Beryl Rykken

Beryl Rykken, 95, a Baker City resident for the last six years, died Dec. 7, 2003, at Baker City.

Her memorial service will be at 11 a.m. May 28, 2004, at the First Presbyterian Church in Ashland.

Beryl was born on Feb. 27, 1908, at Denver, Mo., to Tom Timberman and Susan Goucher Timberman. In 1912, Beryl moved with her family to Ismay, Mont., where her father was a railroad section foreman.

In 1913, they moved to Tusler, Mont. Another move in 1922 took them to Musselshell, Mont., where she graduated from high school in 1927.

She married Clarence T. Rykken at Musselshell on June 1, 1927. In 1935, she and her husband and their two daughters moved to Ashland. In 1937 she became a member of the First Presbyterian Church at Ashland where she was active teaching Sunday school, serving as elder, deacon and church school superintendent.

While in Ashland she also was a Laubach literacy tutor for several years, worked in agriculture and volunteered as an assistant director of activities at a nursing home.

After her husband, Clarence, died in 1982, she spent 14 years as a foster grandparent at Lincoln Elementary School, which was one of her most rewarding experiences.

In 1997, Beryl moved to Baker City with her son and daughter-in-law, Norman and Lyle Rykken.

Beryl had five brothers and four sisters, of which one sister, Katy Persons of Deer Lodge, Mont., survives.

Survivors also include her three children, Norman Rykken of Baker City, Helen Nelson of Toledo, Ohio, and Betty Shepherd of Ashland; seven grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church of Baker City.

Leslie Barzee

Leslie John Barzee, 44, a former Baker City resident, died Nov. 5, 2003, at St. Mary’s Medical Center at Evansville, Ind.

At the family’s request, there will be no funeral. Major Family Funeral Home of Springfield was in charge of arrangements.

Leslie was born on June 13, 1959, at Fullerton, Calif. He was a gentle person who loved people and was always brining home homeless people or others who were down and out. He would feed them and give them a place to stay for a few days even though he was disabled and had very little income himself.

He loved to play the guitar and sing. He was an amateur carpenter and woodworker. He also was a dreamer and thought that the world and its people should be a place of love and people helping one another. He tried to make a small difference by his own life. Family members say the world has lost and heaven has gained by his passing.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Ada Haney of Baker City and Leslie and Ludean Harley of Baker City; an uncle, Irvin Palmer of Riverside, Calif.; and an aunt, Judy Haney of Portland.

Survivors include his mother, Edith Elaine Morris, and stepfather, Roy Morris, of Baker City; his father, Robert C. Barzee, and stepmother, Mary, of Eugene; his sisters, Marcha and Sharon; a grandson, Chris Barzee of Evansville, Ind.; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.

Morris Vandewiele

Morris Joseph Vandewiele, 89, a former Baker City resident, died Nov. 27, 2003, at his home in Hillsboro.

Morris was born on Aug. 8, 1914, at Baker City. He was the second of three children born to George and Euphrasia andquot;Huysandquot; Vandewiele. He was raised and educated in Baker City and was a 1932 graduate of St. Francis Academy High School.

Morris started working for the F.W. Woolworth Co. in Baker City in 1932 as a stock boy. He worked for the company for more than 44 years, retiring as executive vice president in 1978.

During those years, he also joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 and served in the Asian Pacific Theater during World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

He married Mildred Laura George on Feb. 7, 1938, at Baker City. During their marriage, they moved throughout the United States following Morris’ career with the Woolworth Company. They lived at Walla Walla, Wash., Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Providence, N.J.

In 1966 they moved to the New York City area where they lived until Morris retired in 1978. After retirement, the couple made their home at Hillsboro.

Among his special interests, Morris enjoyed gardening, listening to music and ballroom dancing with his beloved wife, Mildred. After retirement, he enjoyed playing golf with a group of gentlemen at the Sunset Grove golf course. Morris would say, andquot;They are the finest men I have ever known,andquot; when he would talk about his golfing buddies.

He also took care of his wife for more than a decade as she progressed through the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. When he could no longer care for her, he visited her daily. Morris was very close to his three children and his five grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Huys Vandewiele; and his brother, Julius Vandewiele of Baker City.

Survivors include his wife, Mildred; daughter, Suzette Vandewiele of Chicago; a son, Gary, and his wife, Tammy Vandewiele of Lake Tahoe, Calif.; a son, Scott, and his wife, Jane Vandewiele of Marietta, Ga.; his sister, Ivona Chaves of Baker City; brother-in-law, Duane Sutton of Syracuse, N.Y.; sister-in-law, Rosemary George of Palm Desert, Calif.; five grandchildren, Devon, Daniel, Abbey, Max and Sam Vandewiele; nieces and nephews, including his nephews, Cass Vandewiele and his wife, Patty, and Richard Chaves and his wife, Kathleen, of Baker City.