Obituaries for May 13, 2011

Published 12:49 pm Friday, May 13, 2011

Andrew Dickison Sr.

Andrew J. Dickison Sr., 90, died May 9, 2011, at Baker City.

His funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church, 2130 Fourth St. Pastor Ken Grafham will officiate. There will be a reception afterward in Browning Hall at the church. Private family interment will be at the Sumpter Cemetery.

Andy was born on June 15, 1921, at Asotin County, Wash. He was the second of seven children of Mark and Olive Dickison.

When he was 3 years old his parents moved to Sumpter Valley where he

remained until he entered military service in 1940 after graduating

from Baker High School in 1939.

His first of many military assignments was the 311 Signal Aviation

Company assigned to the 5th bomber command of the U.S. Army Air Corps

at Hamilton Field, Calif., where he met and married Betty Jean Marion.

In 1942, he shipped overseas to Papua, New Guinea, where he served as

first sergeant of his company for 28 months before returning to the

U.S. His next major assignment was as station commander of the U.S.

recruiting service in Baker City for two years.

He was then assigned to the Intelligence Corps and attended special

agent classes at Fort Holibird, Md. Next he completed a one-year

assignment at the Army Language School to study the Greek language in

preparation for a tour with the military attachandeacute; in Greece.

That tour never materialized because the Greek government was taken

over by communists. Because of the world situation at the time, he was

instead sent overseas to Japan for four years.

During this time he was assigned to a top-secret operation in the

Korean War, which led to his most rewarding military accomplishment.

For seven months, he ran an espionage operation from a small island off

the coast of North Korea.

He was the only American with a group of Koreans trained in

intelligence working undercover as a coastal fishing operation. After

landing on the island, he found it occupied by nearly 5,000 refugees

trying to escape from North Korea.

The greatest need was to get food for those refugees. He arranged for

the U.N. Command to have daily air drops of food. He then made

arrangements for local leaders to handle distribution of the food.

The operation was so successful that the island people deeply respected

him as their means of survival. He returned to the U.S. in 1954 and

spent the rest of his military career in the U.S. He retired in 1962

with the rank of captain.

While in Japan, Andy and Betty adopted a 2?-year-old girl and named

her, Teri Jo (Jo after their good friend, Jo Snook). At that time the

quota for Japanese immigrants had been exceeded, so Andy wrote Sen.

Wayne Morse, who initiated a special bill enabling them to bring her

home.

From 1962 through 1976, he worked in both the title insurance and real

estate business (as a broker) in northern California. During this time

period he also served as president of the Healdsburg, Calif., Chamber

of Commerce and president of the local Rotary Club.

From 1976 to 1991 he was involved in full-time Christian ministry. He

established a ranch in southern Oregon known as Gethsemane, which

ministered to needy souls from all walks of life who were often

difficult to love. But he loved them all and worked hard with his wife,

Betty, to see that all their needs, both physical and spiritual, were

met.

As a result of his ministry, a small church was established in Takilma.

That church is still active today. He was an ordained minister of the

gospel.

In 1991 he moved to Baker City, where he resided with his wife, Betty,

in retirement. In 1996 he returned to southern Oregon where he was

involved in his son Ric’s water treatment business and caring for his

wife, Betty.

In 2000 he returned to Baker City, after losing his beloved wife,

Betty. In 2001 he married a childhood friend, Jo Snook. They were

blessed with 10 wonderful years together traveling, ministering, and

enjoying each other.

Andy was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church and taught a weekly Bible study in his home.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Andy was that he was

known throughout his life for his love for and commitment to the Lord

Jesus Christ, family members said.

Survivors include his wife, Jo; sons Ric and his wife, Sandy, Mark, Wes

and his wife, Shaun, and Andy; daughters, Teri Jo Dickison and Robin

Olds; stepchildren, Larry Snook, and his wife, Shirley, Ed Snook and

his wife, Penney, and Peggy Pearson and her husband, Larry; brother,

Wesley, and his wife, Kathy, and brother, Paul, and his wife, Nancy;

and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to McEwen Bible Fellowship in honor

of the impact that church had on Andy’s early life. This may be done

through Gray’s West and Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker

City, OR 97814.

Jerry and Helen Cardinal

Jerry and Helen Cargdinal of Gig Harbor, Wash., died just days apart earlier this month.

Gerald T. “Jerry” Cardinal, 73, died from complications of congestive

heart disease on May 5, 2011, surrounded by his family and holding the

hand of his cherished wife.

Helen M. Smolich Cardinal, 71, a former Baker City resident, died with

her loved ones by her side on May 9, 2011, from pancreatic cancer.

There will be a Funeral Mass and celebration of their lives at 11 a.m.

Monday at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Gig Harbor, Wash.

Helen was born on Aug. 15, 1940, at Baker City. She was one of 13

children of George and Mandelena Smolich. Even in her time of struggle,

Helen kept a positive spirit and desire to care for her family, family

memberss said.

“Mish,” as her family lovingly named her, was a 1958 Baker High School

graduate. Shortly after graduation, she moved to Seattle and worked as

an elevator operator at Frederick and Nelson’s.

She met Jerry on that elevator, where she asked him, “Don’t you ever

smile?” Little did she know at the time that the future would hold

wonderful years of smiles and laughter, her family said.

Helen lit up a room with her smile and laughter. Her enthusiastic voice

was unmistakable, and she had a way of making everyone feel as if they

were the most important person she was talking to that day.

She loved spending time with her family and friends, creating beautiful

gardens, baking cookies with her seven grandchildren, playing cards

(oftentimes suspected of cheating), holiday gatherings and just

“chitchatting.”

Her courageous and sometimes humorous fight against pancreatic cancer,

and her will to live in order to relish every moment with family and

friends, inspires, her family said. She loved to laugh and tease, even

in the darkest of times.

There were times of heavy laughter even when tears of sadness streamed

down the faces of family and friends. She taught the family to be

resilient in the face of adversity.

Jerry was born on April 12, 1938, at Chippewa Falls, Wis., the youngest

of seven children of Victor and Jessie Cardinal. He grew up helping his

parents run the family resort on Long Lake at Port Orchard, Wash., and

gradated from Kitsap High School in 1956. He later moved to Seattle and

worked as a window dresser at Frederick and Nelson’s, where he met his

wife, Helen Smolich.

Jerry loved the outdoors. He enjoyed venturing out into the wilderness

and exploring the many waterways around Puget Sound. He developed and

honed his best relationships – with friends and family – around cool

waters and warm campfires, his family said.

Jerry valued family vacations in Eastern Washington, boating trips to

the San Juans, a good Mariner’s Game and a full glass of port.

The couple’s warm hearts, spirited laughter and unconditional love for

family and friends will be deeply missed and treasured always, their

family said.

Retirement gave the couple time to travel from coast to coast. They

ventured to many warm locations but considered Bullhead, Ariz., their

second home. As in every other experience during their lives, the two

developed lifelong friendships where much laughter and kindness were

shared.

Survivors include their three children, Suzie Lopez (Ray), Andi Schatz

(Corey) and William Cardinal (Katrina); their seven grandchildren,

Desiree and Jessica Schatz, Brianna, Brooke, and Bailey Lopez, and

Thomas and Kate Cardinal; and many extended family members.

Memorial contributions may be made to their granddaughters’ Relay for

Life team. You can find the information on the American Cancer Society

Relay for Life website under the team name “Bad to the Bone.”

To sign the guestbook and read more about Jerry and Helen, go to www.havenrest.com/obituaries.