‘Rod’ Cain

Rodney Joe andquot;Rodandquot; Cain, 55, of East Wenatchee, Wash., a former Baker City resident who worked as a Baker City Police officer and as a National Guard recruiter in Baker City, died June 2, 2003.

There was a celebration of Rod’s life at the Precht Rose Chapel in Chelan, Wash., which was primarily prepared and conducted by his sons. The celebration was continued at the Fraternal Cemetery at Chelan with National Guard honors.

Rod was born June 3, 1947, at Beebe, Wash., just outside Chelan, to Theodora and James Cain. He grew up and was educated at Chelan. He joined the Washington National Guard at Wenatchee in 1964.

He married Sherry C. Whited on Feb. 1, 1967. Rod worked construction in the Seattle area for three years. During those years he and his wife had two sons, Rod and Brad Cain.

He moved his family to Anchorage, Alaska, to join his brother in his construction business. He soon moved to Soldotna, Alaska, with the construction business and entered the police reserves program there.

In a short time he applied and was hired for a police officer position with the Homer Police Department. After seven years, he wanted to be closer to his aging mother and his siblings. He researched areas close to them and learned of an opening with the Baker City Police.

He was interviewed and hired for the job, working under the direction of then-chief, Doug Humphress. Rod worked as a Baker City officer for 12 years, leaving as a sergeant.

He then was hired as a National Guard recruiter stationed in Baker City. In 1985, Rod and Sherry divorced and Rod moved to Ontario where he continued as a recruiter.

Rod married Shirley Otto at Ontario in 1986. They moved to Wenatchee, Wash., in 1998 where Rod continued as a recruiter until he retired in 1999. Rod’s last employment was with the Chelan County Regional Jail where he worked as cook supervisor.

Rod was very proud of his sons and grandchildren. The last few months of his life they spent a lot of quality time together. Rod was a friendly guy who made friends easily. He enjoyed fishing and hunting, but mostly visiting with his many family members.

Rod was the youngest of 11 children. He was preceded in death by his parents, five sisters and two brothers.

Survivors include his wife, Shirley; his oldest son, Rod, and his wife, Dawn, and their children, Jesse, Allison, Tyler and Dylan of Weston; his youngest son, Brad, and his wife, Cynthia, and their daughter, Shelby, and sons, Bryce and Braden, of Nampa, Idaho; two stepsons, Kenneth and Jerry Otto; three sisters; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

‘Hutch’ Hutchinson

Charles Eldon Hutchinson, 87, a lifelong Baker County resident who was known as andquot;Hutchandquot; by his many friends and neighbors, died Nov. 8, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Care Center.

His memorial service will be at 2 p.m. on Friday at Gray’s West andamp; Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Jack Bynum of the Baker United Methodist Church will officiate. Friends are invited to join the family for a reception at Gray’s West andamp; Co. after the service.

Hutch was born on the Hutchinson Ranch near North Powder on March 24, 1916, to Charles Edward and Maude Kelsey Hutchinson. He graduated in 1938 with a degree in agriculture from Oregon State College where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and was enrolled in the ROTC program.

After college, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was discharged in 1945 with the rank of captain. While serving in the army at Fort Bragg, N.C., he met Clara Hall, his wife of 62 years.

They were married outside of Portland on Nov. 1, 1941. After completion of his military service, Hutch and Clara moved back to North Powder and purchased the family ranch, where they lived and raised their two daughters. In 1990 they sold the ranch and retired to their present home outside of Baker City.

Hutch was very active in community affairs. He served on various boards, including the North Powder School Board, North Powder Methodist Church Board, and Eastern Oregon University Board. He worked tirelessly for the creation and construction of Wolf Creek and Pilcher Creek dams.

Survivors include his wife, Clara; daughters Sherry Greulich of Beaverton and Pamela Enstad of Edmonds, Wash.; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and three sisters, Helen, Charlene, and Ardath.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Elizabeth Care Center through Gray’s West andamp; Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.

