Sumiko Bell

Sumiko Bell, 74, died April 25, 2006, at SunBridge of Nampa, Idaho, with family by her side.

Sumiko was born on March 18, 1932, at Nagoya, Japan. She grew up in Japan and in 1954 met Lewis Edwin Bell while he was stationed in Japan. They fell in love and later married in 1958 in Japan.

Lewis and Sumiko moved back to Mountain Home, Idaho, Air Force base. They had two daughters and one son.

After retiring from the service in 1974, the family moved to Baker City, where Sumiko lived until 2002 when she moved to Nampa to be near family and medical services.

Sumiko enjoyed her garden. She had a great green thumb and could grow anything from fruits and vegetables to flowers and plants. She also was a gifted quilter and the kids will forever cherish her quilts they have.

Sumiko was preceded in death by her husband, andquot;Lew,andquot; who died on Dec. 22, 1995; a daughter, Linda Sue Bell, who died in 1976; her parents; and a sister, Sakae Futamura.

Survivors include her twin children, Barbara Bell of Fresno, Calif., and Bobby Bell of Nampa, Idaho; three grandchildren, Charles Lee Williams, Markus Edwin Bell and Brianna Bell; two twin great-grandchildren, Alyssa Williams andamp; Tyler Lee Williams; sister, Shizue Watabe; two brothers, Toshio Mizuno and Toyogi Mizuno; and other distant family and friends.

Arrangements are under the direction of Alsip andamp; Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Ave. S., Nampa, Idaho 83651. More information is available by calling 208/466-3545 or by visiting this Web site: www.alsipfuneralchapel.com.

‘Benny’ Kleitch

Joseph P. andquot;Bennyandquot; Kleitch, 73, of Baker City, died April 24, 2006, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.

Recitation of the rosary will be at 7 o’clock tonight at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Deacon James Watt of St. Francis de Sales Cathedral will preside. Mr. Kleitch’s funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the funeral home. Pastor Dennis Sams of the Boise Uclid Church of The Nazarene will conduct. Vault interment will be at 2 p.m. at Hillcrest Cemetery in La Grande. Visitations for Mr. Kleitch will be until 6 o’clock tonight at the funeral home.

Joseph P. andquot;Bennyandquot; Kleitch was born at home in Washington, Mich., on June 15, 1932, to Stephen J. and Lillian Kleitch. He was the only boy, having seven sisters; Caroline and Bernadette died during their first year of life.

The family moved to Big Beaver, Mich., where his father, a rancher and butcher, opened a little grocery store. Ben would haul cattle to the stockyards in Detroit for his father during his teen years.

He attended Big Beaver High School through his sophomore year and finished his last two years at Troy High School. He loved mechanics and working on cars and taught himself to repair televisions, radios and phonographs. His family called him a andquot;jack of all trades, master of none.andquot;

He met Mary, his wife, in 1961 at a small restaurant in Clawson, Mich. They both attended the Blessed Mary devotion on Thursday nights and would meet for coffee. They were married on Sept. 29, 1962, at Guardian Angels Church in Clawson. They spent their honeymoon at Niagara Falls and in Canada.

Mary gave birth to their first daughter, Theresa on October 10, 1963. There has never been a prouder father than Benny, his family said.

The couple’s second daughter, Joanie, was born on Dec. 4, 1966, again there wasn’t a prouder father on Earth, according to his family. His wife and daughters meant everything to him.

In those early days, Ben worked for St. Joseph Catholic Church at Lake Orion, Mich. They bought a cute little one-bedroom home nestled on a beautiful country road. In time, that little cottage grew into a two-story house for their growing family. After six years at the church, he resigned his position there and went to work for the Pontiac Press at Pontiac, Mich.

In 1972, the family came out West to visit two of Ben’s sisters: Bette at Sacramento, Calif., and Lorrie at Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Ben and Mary fell in love with the growing desert town of Lake Havasu and bought property there.

On returning to Michigan, they sold their home of 10 years and moved out West. They both found employment at the local hospital; Mary as a nurse and Ben in the maintenance department, working his way up over the years to be a supervisor. He retired from the hospital in 1995. Mary continued to work until 2004 when she retired.

At that time, Theresa and Joanie were both living at John Day with families of their own. Mary and Ben fell in love with Baker City on one of their many visits to Oregon.

To be closer to their family, they decided to retire here. Since then, both Theresa and Joanie have moved from John Day, with Theresa settling in La Grande in the summer of 2004 and Joanie setting up house in Baker City in the fall of 2005.

In 1986, Theresa gave birth to Ben and Mary’s first of four granddaughters, Bethany. Mara arrived in 1988. Joanie’s first daughter, Amanda was born in 1993 and her second, Josie, was born in 1995. Bethany blessed Ben with a great-granddaughter, Savannah, on Dec. 22, 2005. Ben doted on his granddaughters. They gave him so much joy and they all loved him deeply. He loved being andquot;Papa.andquot;

Survivors include his wife of 44 years, Mary; daughter, Theresa Hamman of La Grande; daughter and son-in-law, Joanie and Grant Cherry of Baker City; sisters, Marie Roberts of Roscommon, Mich., Barbara Gamner of Clawson, Mich., Bette Glove of Ranch Cordova, Calif., Delores Layzell of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and Deanna Virgona of Oakland, Mich.; granddaughters, Bethany Cruikshank of La Grande, Mara Hamman of La Grande and Amanda and Josie Cherry of Baker City; and great-granddaughter, Savannah Cruikshank of La Grande.

