Patricia Watkins

Patricia Joe Watkins, 76, of St. Helens, a former Baker City resident, died March 18, 2003, at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland.

At her request, there will be no funeral.

Patricia was born on April 3, 1926, at Baker City to Frank and Neni Eddy Frey. She attended schools at Austin, Baker City and Prairie City and was a 1943 graduate of Prairie City High School.

She married Donald Leslie Watkins in 1946. She had been a resident of St. Helens since 1960. She worked for many years at the Bank of St. Helens and Western Bank at St. Helens as a bookkeeper. She was a member of the Eastern Star.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and her husband, Donald, who died on April 18, 1996.

Survivors include two sons and daughters-in-law, Robert and Dorothy Watkins and Linden and Rebecca Watkins, all of St. Helens; two sisters, Margaret McConnell and Barbara Rush; and three grandchildren, Jake, Mitch and Kristy Watkins.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Hemophilia Society or the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at Portland.

Florence Daugherty

Florence Daugherty, 104, died March 16, 2003, at St Elizabeth Health Services.

Her memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Methodist Church in Haines. Pastor Sally Wiens of the church will officiate. Interment will be at Haines Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.

Florence was born Aug. 20, 1898, at Mount Vernon, Mo. She was the third of 12 children born to Thomas R. and Lora Ann Woods Jeffords.

The Jeffords family arrived in Baker City on a train from Missouri on August 20, 1903, Florence’s fifth birthday. The family settled in the Eagle Valley area, where her father took farm jobs such as tending and milking cows, harvesting crops and growing and selling garden produce to provide for his family.

Florence helped by caring for the ever-growing family starting at a very young age. When she was a teen-ager, she once, with the help of her older brother, fed an entire threshing crew and cared for eight other children while her parents were in town at the doctor. Florence also received her education in the Eagle Valley area, completing her freshman year of high school there.

She met William Daugherty while they were both working for Albert and Emma Fisher. After a three-month courtship, the couple were married on July 4, 1919. They lived and farmed between Haines and North Powder. In 1933, the family moved to Haines where Florence lived in the same home until her death.

She and William welcomed three children to their marriage: Barbara, Glen and Kenneth. While raising the children, Florence also fed large haying and threshing crews, milked cows, kept house, cooked and baked, fed the animals and did other farm chores. Ever handy, she was always sewing, quilting, crocheting and knitting, as well as making wooden toy guns and stick horses for the children.

William died in July 1971 shortly after the couple celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. Florence continued to stay busy with her accomplished handiwork, as well as her membership in the Grange and Rebekah Lodge and volunteer work at the Haines Museum.

She recently was honored by the Grange when she received a pin commemorating her 50-year membership, an accomplishment that brought her great joy. She also enjoyed spending time with her family, music, gardening, poetry and parties of any kind.

Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and John Murdoch of North Powder, her son and daughter-in-law, Glen and Bobbie Daugherty, and her brother and sister-in-law, Walter and Dorothy Jeffords, all of Baker City; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; three great-great grandsons; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas R. and Lora Ann Jeffords; brothers, Harry, Vernon, Tommy, Harland, Page, Carl and Wendle; sisters, Ruby, Woodie and Alice; and her son, Kenneth.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Eastern Oregon Museum, the Haines Methodist Church or the Haines Grange. This may be done through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Bernard Stephens

Bernard Stephens, 86, a long-time Baker City resident, died March 15, 2003, at a care facility.

His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Ralph Holcomb will officiate. Visitations will be from noon until 5 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. until noon Wednesday at the funeral home. Military rites will be accorded by Oregon Army National Guard and Baker City Amvets, Post No. 1874. Vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Bernard Francis Stephens was born July 12, 1916, in the old St. Elizabeth Hospital, to John and Alma Reimann Stephens. He was the fourth of five children. They lived on a farm upon a hill in the Pleasant Valley area and Bernard attended the Pleasant Valley School.

During his teen years, he lived with his older brother, Harold, for a while at Port Angeles, Wash., and worked in a restaurant. He returned to Baker City where he sawed logs, worked at Montgomery Ward and worked in several restaurants.

He joined the National Guard and went on to be active in World War II, earning the rank of first lieutenant. He was stationed at several schools and bases in the United States and then was in North Africa, Italy, France and Germany.

