could make a garden grow when nothing else would.
Mrs. Hageman is survived by her son, Ken Hickerson of Baker City; her brother, Harold Evans of Portland; four grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; five sisters, Opal Williams, Delma Stacey, Wanda Pickler, Evelyn Tucker and Doris (English) Moore.
Contributions in Mrs. Hageman’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society Research Fund in care of Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Ore., 97814.
Genevieve Coats
Genevieve Coats, 94, of Baker City died Feb. 11, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Private vault interment will be in the Haines Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock Monday at the funeral home.
Mrs. Coats was born on Dec. 20, 1906, at North Powder to Andrew J. and Effie B. Toney Willis. She was raised and educated at North Powder and was married to Oscar Jacobson.
They owned and operated a farm near North Powder. After selling it, they moved to Arizona to ranch. Mr. Jacobson preceded her in death.
She then married Ralph Coats. He died at Yuma, Ariz., in 1990.
Mrs. Coats returned to North Powder and also lived with her twin sister for a short time. She lived in a foster care home and then at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center.
Survivors include several cousins.
She also was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Earl and Floyd Willis; and a twin sister, Geneva Wright.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Shriners Hospital for Children through the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home.
Juanita McCord
Juanita McCord, 75, a lifelong Baker City resident, died Feb. 23, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Services.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Dennis Hickman of the First Lutheran Church will officiate. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Mrs. McCord was born April 24, 1925, at Baker City to Lee and Minnie Estes Srack. She attended Baker City schools and then went to work at the Baker Hotel as a desk clerk. She later worked as a Title I secretary and then was head cook at South Baker Elementary School. She worked for the Baker School District for 17 years, retiring in 1985.
Mrs. McCord was known to her nieces and nephews as Nita or Ne-Ne. She liked to stay at home and take care of her yard, flowers, squirrels and her cat. She loved to watch her nieces and nephews anytime the families needed her, with great pleasure.
In her early years, she enjoyed breakfast being cooked on the open campfire at Catherine Creek State Park. She also enjoyed watching her son, Mike, play Babe Ruth baseball and to play in the Drum and Bugle Corps in his high school years. She enjoyed listening to her husband, Perry, play the organ and watching him tie fishing flies.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lee and Minnie Srack; her husband, Perry McCord; and her sister, Marie Srack.
Survivors include her son, Mike McCord, and his wife, Julie, of Camas, Wash.; her brother, Pete Srack, and his wife, Carol, nephews, Josh Srack and Dan Srack and his wife, Kim, great-niece, MacKenzie, great-nephew, Kyle Srack, nephew, Doug Srack, and his wife, Denise, great-nephew, Eric Plaza and great-nephew, Andrew Srack, all of Baker City; and one uncle and several cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to the First Lutheran Church or a charity of one’s choice through the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Ore. 97814.
‘Phill’ Boyer
Phillip J. “Phill” Boyer, 85, of Baker City, died Feb. 27, 2001, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His funeral will be Friday at 10 a.m. at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. His graveside service will be Friday at 2 p.m. at the Canyon City Cemetery in Canyon City. The Rev. Susan Smith-Allen of St. Peters Episcopal Church in La Grande will officiate.
Mr. Boyer was born Nov. 5, 1915, at Heppner to Guy and Clara May Boyer. He received his education in the Heppner area. He married Theda Rhea in Vancouver, Wash., on April 20, 1941.
Mr. Boyer enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force while attending college. He was stationed in California where he trained cadets for a time and then spent the remainder of the war ferrying aircraft around the country. He was also stationed in Alaska.
After Mr. Boyer’s discharge the couple lived in Salem, where he continued flying and worked as a flight instructor. The Boyers moved to John Day after his father took ill. He worked in a furniture store for a time and then managed the John Day Airport, where he continued flying and instructing. He purchased an airplane and began his charter business.
During this time, Sig Ellingson would charter Mr. Boyer to fly him around to the various places that he needed to be. When the Ellingsons purchased the mill in Baker City, Sig asked Mr. Boyer to move to Baker City and be the Ellingson Lumber Co.’s corporate pilot.
The Boyers moved to Baker City in 1967. He continued to fly for the company until the mid 1980s, when he retired after 44 years of flying.
Mr. Boyer enjoyed being home during his retirement but traveled to Portland, California and Arizona. He had a love for flying, which was his hobby, and also played golf for a while.
Mr. Boyer is survived by his wife, Theda Boyer of Baker City; his brother, Don Boyer of John Day; his sister, Jane Blondell of Tigard; nephews and nieces, Martha Boyer Murphy, Doug, Don and Paul Moody, Marla Moody Anderson, Mike, Greg and Mark Jeffries; and several cousins.
