Juanita Van Cleave

Baker City, 1926-2018

M. Juanita (Boyce) Van Cleave, 92, of Baker City, died Feb. 9, 2018, at her residence. A graveside service will be Friday, Feb. 23, at 1 p.m. at Mount Hope Cemetery with Pastor Jesse Whitford officiating.

Juanita was born on Jan. 13, 1926, at the old St. Elizabeth Hospital on Fourth Street in Baker to Amontus and Goldie Boyce. She was the first baby born in 1926, into a pioneer family. Her father’s family came to Baker County in 1880 from Missouri.

Juanita lived on a dairy ranch west of Baker until the family moved into town so the girls could attend school. She was the youngest of three girls. She loved when they spent time at the ranch during summers and sometimes Christmas, until her father sold the ranch and dairy in 1940.

During her senior year in high school, Juanita worked as a cashier at the Orpheum Theater, which was located on Main Street where the music store is. It was later destroyed by a fire. After her graduation from Baker High School, Juanita traveled to San Rafael, California, where she worked for the telephone company. A year later, she moved to Spokane, Washington, and worked for the U.S. government.

On Feb. 12, 1945, Juanita married Alvin Van Cleave. They made their home in Baker for 45 years and raised their son, Rick. Alvin was an avid hunter and fisherman. Juanita took up hunting and fishing, and loved hunting pheasants and was known to have gotten her own deer. As a family, they made several trips to Mexico and Canada. They also traveled numerous times to Disneyland and Disneyworld. They enjoyed huckleberry and mushroom picking. Juanita loved the mountains, and her animals, most recently Bobby, her cat.

She always had a beautiful flower garden wherever she lived. She loved cooking and making cookies and candy to share with friends. Juanita also enjoyed sending cards, especially the ones she made and colored herself. From the time she was a little girl, she loved to color.

Juanita held jobs at Basche-Sage and then at Neuberger and Heilner where she stayed for 32 years. After Alvin’s passing in the spring of 1990, Juanita worked for Margaret Brown at her fabric store. Juanita was an accomplished seamstress and designed many of her own clothes, and made teddy bears, dolls and doll clothing.

Juanita sold her house in 1991 and moved to Irrigon, along the Columbia River, where she lived with a friend for 15 years before moving back to Baker City where she lived until her death.

Juanita is survived by her niece, Mollie Stromb.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Amontus and Goldie Boyce; her husband, Alvin; her son, Rick; her stepdaughter, June; and two sisters, Marguerite and Mary.

Memorial contributions may be made in Juanita’s honor to Heart ’n’ Home Hospice or to the charity of one’s choice through Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.

To light a candle in memory of Juanita, or to leave a condolence for her family, go to www.grayswestco.com

Frances Burgess

Baker City, 1928-2018

Frances Ellen Burgess, 89, died on the morning of Feb. 9, 2018, at St. Alphonsus Hospital in Baker City after suffering a stroke.

Her memorial service will be at the First Presbyterian Church of Baker City, 1995 Fourth St., on Friday, March 9, at 2 p.m.

Frances was born on May 10, 1928, at Rupert, Idaho, to Fred and Anna Schodde of Burley, Idaho. Fran and her younger sister, Colleen, spent their youth on a ranch near Burley. Despite the Depression, they had a happy childhood; Fran excelled in school and became an accomplished pianist.

Fran graduated from Heyburn High School in 1946 and attended the University of Idaho, earning a degree in education in 1950. Later that year, Fran came to Baker to interview for a job and was offered a position teaching sixth- and then ninth-grade, English. Many of her students still live in Baker and became lifelong friends.

A fellow teacher, Dorothea Burgess, introduced Fran to her son, John. They were married in 1952 and spent the rest of their lives in Baker City.

Fran taught school until she became a mother in 1957. After that, she became very active in the community. She served on the board of the Red Cross, Hospital Auxiliary Scholarship Board, the 5J School Board for nine years, helped organize the YMCA, and worked to establish the Baker County Library District — one of her proudest accomplishments. In later years, Fran and John volunteered at the Heritage Museum, the Adler House and on the Christmas Parlor Tours. In 1997 she was named the Chamber of Commerce’s Legacy Woman of the Year in recognition of her service to the community.

Fran and husband John were very active in the First Presbyterian Church of Baker City. She was an elder and a deacon and spent much time helping with church functions. She joined PEO chapter AX in 1959; she held many offices in the organization and always treasured the love of her PEO sisters.

Fran always said her greatest legacy was her family. She was a devoted wife, mother to three children and grandmother to five. Her children and grandchildren have many memories of special birthdays, holiday events and family outings, always lovingly planned and prepared. She and John organized many memorable trips with their young children throughout U.S., and enjoyed trips across the U.S. and abroad in their later years.

Fran is survived by her son, Jim Burgess; her daughter, Amy Clarke, and her husband, Nelson Clarke, and their children, Peter and Anna Clarke; her daughter-in-law, Tara Warren and her three children, Cole, Erin, and Jack Burgess; her sister, Colleen Mahoney of Lewiston and her four children, Nancy Mahoney of Spokane, Judy Mahoney of Seattle, Jim Mahoney of Pasco, Washington, and Jill Kennedy of Spokane; and her sister-in-law, Della Jean Burgess of Portland.

Fran was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Anna Schodde of Burley, Idaho; her son, Robert Burgess; and her husband, John Burgess of Baker City; her brothers-in-law, Dean Mahoney of Lewiston, Idaho, and Bob Burgess of Portland.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Baker County Library District or the Friends of the Baker Heritage Museum, through Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.

Fran lived for, and loved, her family, her friends and her community. That love will endure forever in the hearts of those who knew her.

To light a candle in memory of Fran, or to leave a condolence for her family, go to www.grayswestco.com

Carol Reynolds

Formerly of Baker City, 1931-2018

Carol Phoebe Reynolds, 86, a former Baker City resident, died peacefully on Jan. 29, 2018, at Vancouver, Washington.

Contact the family for information about a Celebration of Life.

Carol was born in 1931 at Baker City, the daughter of Harold and Floy Banta. She grew up in Baker and graduated from Baker High School in 1949. She married her high school sweetheart, Garret Lee Romaine, and had two children from that marriage: Lynn Marie Romaine (1954-1976) and Garret Harold Romaine (born in 1955).

Carol earned a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State and a master’s degree from the University of Oregon. She worked with special needs children at St. Mary’s Home for Boys and retired from the Beaverton School District after more than 30 years.

Her first marriage ended in 1963, and she married Edwin Zane Reynolds that year. They had two children together: baby Heather Reynolds, who died at birth in 1964, and Christopher Zane Reynolds (1965-2012). E.Z. Reynolds preceded her in death in 2003.

Carol was a superb cook who greatly enjoyed putting together family feasts for Christmas and Thanksgiving. She excelled at pickling, canning, calligraphy, sewing, basketry and other crafts. She cared deeply about educational and vocational opportunities for the mentally handicapped, serving on the board of directors for Port City Development Center. She also enjoyed boating on the Columbia River and bird watching at the wildlife refuges around Vancouver.

Carol is survived by her brother, Allan “Buzz” Banta; her son, Garret; her adopted son, Nicholas F. Reynolds, and her adopted daughter, Kim Vermilya; plus her longtime friends, Harry and Winona Bodin. Carol had eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, and two surviving nephews and nieces: Chris Banta of Elgin, and Karen Foster, of Salem.