System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Leonard Harris
Leonard H. Harris, 80, a longtime Baker City resident, died Jan. 14, 2004, with his family by his side.
His funeral will be at 10 a.m., Saturday at Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Leonard's son in law, Rod Wright of Baker City will officiate. Visitations will be until 8 o'clock tonight at Gray's West & Co. Interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Leonard was born on May 2, 1923, at Wynne, Ark., to Steve and Floie Harris. He married Mildred V. France on May 24, 1941.
He joined the U.S. Army in 1943, serving our country during World War II. He received the Bronze Star, fighting under General Patton.
Leonard and Mildred moved to the Northwest in 1951 and raised their family in Baker City. They later moved to Burley, Idaho, where Leonard retired in April 1984, after 28 years of service with Chevron Pipeline Co. After traveling several years, they returned to Baker City in 1989.
"Our beloved father was devoted to his family, " his children said. He was dearly loved and will be greatly missed.
Survivors include his three children, Carol and Rod Wright of Baker City, Craig Harris of Nampa, Idaho, and Patricia and Jimmie Muckleroy of League City, Texas; seven grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife, his parents and a brother.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Calvary Baptist Church Building Fund or to the charity of one's choice through Gray's West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Leona Miller
Leona B. Miller, 96, a longtime Halfway and Baker City resident and recently of Canby, died Jan. 5, 2004, at the home of her daughter, Roberta J. Hilger, and her husband, John.
Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church in Halfway. Vault 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.
Leona was born on Oct. 15, 1907, to John Weir Brinkerhuff and Myrtle Alice Dingman at Collbran, Colo. They moved to Oregon when she was 4 years old. They lived at Ontario and then Baker City.
Leona married Ralph Patterson when she was 16. They had a son, Firmin Patterson. She and Ralph were divorced after 11 years.
In 1938, Leona married Frank Miller. This marriage lasted 59 years, at which time Frank died. The couple had two daughters, Rhonda Dine and Roberta Hilger.
Leona was a member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and was active for many years in the Presbyterian Church at Halfway. She loved to cook and always had a houseful of people. She also loved to nurse and to help people.
Leona was preceded in death by her parents, John Brinkerhuff and Myrtle Allen; her husband, Frank Miller; and a grandson, John F. Hilger.
Survivors include her son, Firmin Patterson, and his wife, Amy; daughters, Rhonda Dine, and Roberta Hilger and her husband, John; nine grandchildren; 15 great- grandchildren; and a cousin.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Pine Valley Presbyterian Church through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Edgar Gutridge
Edgar Harold Gutridge, 78, a lifelong Baker City resident, died Jan. 6, 2004.
His funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Aaron Oglesbee of the Agape Church will officiate. Private vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.
Mr. Gutridge was born on Jan. 26, 1925, to Allen and Lottie Springer Gutridge. Ed was free- spirited, fun-loving and had an inexhaustible sense of humor. He could find humor in any situation.
He was known as a good-natured, cheerful man. He often referred to himself as a n'er do well, but in truth he was a generous man with a heart of gold. It was not uncommon for him to go without in order for others to have what they needed.
Everyone knew they could depend on Ed. He worked for Ellingson Lumber Co. for 30 years before retiring. Some of his fondest memories were of the years he spent in the logging camps and later working on the chain at the mill.
As the storyteller Ed's sense of humor along with his flair for using colorful and descriptive language made his stories come alive. He could speak for hours keeping the listener both enthralled and entertained.
He enjoyed reminiscing about the many misadventures of his youth, experiences during his years at the mill, and life lessons learned while growing up during the Depression. Above all he preferred stories of family history as they had been told to him when he was a young boy.
He never missed an opportunity to share stories of the old west, ancestors who traveled the Oregon Trail, their strong relationships with local Indian tribes and how they survived to settle in Baker Valley.
He was an experienced carpenter and he helped rebuild a number of homes in Baker City; however, he was particularly proud to have built the house his eldest daughter was born in. He liked to keep busy with all types of woodworking and repair projects over the years.
He loved to fish and was a fly fisherman extraordinaire. He loved to spend time in the great outdoors, and, in fact, Ed's nature walks would last entire days. This he learned from his mother who regularly took him and his siblings out for hikes all over the mountains and valleys of Baker County. He taught his children to appreciate wildlife and to protect the environment. He would stop his car on a dime, any where at any time, just to admire the landscape of our beautiful state.
An avid reader, Ed was never without a book. He often selected books on unfamiliar subjects simply to educate himself. He preferred novels about conspiracies and international espionage. His favorite author was Mark Twain. He played the accordion and harmonica in his younger years. He enjoyed big band and classical music and listening to the great Caruso. Ed was a kind, loving and deeply devoted father.