Mr. Boyer was preceded in death by his parents.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Oregon Lung Association through the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Ore., 97814.
Clint Kirkland
Clint David Kirkland, 30, of Boise and a lifetime Union resident, died Feb. 24, 2001, at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise.
His celebration of life service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Union High School gymnasium. Committal and interment will be at the Union Cemetery. Visitations will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., in La Grande.
Mr. Kirkland was born on Nov. 27, 1970, at Portland to David and Phyllis Brookshire Kirkland. The family lived at Union and he was a Union High School graduate. He later graduated from UTI at Phoenix.
He married Jill Wood at La Grande on March 1, 1997, at La Grande. They made their home in Boise where he worked as a welder for Yonkee’s Steel fabrication.
During his high school years, he was very involved in everything, including FFA, 4-H and Natural Helpers. He was a top athlete and a caring friend to all. He was an outdoorsman and an avid hunter and fisherman.
He was known as a hard worker, and an excellent husband and father. He took pride in everything he did. He also will be remembered for his keen sense of humor.
Survivors include his wife, Jill Kirkland and sons, Ty and Colton Kirkland, all of Boise; brother, Mark Kirkland of Nampa, Idaho; parents, Phyllis and Bert Marx and Dave and Pam Kirkland, all of La Grande; stepbrother, Chase Kirkland of La Grande; stepsister, Laurie Testerman of Enterprise; grandparents, Beryl and Dorothy Brookshire of Union; a very special lifetime friend, Wade Richards of Boise; parents-in-law, Bart and Yvonne Wood of Boise; and numerous aunts, uncles and other relatives and friends.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Clint Kirkland Memorial Fund, which will be a college fund for his boys, through Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande, Ore., 97850.
Frank Aldrich
Frank Aldrich, 72, of Union, a former North Powder resident, died Feb. 25, 2001, of natural causes at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande.
His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Daniels Chapel of the Valley in La Grande. The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2990, will officiate. Committal and interment will be at the Haines Cemetery. Visitations will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday at the Daniels Chapel of the Valley.
Mr. Aldrich as born on June 10, 1928, at North Powder to Everett and Grace Blize Aldrich. He married Josie Couvertier on Nov. 17, 1951, at New York City.
He was a logger, rancher, service station owner and had worked as police chief at Union. He also worked for Courtright Irrigation.
He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and was a Union City Council member and volunteer firefighter for many years. He loved hunting, fishing and his family.
Survivors include his wife, Josie of Union; stepdaughters, Dora Willcuts of Fontana, Calif., Elsie Bianco of Mesa, Ariz., and Marie Aldrich of Union; his mother, Grace Aldrich of Union; brothers, Kenneth Aldrich and Glen Aldrich of Union and George Aldrich of Cove; a sister, Betty Griffith of Prineville; 12 grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father; a brother, Elmer; and a sister, Wilma.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Intensive Care Unit at Grande Ronde Hospital or to a charity of one’s choice through the Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St., La Grande, Ore., 97850.
Jessie Laird
Jessie Morris Laird, 91, a former Baker County resident, died Feb. 21, 2001, at Spokane, Wash.
A private service is planned for the interment of Mrs. Laird’s ashes.
Mrs. Laird was born on July 23, 1909, to Robert Lee and martha Ann Morris on their homestead on Missouri Flat northeast of Baker City.
She had seven brothers, Ed, Rob, Jerry, Sam, Wayne Bill and Mack Morris, and five sisters, Christine Morris (who died as an infant), Eva Robinson, Jane Colvin, Louise Worrell and Myrtle Perkins, who all preceded her in death.
Mrs. Morris attended Baker City schools. She and her brothers and sisters rode to school in a cart drawn by their father’s dapple gray. Because there were so few automobiles at the time, they had to unhitch the horse and turn him away from oncoming Model Ts. Otherwise the horse would rear in fright.
This caused them to be tardy many times. Mrs. Laird was a 1928 Baker High School graduate. She moved to La Grande to work in the bakery there.
It was in La Grande where she met and married Robert O. Laird on May 3, 1930. They lived at Cove where they had three children: Lewis, Lowana and Laurel Lee. In 1946, they purchased a 50-acre farm on Cricket Flat north of Elgin. She and her husband worked hard there to make the farm a success.
Mrs. Laird is remembered for her charismatic personality and hospitality as well as for being a loving mother and wife. Everyone was always welcome in her home. Her outstanding ability as a cook was enjoyed by all who visited or worked on the Laird farm.