Gary Aldrich

Gary E. Aldrich, 73, a longtime Baker City resident, died Nov. 9, 2003, at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

His graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Haines Cemetery. Visitations will be until 7 o’clock tonight and from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St.

Mr. Aldrich was born Aug. 4, 1930, at Baker City. He was the son of Elvin andquot;Dutchandquot; and Mona Yankee Aldrich. He attended Muddy Creek School until 1947, when the school was closed. He then completed high school at North Powder. After graduating, he moved to Wyoming for a period of time and then returned to Baker City.

In January 1954, he married Betty Anne Tiffany of North Powder. They were divorced in 1958. He married Ethel Wintersteen on April 1, 1966. Mr. Aldrich worked as a painter and then went to work for Burnt River Sawmill in various positions until retiring at the age of 62 in 1992.

He enjoyed horses, fishing and doing ceramics with his wife.

Survivors include his children, Eva Marie Jarvis and her husband, Lee, of Kalispel, Mont., Rena M. Morrow and her husband, Mike, of Haines, Mike Wellman and his wife, Brenda, of Newberg, Mike Hotchkiss and his wife, Vicki, of Silverdale, Wash., and Sherry Hotchkiss of Baker City; brothers, Robert Aldrich and Neil Aldrich, both of Haines; 11 grandchildren, three of whom he raised, Emmie, Kattrina and Rachell; 14 great- grandchildren; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Ethel; and her son, James andquot;Pit.andquot;

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Gary Aldrich Memorial Fund in care of US Bank. This may be done through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Peter Van Steinburg

Peter Blaine Van Steinburg, 55, of Kaneake, Hawaii, a former Baker City resident, died of cancer on Oct. 9, 2003, at Kaneake, Hawaii.

Family and friends gathered for a celebration of his life.

He was born Sept. 6, 1948, at Hollywood to Phillip Craig Van Steinburg and Laura Holderbach-Van Steinburg. He spent his early years at Burbank and Woodland Hills, Calif.

As a teen-ager, his love for animals brought him to Baker City where he worked on the ranch of Floyd and Betty Duncan. While attending high school in Baker City he met the love of his life, Beverly K. Brownell. They were married on Aug. 30, 1965, at Weiser, Idaho. They had a son affectionately known as andquot;RePete.andquot;

Pete worked at Baker Mill andamp; Grain for a couple of years and then at the Chevron Service Station. He began his sales career at Phillips-Long Ford. Pete was an exceptional salesman and at the age of 24 he was promoted to sales manager for Mel Winter’s Mobile Homes at Pendleton.

After dabbling in the stock market for a brief period, he opened and ran Gallery T-Shirts, a retail store in Pendleton. In December of 1978, he and his family moved to Kailua, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu, where he continued his sales career in Aloha wear.

He soon talked himself into a job selling advertising with GTE yellow pages for seven years. After that he purchased Drapery Masters Inc., which he continued to run until his final days.

Pete was a founding member of the Hawaii Single-Action Shooters Society and the National Single-Action Shooters Society. His alias was andquot;The Governor.andquot;

Pete enjoyed a special, gentle relationship with all the animals he gave a home to cats, dogs, chickens, geese and their beautiful horses. It was not unusual to see Pete with a goose or chicken on his lap that just wanted to be petted, not to mention the thousands of horsey kisses exchanged for carrots.

His generosity of time and spirit were evident to all his friends and family. He spent the month of July in Baker City this summer to reminisce about the time he spent here and to renew old friendships.

Survivors include his wife of 38 years, Beverly Van Steinburg; a son, Pete Craig Van Steinburg, and daughter-in-law, Nancy Bush-Van Steinburg, and two beautiful grandsons, Andrew Garrett Van Steinburg and Erik Blaine Van Steinburg, all of Sacramento; two brothers, Cary Jon Van Steinburg of Canoga Park, Calif., and Phillip Craig Van Steinburg II of Rochester, Minn.; 12 nieces and nephews; and numerous friends.

