Katie Saul-Poulos, Ray Brown, Vicki Hunt

Katie Saul-Poulos

Katie M. Saul-Poulos, 99, of Baker City, died March 26, 2009, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center.

Her funeral will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Associate Pastor Matt Willson of the Baker City Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Visitations will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.

Private interment will be at Mount Hope Cemetery.

Katie was born on March 16, 1910, at Erickson, Minn., to Ben and Cassie Gerdes Sweep. After three years she moved with her parents, two brothers and one sister to Idaho. After several years, the family returned to Minnesota, later returning to Idaho where Ben and Cassie homesteaded at Marsing, and where Katie graduated from high school in 1927.

Katie married William R. “Bill” Saul in 1927. They had eight children: Katie Ellen (who died at birth), Ruth, Leo, Gene, Roy, Mabel, Dorothy and Flora. During the Depression and hard times, she was a wonderful mother and did a good job of keeping the kids fed and their clothes clean, ironed and patched, family members said.

She loved to garden and she canned fruits and vegetables whenever possible. Katie could rustle up a meal out of hardly anything. Her riffle soup was her specialty. Everyone loved it!

The family moved often from town to town for seasonal work on ranches and sawmills. Katie was a fine cook and cooked for hay crews and cow camps. Katie and Bill lived at Huntington at the time of Bill’s death on Sept. 22, 1973.

Katie stayed at Huntington where she met Fred Poulos. They were married in 1981. She enjoyed the company of her many friends and family, enjoyed many crafts such as her bead work, quilting, crocheting, and baking. But her most favorite pastime was fishing.

Fred died on Dec. 2, 1981. After his death, Katie took care of the elderly in their homes. She stayed off and on with her children but in recent years she lived at Settler’s Park in Baker City.

Survivors include her sister, Polly Ward, and brother-in-law, Eldon “Red” Ward of Idaho; daughters, Mabel Dreher of Texas, Ruth Ward of Idaho and Flora Perrin of Oregon; son, Roy Saul, and daughter-in-law, Alice Saul, of Baker City; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents; both husbands; brothers, Henry, Robert and infant brother, Ben Sweep Jr; sisters, Ella Sweep, Anna Ivey and Grace Mulinix; sons, Leo and Gene Saul; daughters, Katie Ellen Sweep and Dorothy Spence; a brother, Robert “Bob” Sweep was killed in World War II and a son, Leo Saul, was reported missing in action in the Korean War.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association through Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814.

Ray Brown

Ray Albert Brown, a former Baker City resident, died March 3, 2009, one day short of his 97th birthday, at the home of his daughter, Kathleen Rae Stephens, in Pocatello, Idaho.

His funeral took place earlier this month at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pocatello.

Ray Albert Brown was born March 4, 1912, at Baker City. He was the son of George Washington Brown and Eula Mabon Perry. He had one older sister, Cornelia Frances. His parents both died in 1927 and his sister died in 1937.

Ray graduated from Baker High School and then spent his career in the men’s clothing business. He married June Lucile Grant on Oct. 4, 1940. Ray and June loved big band music and loved to dance.

Ray served three years in the U.S. Army during World War II as a landing craft coxswain in the South Pacific. After the war, Ray continued to work in the men’s clothing business at Boise, Ogden, Utah, Ontario, Spokane, Wash., and finally at The Dalles, where he became a partner in Gordon’s Men’s Store. He was a very handsome, well-dressed man and a prominent member of The Dalles community.

Ray and June adopted three children: Robert Charles “Rocky,” Richard Grant “Rick,” and Kathleen Rae Stephens. Ray always supported his children in all their sporting and community activities.

Ray joined the LDS Church in 1953. Ray and June and their children were sealed in the Idaho Falls temple the next year. He retired from the clothing business in 1976 and they left The Dalles to serve a mission for the LDS Church in Texas in 1976-78. After returning from their mission they built a new home at Ogden and served for five years in the Ogden temple.

In 1997 Ray and June moved to Pocatello to be near their daughter, Kathleen. June suffered a stroke in 1999. For the next three years, Ray spent all day every day sitting beside his wife’s bed at the nursing home.

At the same time, he moved in with his daughter and son-in-law, Kathleen and Trent Stephens. June died in 2002. In 2007, one of his grandsons, Sgt. Blake Stephens, was killed in Iraq.

Ray and June had three children, 13 grandchildren, and 30 great-grandchildren. He was dearly loved by his family and friends.

Vicki Hunt

Vicki Charlene Kolb Hunt, 41, of Boise, died March 30, 2009, at her home after a long and courageous fight against breast cancer.

Her memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Baker City Church of the Nazarene Church, 1250 Hughes Lane. The Rev. Jon Privett will officiate. There will be a reception afterward at the Sunridge Banquet room, 1 Sunridge Lane.

Vicki was born on Dec. 2, 1967, at Baker City to Bill and Ferriel Flowers Kolb. Vicki was raised at Baker City and was a 1986 Baker High School graduate.

Vicki married Timothy Dean Hunt of Baker City, and on Dec. 8, 1987, they had a son, Tyler Earl Hunt. Although they later divorced, Tim and Vicki remained good friends.

Vicki relocated to Boise with Tom Rasmussen, and for 10 years worked at Custom Masonry in Eagle. Vicki then went to work for Manpower Professional Services, where she established some of her closest friendships. On July 11, 2003, Tom and Vicki had a son, Shawn Alexander Rasmussen.

Vicki enjoyed numerous outdoor activities, as well as the closeness of family and friends. Family was very important to her, and the cornerstone of her foundation.

Vicki had a great sense of humor, a wonderful smile, and a positive outlook on life, her family said. She valued her friends and placed a high priority on maintaining those relationships. She was generous, kind, and always made herself available to lend a helping hand. Vicki touched all who knew her, and will hold a special place in the hearts of many.

She displayed tremendous inner strength throughout her battle with cancer, and maintained an attitude that was truly inspirational, family members said.

The family expressed appreciation to the medical staff at St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute for taking such wonderful care of Vicki through her illness.

“We would also like to extend a very special thank you to Jim and Debbie Treutle, Hattie Hyatt and Glenda Vellastrigo for their loving care of Vicki over the last few months,” the family said. “Their ongoing support provided much comfort to the family through this time.”

She was preceded in death by her ex-husband, Timothy Hunt; her uncles Dewey Flowers and Louis Kolb; her grandmother, Ardes Flowers; and her grandparents, Juanita and George Kolb.

Survivors include her father, Bill Kolb and Glenda Vellastrigo of Ontario; her mother, Ferriel Gregory, and her husband, Paul, of Silverton; her sons, Tyler Hunt and Shawn Rasmussen of Boise; her longtime partner, Tom Rasmussen of Boise; her sister, Terri Kaltenecker, and her husband, Mike, of Boise; her brother, Vinton Gregory of Eugene; her nieces, Allison Schomburg and Jill Kaltenecker; nephew, Scott Kaltenecker; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Gray’s West and Co. Pioneer Chapel is in charge of arrangements.