Mrs. Laird nursed her husband through a difficult illness until his death in 1965 after 34 years of marriage. She leased the farm and returned to Baker City to be close to her loving brothers and sisters. She became an active member of the United Methodist Church and Rebekah Lodge.
She loved to entertain in her home as well as to sew, garden and be a grandma to her two beautiful granddaughters, Shelley and Tammy Salvage.
In 1989, Mrs. Laird moved to Spokane when it was not longer physically possible to live alone. She lived in a private care home until her death.
‘Bob’ Pellissier
Robert Joseph “Bob” Pellissier, 69, of The Dalles, died Feb. 17, 2001, at Mid-Columbia Medical Center.
His funeral was last week at Spencer, Libby & Powell Funeral Home in The Dalles, with Asa Jenson officiating. Interment was this morning at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City.
Mr. Pellissier was born Jan. 7, 1932, at Walla Walla, Wash., the middle child of three sons born to Oran and Euna (White) Pellissier. He grew up in Tonasket, Wash., graduating from high school there in 1950.
After high school he moved to Baker City, then entered the U.S. Army, serving from 1951-55. After the service he returned to Baker City to work in the family trucking business.
Mr. Pellissier moved to Portland in 1960 and worked for Mitchell Brothers Trucking. In 1976 he moved to The Dalles, where he purchased Sauter’s Truck Service, which he operated as Pellissier Trucking Inc. with his son, Mark, and daughter-in-law, Linda.
Mr. Pellissier was a member of The Dalles Elks, Moose and Eagles lodges, and the American Legion. He enjoyed participating in community activities, including supplying trucks for local parades, and donating time to the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center and Wasco County Museum.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley Joan (Bollinger) Pellissier, whom he marred June 22, 1999, at The Dalles; his sons and their wives, Mark and Linda Pellissier of The Dalles, and Greg and Jeannie Pellissier of Vancouver, Wash.; grandchildren, Oran and Elisha Pellissier of Vancouver; his brothers and their wives, Jim and Elsie Pellissier of Baker City, and Mike and Corrine Pellissier of Plymouth, Wash.; his sons’ mother and his ex-wife, Hazel Allegre of Gresham; and numerous stepchildren.
Mr. Pellissier was preceded in death by two infant sons, Robert, who died in 1951, and Bobby, who died in 1957.
Contributions in Mr. Pellissier’s memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association at 380 SE Spokane St., No. 110, Portland, Ore., 97202.
‘Frank’ Gray
Franklyn Isaiah “Frank” Gray, 77, a longtime Baker City resident, died March 1, 2001, at his home.
His funeral will be Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the Baker City Seventh-day Adventist Church, corner of 17th Street and Pocahontas Road. Pastor Leon Cornforth will officiate. Interment will follow at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be today until 7 p.m. at the Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.
Mr. Gray was born Dec. 19, 1923, at Baker City to John Osborne Gray and Lurana Ann (Hall) Gray. His family homesteaded in the Baker Valley area and later moved to Hermiston and Pendleton. In 1946 the family returned to Baker, where Mr. Gray and his younger brother, Fred, began Universal Radio and Sound, a radio repair and recording studio business at 2260 10th St.
Mr. Gray met Muriel Dick in the summer of 1949, when she came to work as a nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital. They were married in June 1950 at the Baker Seventh-day Adventist Church. Following their honeymoon, the couple moved to Spokane, Wash., where Mr. Gray worked as a radio technician. In 1956 the Grays moved back to Baker, and Mr. Gray founded Evergreen Radio & TV in the R.E. Wilson Appliance store at 1725 Main St. In the 1960s he and Fred formed the partnership of Gray’s TV at 1824 Main St., which they operated until the business was sold in 1985.
Mr. Gray was a 50-year member of the Baker Seventh-day Adventist Church, where he held many offices.
Mr. Gray is survived by his wife, Muriel, of Baker City; their children, Elizabeth Parker of Baker City, Rosalyn Patton of Portland, and Peter Gray of Las Vegas; three siblings, Almyra M. Walter, Fred Gray, and Bonnie Entermille, all of Baker City; four grandchildren, Nickolias Turner, Matthew Parker, and Donald and Daniel Gray; and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John Gray and Lurana Gray-Green; his stepfather, Charles Green; his older brother, John Riley Gray; a niece, Susan C. Gray; and a nephew, Stephen Gray.
Contributions in Mr. Gray’s memory may be made to the Baker Valley SDA School or the church parking lot fund, in care of Coles-Strommer Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, Ore., 97814.