He was preceded in death by his father, Stephen Kleitch, who died in 1964; his mother Lillian Kleitch, who died in 1985; and sisters, Caroline and Bernedette.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Eleanor Pitts

Eleanor Marie Franklin Pitts, 81, a former Baker City resident, died April 14, 2006, in Upland, Calif.

Her funeral was held April 21 at Eagle Point. Pastor Lee Gregory of the Medford Neighborhood Church officiated. Internment was in the NationalCemetery in Eagle Point beside her husband, a veteran of World War II. Arrangements were by Memory Gardens Mortuary, Medford.

Mrs. Pitts was born in Pendleton on Sept. 7, 1924.She spent her early years in Baker City, attending Baker schools.

She married Elton Best in 1942 and that union produced three children. They were later divorced, at which time she moved to Medford where she met Isaac andquot;Lee-Ikeandquot; Pitts. They were married in La Puente, Calif., on May 19, 1962, and made their home in California.

They had two daughters while living in California, and remained there until their girls were grown. Theymoved back to the Medford area in 1990, and bought a home in Trail, where she lived until Lee’s death in December 1999. She then returned to California to be near her daughter.

Mrs. Pitts worked as a nurse’s aide at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Baker for several years, where she loved working in the maternity ward and caring for the mothers and babies.

Later, after moving to California, she was a Girl Scout leader while her girls were young.She enjoyed needlepoint, cross stitch and playing the organ, which she had learned to play as an adult.She loved gardening and always had lovely flower gardens wherever she lived.She was especially fond of irises and had a large variety of them when she lived in Baker City.

However, her real love was her family and she would talk about them to anyone who was willing to listen. Her children were her pride and joy and meant everything to her.

She is survived by three daughters, Debra Adams of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Elaine Vail of Idaho and Lynda Geyer, Navarre, Fla.; one son, Jerry Best of McMinnville; one brother, Virgil Franklin of Medford, and two sisters, Velma Keeling of Medford and Alberta Bailey of Baker City; nine grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild with another on the way.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Lee, an infant daughter, Darlene, and four brothers, Tom, Dudley, Leo and Marvin Franklin.

Pearl Jones

Pearl Rose Hayden Jones, 88, a lifetime Eastern Oregon resident and former contributor to the Baker City Herald, died April 23, 2006, at Idlewood Manor in Baker City.

At her request there will be no funeral.

Coles Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. There will be a memorial service in her honor, tentatively set for June 18 in Baker City. Details will be announced later. After cremation, her ashes will be scattered over the sage hills where she spent hours of recreation, the same hills that were the background to her life.

Pearl was born on March 19, 1918, at the La Clede Mine in Union County, where her father was mine caretaker. He also assisted in her birth, for the doctor was slow in arriving.

Her parents were William Edwin Hayden and Ruth Alice Grant. They were married in 1908 on the Oregon slope across the river from Weiser, Idaho. Pearl was the seventh child of a family of three brothers and six sisters.

At the end of World War I, the mine was reactivated and the family moved to Union, living there for several years before settling in Baker City in 1924.

In Baker City, Pearl began and completed her schooling. She attended Brooklyn Elementary School, Baker Junior High, and was a 1936 Baker High School graduate. She was a great believer in lifelong learning. She received her bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University at La Grande in 1983, with a combination of classroom work and a prize-winning portfolio based on her life’s work and experiences.

Pearl married Glenn Elmer Jones on April 25, 1942, at Weiser, Idaho. They lived their entire life in Baker City, with the exception of a short period at Lime on Burnt River just before World War II.

The marriage produced four children before ending amicably in 1978. Children were Bonnie Rose Bahn of Payson, Ariz., Judith Ann Stultz of Baker City, Sally Elizabeth Stefferud of Phoenix, Ariz., and Westly Robert Jones of Joseph; Pearl had seven grandchildren, Maria, Tonya, Kathryn Dunn and Aaron Bahn, and Travis, Trevor, and Trenton Jones, and a very recent great-grandchild, Keath Jones. All of the children were the delight of Pearl’s life, giving her the opportunity to engage in one of her greatest pleasures teaching.

Pearl’s life was a very busy one. When her son Westly started school she went to work part time at George Kennedy’s Eastside Grocery, now operated by George’s son, Roger.

She worked there for eight years before joining the staff at the Baker County Public Library, where she worked for 16 years before retiring. At the library, she started as book mender, then progressed to the children’s library and adult services. Outstanding among her many services was her work as the library’s historian. After retiring, she kept her library volunteer status, which she still held at her death.

