JoAnn Ammirati

Formerly of Haines, 1941-2017

JoAnn Elizabeth Ammirati, 76, a former Baker City resident, died on April 29, 2017, at Gilbert, Arizona.

She was the daughter of Herbert Ensminger and Mary Elizabeth Reusser. Her grandparents, Jacob Henry Ensminger and Johanna Ziegler, were some of the earliest settlers in Baker County, arriving in 1863 by covered wagon from Hancock County, Illinois.

JoAnn was born on Feb. 23, 1941, at Baker City and grew up in Haines. After attending Haines Elementary School through Grade 6, she attended Baker Junior and Senior High schools. She played clarinet in the school band and was a member of the high school pep rally club. She graduated from Baker High School in 1959 and then attended Baker Business College.

She married Joseph Ammirati on Feb. 12, 1961, at Baker City. Joseph Ammirati was born on Aug. 30, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York, and died on Dec. 12, 2008, at Gilbert, Arizona. The couple are buried together at Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park in Mesa, Arizona.

JoAnn worked at a savings and loan in Baker City and later for the U.S. National Bank of Oregon. They lived in Baker City, then Ontario, and finally The Dalles. Their moves coincided with Joe’s promotions with the Oregon State Police. Upon retirement, they moved to Mesa.

JoAnn was a lifelong member of the LDS Church and enjoyed doing genealogy work. Her son, son-in-law, and both grandsons served LDS church missions. For recreation, JoAnn and Joe enjoyed water skiing while they lived in Baker and Malheur counties.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Debbie and Brent Brown; her son and daughter-in-law, Greg and Michelle Ammirati; her four grandchildren, Jordan, Brittany, Logan and Kelbee; two great-grandchildren; and her brother, Dale.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Lloyd.

Viola Brue

Formerly of Baker City, 1912-2017

Viola Marie (Hutton) Brue, 105, a former Baker City resident, died on Dec. 15, 2017, at Pinole, California.

Her ashes are being interred in a Hutton family plot at Mount Hope Cemetery in Baker City. A memorial service and celebration of Viola’s life will take place on Saturday, May 12, at noon at the Baker United Methodist Church, 1919 Second St.

Viola (aka “Vi”) was born on June 27, 1912, at Keating to Oran and Alma (Gilkison) Hutton. She and six siblings lived on a ranch where they played circus, saddled a horse to go get the mail or bring in the cows, and took care of orphan lambs and calves. The family rode horses to neighbors’ homes where they enjoyed square dances called by their father, Oran. When Viola had a serious hand injury at the age of 3, her father spent all day driving her 25 miles by horse and wagon to see the doctor in Baker, where they had to stay in a hotel before returning home the next day.

In 1918 Viola’s parents bought their first car, a 1915 Ford. Two years later, when Viola was 8 and was helping her mother with milking, she got kicked by one of the cows and suffered a broken leg. This time her father drove her by car the 25 miles to see Dr. Higgins.

In the 1920s her older brother, Bus, taught her how to drive a stick shift, and how to jack up a car and change a tire. She completed eight years in a one-room schoolhouse. While going to Baker High School she worked for room and board, graduated in 1930, and then attended business college in La Grande. Independent and adventurous, in 1931 at the age of 19 she left home to look for a business job in Spokane, Washington. It was the depths of the Great Depression, jobs were hard to come by, but she worked her way up to earning $1 a day for typing menus and doing restaurant management work.

Viola married Ottar Brue at Kennewick, Washington, in 1938. With their three small children (Sharon, Bobby, and Freddy) the Brues made a big move in 1946 from Eastern Washington to Southern California, soon buying an acre of land in sunny Ojai Valley. World War II had just ended and people wanted to build homes, but lumber was not affordable. Viola and Ottar bought and remodeled two naval Quonset huts in which they would live for five years. When lumber became less expensive, they were able to design and build a home on their acre of land. Ottar eventually had his own auto body business, and Viola sold corn and tomatoes in the summer for extra money.

In the mid-1950s Viola began working full time at doctors’ offices in Ojai to pay for the children’s college expenses. For many years she did front office work and also served as a medical assistant. Later she did Medicare billing for Dwyer hospital in Milwaukie, Oregon.

Viola had a lifelong love of church activities, especially Bible study and singing in the choir, as well as hiking, golf, bridge, cooking, visiting, and writing cards and letters. She was a devoted member of Lutheran churches in Ventura and Ojai and later the Methodist church in Cave Junction, Oregon. Her passion for travel took her to Canada, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya and Peru, and sent her on a two-month auto tour of Europe and trips covering 48 states to visit friends and relatives.

Viola devoted much of her time and energy staying in touch with family, taking the elders on trips to Canada or Hawaii, driving her three children from Southern California to Baker every summer so that they could have the joy of ranch life. If anyone in the family got sick or needed help of some kind, Viola was there. She was sure to attend graduations, recitals, plays, and ball games and was an indispensable support when a grandchild had just been born. She wasn’t happy at the end of a day unless it had been full of accomplishments.