He married Bea Peckham and they had a daughter, Anita, and a son, Larry. That marriage ended in divorce.

He later married Edith Mathson and they were married 33 years when she died. He married Merdith Herron in September of 1989 and they had more than 13 happy years together.

Bernard enjoyed playing pool and won many tournaments. He also enjoyed pitching horseshoes and became quite adept at that.

Bernard was a hunter and a fisherman. He loved catching those big striped bass in the Colorado River during the many winters he spent in Arizona and then showing off his fish pictures.

Bernard delivered mail for the U.S. Postal Service in Baker City for 23 years, and even until lately he could tell you andquot;so and so’sandquot; address, when perhaps they couldn’t remember it themselves for years back.

Bernard was a very kind and caring person and was always ready to lend a helping hand. He will be greatly missed by his loved ones.

He attended the Christian Church when he was able and belonged to the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. He was also a member of the Powder River Pioneers Good Sam Club.

Survivors include his wife, Merdith; a sister, Lorna Decius; a son, Larry; a daughter, Anita; step-sons, Paul Pearson, Leonard Reitz and Norman Linton; stepdaughters, Delores Rees and Darlene Louviere; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren and stepgrandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father; his brothers, Harold and Garland; his sister, Emma; and his wife, Edith.

Memorial contributions may be made to Community Connection (the Senior Center) or to the Baker City Christian Church through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Ruth Makinson

Ruth C Makinson, 88, of Corvallis, a former Baker City resident, died March 3, 2003, at Good Samaritan Hospital in Corvallis.

Her memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at McHenry Funeral Home, 206 N.W. Fifth St., in downtown Corvallis. Pastor Ralph Holcomb will officiate. Private interment will be at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway.

Ruth Makinson was born April 26, 1914, at Dallas, Ore., the daughter of Mabel Guy Parrish and Elbert L. Parrish. She received her education at Dallas, graduating from Dallas High School. She married Joe Martin in 1931 while still in high school and they had a son, Guy Martin.

She attended Oregon State College at Corvallis where she received her bachelor’s degree in education. Ruth married Cloyd B andquot;Docandquot; Makinson on Aug. 29, 1941, at Payette, Idaho. Doc Makinson was born at Halfway.

She taught school at Condon. Her husband enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and she went with him to Maryland while he was in the Army.

He was discharged in November 1945 and they moved to Eugene in 1946. Their sons Warren, Clyde and Allen were born in Eugene.

Ruth’s husband Cloyd Makinson was a high school vo-ag instructor, teaching from 1946 until 1960 in Eugene. He then worked as a Grange insurance agent from 1960 until his retirement in 1980.

Ruth was a housewife, taught at the Eugene Business College, was a substitute teacher in Eugene, and a secretary in the Communication Department at the University of Oregon for the student-operated radio station.

The Makinsons moved to Baker City in 1980 after they retired. Ruth then moved to Corvallis in 1991, after the death of her husband, Cloyd.

Mrs. Makinson was a member of the First Christian Church at Eugene and Baker City, Four Oaks Grange at Eugene for 30 years, a lifetime member of the Missouri Flat Grange in Baker City, and a council member of the Baker City Senior Center.

Ruth traced her heritage back to Wales, England and the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. Ruth’s Parrish grandfather, the Rev. Edward Parrish, traveled to Oregon in 1849 on the Oregon Trail and homesteaded at Jefferson. His son, Jessie Bussey Parrish, also was an Oregon Trail pioneer who homesteaded near Sodaville south of Lebanon.

She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother.

Survivors include her sons and daughters-in-law, Warren E. and Martha Cervantes of Lafayette, Calif., Clyde L. and Gretchen Makinson of Richland, Wash., Allen J. and May Makinson of Shed, and Guy W. and Esther Martin of Salem; grandsons, Phillip, Aaron, Erik, Kevin, Samuel and Isaac Makinson; granddaughters Cassie Martin Curell, Mary Martin Garrot and Violet Martin Hunt; and five great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Pine Valley Museum at Halfway or the Baker County Senior Center through McHenry Funeral Home, 206 N.W. Fifth St., Corvallis, OR 97330.

Doris Loennig

Doris O. Loennig, 82, of Punxsutawney, Pa., a former Haines resident, died March 15, 2003, at Sprankle Personal Care Home at Punxsutawney.