Survivors include his daughters, Melissa Gutridge of Chicago, Lisa DeRoest of Boise, and Sharon Meyer of Elgin; a son, Lester Churchill of Kennewick, Wash.; three grandsons and two granddaughters.
He was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, four sisters and a daughter, Jayna Marie Gutridge in 1970.
Memorial contributions may be made to The Salvation Army, Food Banks or to a charity of one's choice through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.
Ova Stevens
Ova Belle Stevens, 90, of Richland, died Jan. 11, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Richland Christian Church. Pastor Gordon Bond will officiate. Visitations will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.
There will be a graveside service at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Mount Hope Cemetery in San Diego.
Ova Belle was born to James M. and Eva L. Anderson on Dec. 20, 1913, at Carnegie, Okla. She attended school and was raised in Caddo County, Okla. Ova married Thomas T. Stevens at Fort Cobb, Okla., on March 17, 1930.
The couple moved to Phoenix, Ariz., in 1941, then to Imperial Beach, Calif., in 1943. Both Ova and Thomas went to work for Rohr Aircraft. Ova worked as an assembler, building military and commercial aircraft parts.
Ova retired from Rohr Aircraft in 1975. Thomas died in 1976, shortly after his retirement.
Ova remained in Imperial Beach until 1984 when she moved to Richland to be near her two daughters, Betty Bennett and Retha Allensworth. Ova enjoyed quilting and various other crafts after her retirement.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas; two brothers, Doyle and Leon Anderson; two sisters, Dura Bohannon and Mabel Lindsay; and one great-granddaughter, Danielle Andrade.
Survivors include her daughters, Retha Allensworth and her husband, George, and Betty Bennett and her husband, Lovell, all of Richland; five grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and six great- great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Eagle Valley EMT Training Fund or the American Diabetes Association through Gray's West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Darrell Carper
Darrell Carper, 67, a longtime Halfway and Richland resident, died Jan. 8, 2004, at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise from complications of asthma.
His funeral and celebration of his life will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Richland Christian Church. Interment will be at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception and dinner afterward at the Richland Christian Church.
Darrell was the second child born to Willa and Ralph Carper on May 31, 1936, at their home in La Grande. He was raised with two sisters, DeLeva and Donna. He attended school at Starkey, Union and La Grande.
He married Anita S. Doty in 1954. They would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Sept. 23, 2004. They had five children: Eugene, Deborah, Susan, Denise "Shelly" and Melody.
Darrell was very proud of his family and loved them deeply. He will be missed.
He was his happiest when he could be in "God's Country, " the glorious mountains, where he worked as a logger for many years until he was injured. He had a strong love for nature and being in the outdoors.
He was an avid sportsman, enjoying shooting, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling and feeding deer in the winters. He had enjoyed working at the Cornucopia pack station where he could show others the beauty of the mountains.
His most recent love was to work alongside his daughter and son-in-law on their cattle ranch at Richland. He loved the scenery of the Pine and Eagle valleys. He enjoyed gatherings with family and friends and had a wonderful sense of humor that will be missed.
Survivors include his wife, Anita; son, Gene, and his wife, Cindy; daughters, Deborah, and her husband, Dwight Saunders, Susan Coffman and her significant other, Tommy Smith, Shelly and her husband, Jerry Smith, and Melody and her husband, Mark Weir; his mother, Willa Carper; sisters, DeLeva, and her husband, Wade Booher, and Donna and her husband, Roundy Plumley, all of La Grande; grandchildren, Elisha Carper Suldan and her husband, Jessie, and Sierra and Sydney Saunders, Raleigh, Renae and Randi Coffman, Derek and Adrian Harlan, and Colton, Branden and Dalton Weir; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Darrell was preceded in death by his father, Ralph Carper; and two granddaughters, Jennifer and Kayla Carper.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Richland Christian Church or the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
‘Louie' Basman
Cyril Louis "Louie" Basman Jr., 80, a longtime Richland resident, died Jan. 7, 2004, at his home.
Louie's family honored his request that there be no formal service for him.
He was born on Jan. 1, 1924, at Detroit, Mich., to Cyril Louis and Joanna Thomaszowski Basman.
He attended and graduated from Royal Oak High School. After graduation he went on to attend Laurence Institute of Technology. Louie served in the U.S. Navy as a pilot from 1943 to 1946. In 1944, he married June Ankrom at St. Augustine, Fla., and again at Las Vegas, Nev., (just to be sure it was legal). They lived at Bakersfield, Calif., for 33 years where they raised their children.