‘Shorty’ Daniels

Frederick Aaron andquot;Shortyandquot; Daniels, 76, of John Day, died Nov. 1, 2003, at John Day.

There was no funeral. Burial was at Mount Hope Cemetery.

He was born on Nov. 25, 1926, to Charles Henry and Effie Sword Daniels. He served in the U.S. Navy in 1945. He was a member of AMVETS.

Survivors include his sons, Bob Daniels of Burns and Tom Daniels of Richland, Wash.; a daughter, Susan Daniels of Tigard; 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Driskills Funeral Home of John Day was in charge of arrangements.

Michael Fash

Michael L. Fash, 65, of Richland died Nov. 8, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.

His memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West andamp; Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Pastor Ray Wilson of the New Bridge Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Visitations will be until 8 o’clock tonight and from 8 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at Gray’s West andamp; Co. There will be a reception afterward at Mike and Arlene’s home.

Mike was born on April 13, 1938, at Chicago to Michael and Sophia Lenart Fash. He attended grade school at Chicago and went on to graduate from high school at Gobles, Mich., in 1957.

After high school, he worked for several years at a paper mill just north of Kalamazoo, Mich. He then went to work for General Motors at Kalamazoo. He was the 102nd employee hired at that plant after it opened.

When he started working for General Motors, he also began working toward a college degree in engineering. Mike worked for GM as an engineer for 22 years until he retired from there in 1978.

Mike met Arlene Lazott of Buxton and the two of them moved to Richland in 1981. They were married on June 16, 1983.

After moving to Richland, Mike and his son, Sam Lazott ran a portable sawmill and a logging operation, Landamp;L Logging, until 1990. He then worked off and on for a year cutting timber with his son, Chuck Lazott, in the Rainier area on the Oregon coast. Mike and his wife, Arlene, then took a job together working for the Daly Creek Ranch in Richland until 1999.

Mike loved to hunt and fish and work with wood. He also enjoyed gardening, collecting stamps and coins and was known as a andquot;Snoose Moocher.andquot; He would be in the pocket of anybody with a can of snoose if they came around him.

He also really enjoyed traveling and seeing new places. Mike was an adventurous person with a great sense of humor who loved life and all it had to offer. More than anything else in his life, Mike loved his five stepchildren.

Survivors include his wife, Arlene Fash of Richland; a son, Rick Lazott of Salem; daughter-in-law, Delores Lazott of Salem; a son, Loren Lazott, and his wife, Nancy, of Rainier; a daughter, Judith Francis, and her husband, Rick, of Baker City; a son, Chuck Lazott, and his wife, Lana, of Rainier; a brother, Jerry Fash, of Kalamazoo, Mich; 14 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and one son, Sam Lazott.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Eagle Valley Ambulance or the Oregon Health andamp; Sciences University Oncology Center through Gray’s West andamp; Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.

‘Bill’ Darlington

W.R. andquot;Billandquot; Darlington, 78, of Pendleton, died Nov. 7, 2003, at St. Mary’s Medical Center at Walla Walla, Wash.

A private family gathering will be held in Baker City at a later date.

Disposition will be by cremation.

Mr. Darlington was born Jan. 13, 1925, at Baker City to Raymond LeRoy and Ethel Williams Darlington.

He drove truck for Chevron Oil Company until his retirement in 1983, after 35 years of service.

He was also a World War II veteran.

Survivors include his wife, Ella Rose; son and daughter-in-law, Rod and Cynthia, of Pendleton; daughter and son-in-law, Shirley Gail and Martin Westfall, of Pendleton; sister, Vera Walters and her husband, Gurney, of Pendleton; brother, Ernest, and his wife, Alberta, of Baker City; granddaughters, Ginger Blair and Cody Agnew; grandson, Nicholas Darlington, and two great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Pendleton Community Bargain Counter, or a charity of one’s choice, in care of Burns Mortuary of Pendleton, 336 SW Dorion, Pendleton, OR 97801.