Pearl’s volunteer services began at an early age, around the neighborhood. They progressed through school years, including PTA, Cub Scouts and Brownie Scouts, and many 4-H activities for both boys and girls.

She particularly liked to read aloud and had a number of programs at the library, many of Baker’s schools, and for a variety of senior citizens. She also brought history programs to many of those people.

Although Pearl always yearned to travel, that opportunity didn’t come until late in life. She was 60 years old when she embarked on a six-week trip to Europe and Russia. She than traveled to Australia, Alaska, and Mexico, as well as taking many domestic excursions. After a gala 80th birthday party, she took a three-week trip to England, where she completed a long-term genealogy effort by locating graves of her Hayden ancestors, and the site of their departure for America in 1630.

Most people will remember Pearl for her dedicated work in Baker County history. She was a major contributor to collection and interpretation of the history of Baker County and Eastern Oregon.

Her materials are housed at the library as the Pearl Hayden Jones Historical Collection. She was a lifetime member of the Baker County Historical Society, worked to establish the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center and the Oregon Trail Regional Museum, led historic tours, as well as a wide variety of other history-related activities.

She published two books on historic homes of Baker City and helped lifelong Baker City resident Loy Winter Wisdom write her memoirs and a history of her father, John William Wisdom, one of Baker’s first merchants.

Pearl often contributed articles on local history to Baker’s two newspapers and from 1999 to 2002 was author of a history column in the Baker City Herald. Her work made history come alive for many others and helped confirm the cultural and historic background of Eastern Oregon, particularly Baker City and Baker County.

Pearl’s family would particularly like to thank her longtime friend, Monica Bailey, and the staff of Idlewood Manor, Tammy Meyer and Jim Brashler, for their love and kindness.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Baker County Library Historical Collection or to the Muscular Dystrophy Association through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Carl Redden

Carl Norman Redden, 74, died April 13, 2006, at Halfway.

His memorial service and a celebration of Carl’s Life will be scheduled later.

Carl Norman was born on Oct. 10, 1931, at Sacramento, Calif., to Phillip Carl and Hettie Martha Kulman Mansky. He was raised in Sacramento until about the age of 8.

At that time, Carl and his younger brother, Paul, were adopted by Cecil and Ora Redden. Carl was a 1950 graduate of Benicia High School.

After graduation, Carl served in the U.S. Air Force as an airman. He was honorably discharged in October 1953.

He married Helen Louise Fisher at Portland on July 18, 1954, and together they had three children.

Carl and his family lived at Troutdale. He proudly worked for and retired from the Freightliner Corp. Carl built the family home at Troutdale in 1974.

Carl enjoyed fishing, scuba diving, painting with oils, gardening, rafting, hunting in the Wallowas and traveling. He also enjoyed collecting antiques and things in general. He made his home at Halfway several years ago.

He was preceded in death by his parents; and siblings, Jack, Phillip, Gertrude, Phyllis, Louis, Paul and Jeanette.

Survivors include his children and their spouses, James and Teresa Redden of Corbett, Kristi and Tom Granberg of Corbett and Thomas David and Amy Redden of Lewiston, Idaho; granddaughter Amanda Jane Redden; sisters, Luella and Virginia; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Baker County Mounted Posse Youth Trail Ride through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834.

Nola Barker

Nola Mae Barker, 63, died April 21, 2006, at Tigard after a long, hard-fought, eight-year battle with metastatic breast cancer.

Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Pastor Roger Scovil of the Baker City Christian Church will officiate. Vault interment will be at the Haines Cemetery. Visitation will be until 7 o’clock tonight and from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the funeral home.

Nola was born July 11, 1942, at Rich Hill, Mo., the third of seven children, to Arthur Merl and Rosalene Verdean Barker of Nevada, Mo.

Nola spent the early part of her childhood in Missouri, moving to Southern California when she was 7. While in California, she met and married the father of her three wonderful children.

After spending a number of years in Alaska, she moved back to the lower states, spending time in Nevada, Missouri, Montana and Oregon. She spent the last 10 years of her life caring for her aging and ailing parents despite battling for her own life by enduring various chemotherapy treatments, multiple surgeries and a stem cell transplant.

Her courage, strength and stamina were second to none. Most recently she was blessed with the loving care and compassion of the wonderful staff at Oregon Health andamp; Sciences University.

She was preceded in death by her infant son, Arthur Daniel Cole; her two brothers, Alan Eugene Barker and Larry Merl Barker; her father, Merle, and mother, Verdean.

During her final days of life it was comforting for Nola to know she would soon be reunited with her brother, Larry, who died in 1989.

Survivors include three children, Julie Ann Long of Kennewick, Wash., Paul Cole of Baker City, and Janet Johnson of Tigard; her sisters, Evelyn Boyd and Sharlene Sisson both of Nevada, Mo., and Carol Anderson of Moro, Minn.; her brother, Thomas H. Barker of Independence, Mo.; sister-in-law, Pam Barker of Baker City; seven grandsons, two granddaughters, one great-grandson and one great-granddaughter.