After his stint in the Navy, Louie went to work at Capitol Heating and Air, he also worked at Foster Heating and Air and he retired at the age of 55 from Supreme Air Conditioning.
During his retirement, Louie and June traveled the Northwest, settling down in Richland. They found, loved and bought their home immediately.
Louie enjoyed working in his shop, doing woodwork, keeping the machines going and puttering in his orchard. In the later years he became an avid reader.
Survivors include his wife, June; his daughter, Sandra Storme Kramer of Florida; sons, Mark Basman of Richland, and Christopher Reid Basman of Martinez, Calif.; sisters, Joanna Sharpe and Rosemary Pike of Detroit, Mich.; two grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to Pathway Hospice or The Salvation Army through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.
Floyd Burnside
Floyd H. Burnside, 81, a former Baker County resident, died Jan. 6, 2004, at the Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston.
A funeral service was held Friday at the Burns Mortuary Chapel in Hermiston. Burial with military honors followed at the Hermiston Cemetery.
Floyd was born Jan. 10, 1922, at Richland to Andrew and Julia Tuttle Burnside. He was raised and attended schools in Sparta.
He joined the U.S. Army, serving overseas during World War II.
Floyd was united in marriage to Viola "Vi" Driver on June 12, 1947, at La Grande. They lived in Baker City for a time before settling in Hermiston in 1961 where they have lived since.
Floyd worked at the Umatilla Army Depot as a munition handler from 1961 until he retired in 1977.
He was a life member of the Hermiston VFW Post #4750 Desert Post. He enjoyed bowling, hunting, fishing, woodworking, gardening and making things.
He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Vi Burnside of Hermiston; daughters, Dorothy Trotter, Jeannette Smith and Gail Raines, all of Hermiston; sons, Marcus Burnside of Pueblo West, Colo., and Dale Burnside of Hermiston; brother, Kenneth Burnside of Warrenton; 14 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Floyd was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Lloyd, James and Ray; sisters, Cleo and an infant sister; and grandchildren, Mandie Burnside and Patrick Richardson.
Memorial contributions may be made to the VFW Post #4750 in care of Burns Mortuary of Hermiston, P.O. Box 289, Hermiston, OR 97838.
Wilbur Neff
Wilbur Wayne Neff, 72, of Baker City, a former longtime Bend resident, died Jan. 7, 2004, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Lighthouse United Pentecostal Church, 2407 Seventh St. Pastor Nathaniel Neff will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Calvary Baptist Church, 2107 Third St.
Visitations will be until 7 p.m. today at Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave.
There will be a second funeral Saturday at 11 a.m. at the True Gospel United Pentecostal Church in Bend. There will be a reception afterward at the True Gospel Church. Interment will be at Deschutes Memorial Garden Cemetery in Bend.
Wilbur was born April 29, 1931, at Medford to Ray and Elenore Ragsdale Neff. The family moved to Bend when Wilbur was very young. Although he completed most of his education in Bend, he also attended schools at Oregon City and at Ritzville, Wash.
In 1948, at the age of 17, Wilbur joined the U.S. Navy. He served in Okinawa during the end of the Korean War. At the age of 20, he was honorably discharged. He returned to Bend where he continued to live for most of his life.
In 1953, he met Virginia Cady at a Christian Supply Store. On July 31, 1953, after an entire month- long courtship, Wilbur and Virginia were married in Bend.
They remained married for the last 50 years. The couple had three children: one son, Nathaniel in 1954; and two daughters, Annette in 1957 and Hannah in 1963.
After several years of working odd jobs, Wilbur went to work for the U.S. Postal Service. He continued to work there for 17 years, until he retired in 1991.
He spent the next eight years enjoying the retired life. In 1999, Wilbur and Virginia moved to Baker City to lend a hand with the Lighthouse Church School alongside their son, Pastor Nathaniel Neff.
Wilbur always enjoyed going out for a burger, often saying, "They don't call me Wimpy for nothing!" He loved buying flowers for his wife and enjoyed spending time with his family.
Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Virginia of Baker City; his son, Pastor Nathaniel Neff and his wife, Gewnett, of Baker City; his two daughters, Annette Donahue of Napa, Calif., and Hannah Micheletti and her husband, Paul, also of Napa, Calif.; a brother, James Neff and his wife, Pat, of Madras; and a sister, Alice Bowers of Portland.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and two brothers, Jerry Neff, who died in the mid 1970s, and Larry, who only lived to be a month or two old.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Lighthouse U.P.C. through Gray's West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, P.O. Box 726, Baker City, Oregon 97814.