There will be a prayer service at 7 o’clock tonight at the Deeley Funeral Home at Punxsutawney. The Rev. John Bauer will officiate. Visitations are from 4 o’clock to 7 o’clock tonight at the funeral home. Burial will be at the Haines Cemetery.

She was born on Oct. 5, 1920, at Haines to George Loennig and Pearl Angell. She was a member of the Saints Cosmas and Damian Roman Catholic Church.

She was a member of the PEO and the Alaska Pioneer Club. She was a graduate of the University of Oregon at Eugene and received her law degree from Willamette University at Salem. She was a retired lawyer.

Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Sharlene Loennig and a grandson, Tyler James Loennig, of Punxsutawney; and a niece, Cathy Bishop of Boise.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Lois Loennig; and three brothers, Robert Loennig and Herbert Loennig.

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 was at 2 p.m. today at Terrace Lawn Memorial Gardens in Boise. Visitations were Monday at Summer Funeral Homes, Boise Chapel in Boise.

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 as a truckdriver and dock foreman for Meadow Gold Dairies at Baker City and La Grande. In 1969, he and Blanche moved from Baker City to Boise where they 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.

Ethel Reimers

Ethel Mae Reimers, 90, of Ontario, died March 14, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center.

Her graveside funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Riverside Cemetery in Payette, Idaho. Pastor Martin Frusti of Pilgrim Lutheran Church at Ontario will officiate.

Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel in Payette.

Ethel was born at Nyssa and raised in the Ontario area. She was the daughter of Seymour and Minnie McGregor Ross. She married Leland G. Reimers on Nov. 11, 1934. He died on Nov. 6, 1991. They were married for almost 57 years.

Ethel was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She was a homemaker for much of her life. She did work at Ore-Ida Foods for more than 18 years.

She lived most of her life in the Treasure Valley, living near Sumpter from 1970 to 1976 and at American Falls from 1976 to 1980. She then moved back to Payette and Ontario until September of 2002 when she moved to Baker City.

Her daughter, Betty J. Russell, died Sept. 30, 2001.

Survivors include her daughters, Barbara Carnahan, and her husband, Nolan of Baker City and Beth Travis of Boise; eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Payette Senior Center through Shaffer-Jensen Memory Chapel, P.O. Box 730, Payette, Idaho 83661.

Nellie Jo Medlin

Nellie Jo Daniels Medlin, 89, of Baker City, died March 15, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center.

Her funeral will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Roger Scovil of the Baker City Christian Church will officiate. Private vault interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the Coles Funeral Home.

Nellie was born on May 9, 1912, at Bernie, Mo., to John Daniels and Roxie McBroom. She was married to Cecil Thomas Medlin on Nov. 12, 1930, at Bloomfield, Mo. They were married for 65 years at the time of his death in January of 1996.

They lived in Missouri until 1947, when they moved to Eastern Oregon. She lived at Eagle Valley and then moved to Baker City.

Nellie was a homemaker and a devoted mother. She enjoyed gardening, fishing, sewing, and making quilts for her family. She grew up in a family of 12 siblings and an additional 13 stepbrothers and stepsisters.

Survivors include her children, Bert Medlin and his wife, Christine of Baker City, and two sets of twins, Helen Pilcher and Howard Medlin, of Baker City, and Janice Widman of Baker City and Judy Akahoshi and her husband, Tosh, of Keizer; grandchildren, Tom Pilcher and his family of Newberg, Debby Schoeningh and her family of North Powder, Tim Medlin and his family of West Linn, Stephen Medlin and his family of Madras, Roger Medlin of Baker City, Brian Hanley of Boise, Sarah Hanley and Amanda Widman of Portland; and eight great-grandchildren, Tyson Pilcher, Jacob Fischer, and Jeremy, Stephanie, Andrew, Matthew, Alex and Jack Medlin; brothers and sisters, Christine Bufford and her husband, Donald, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., Dorothy Cosin of California, Ralph Daniels and his wife, Elsie, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., and Chester Daniels and his wife, Lizzie Mae of Illinois; and stepbrother, Grover C. Bagby, and stepsister, Bernice Rabe of Missouri.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, a daughter-law, Marcia Medlin; a son-in-law, Pat Hanley; grandson Larry Medlin; five sisters, two brothers, and 11 stepbrothers and stepsisters.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Elizabeth Health Care Center through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

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.