She is survived by her daughter, Sharon Sonsteng of Walnut Creek, California; her sons, Robert Brue of Carlsbad, California, and Fred Brue of Cave Junction; her brother, Duane Hutton of Baker City; as well as six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Viola was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Bernice Hutton, Gladys Steiger and Mildred Smith; and her brothers, Wilbur Oran (Buster) Hutton and Wallace Hutton.

Those wishing to make contributions in Viola’s memory may direct them to the Immanuel United Methodist Church, 200 W. Watkins Street, Cave Junction, OR 97523.

Pat Edwards

Richland, 1927-2018

Patricia Burke Edwards, 90 years young, of Richland, died Jan. 14, 2018.

A celebration of Pat’s life and potluck will take place Saturday, May 5, at 11 a.m. at the Eagle Valley Grange (located in the old Richland Elementary School), Moody Road and Highway 86.

Pat was born on May 25, 1927. Her early years were spent in Waverly, Washington, on a large wheat farm. Her family eventually sought ranch land opportunity elsewhere and moved several times. She graduated from high school at Gardnerville, Nevada, and met her first husband, Art, in Hamilton, Montana. They started their family in Hamilton, welcomed the next child in Klamath Falls and finally settled in Baker City, where the third child joined the family. As the kids grew, Pat took a bookkeeping class, a sewing course and then learned oil painting. Eventually she started a new life with Ron Edwards of Baker City. She and Ron moved to Richland, where they spent many hours exploring the Snake River and the Wallowa Mountains.

Pat loved the outdoors and spent most of her spare time working on her flower beds, or mowing the lawn and weeding the garden. Whenever possible her real joy was going camping, hiking, huckleberry or mushroom picking. She also loved the time spent on the river and was a pro on her water skis. But above all, Pat loved her family and friends. She is greatly missed.

Pat is survived by her husband, Ronald J. Edwards; her three children: Sally, Tom (Mary) and Polly (Patrick), and three stepchildren, Ron Jr. (Phyllis), Francine and Brenda (Len); plus numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Those who would like to make a donation in memory of Pat may do so to the Eagle Valley Grange, Eagle Valley EMTs or the charity of one’s choice through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home, P.O. Box 543, Halfway, OR 97834. Online condolences may be made at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com

Catherine Berka

Baker City, 1942-2017

Catherine Cerar Berka, 75, of Baker City, died April 29, 2018, at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise.

Recitation of the rosary will be Saturday, May 5, at 9:30 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, 2235 First St. in Baker City, with memorial services immediately following at 10 a.m. Please join the family for fellowship, food and celebration of Cathy’s life in the Parish Hall directly after the Memorial Mass.

Cathy was born on June 30, 1942, at Warren, Ohio, to Frank and Anna Cerar.

Cathy grew up second to the youngest of her four siblings, Robert, Barbara, John and Mary. Cathy received her Bachelor of Arts in accounting at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and married the love of her life, James Willard Berka, on Sept. 5, 1964. They raised four children in Baker City and their loving marriage of 53 years was built on faith and family, and was filled with many adventures.

Cathy was passionate for many things but most importantly family, friends and her faith. She was a devoted member of the Catholic Church and considered the local parish her extended family. She raised her family in the Catholic faith and had an unshakable relationship with God.

Cathy loved to cook, and to say her food was excellent would be an understatement. From her homemade rolls, desserts and her famous potato salad, everything was made from scratch and no one ever left her home hungry. She was a voracious reader and a book was never far from her reach. Some of her most treasured times were spent at the Snake River. She has encouraged and instilled this love for boating, floating, margaritas, game-playing and togetherness as a tradition that will continue on through her family and friends. Cathy was happy playing any card game but especially bridge. She belonged to several bridge clubs and enjoyed tournament play as she was a very skillful player and loved to win!

Cathy left a lasting impression on anyone she met. She had a laugh that was contagious and was effortless at making people feel at home. She was the glue that brought people together and made you want to get involved. Although she could be very outspoken and stubborn at times her kindness and generosity were the main qualities she will be remembered for. She touched many lives and taught us all how to live life in the moment and not take life for granted.

She is survived by her husband, James W. Berka; her sons, Patrick and his wife, Allison Berka, and Jeremy Berka; her daughters, Kim and her husband, Richard Wellman, and Natalie and her husband, Brian Scott; eight grandchildren: Jhonna and her husband, Travis Birmingham, Jennifer and her husband, Nick Paulsen, Camden and Tyler Berka, Jocelyn and Quinton Wellman and Logan and Garrett Scott; five great-grandchildren: Koedi, Gaige and Colton Birmingham and Hayden and Ryann Paulsen; her sisters, Barbara Guzan of North Carolina and Mary and her husband, Harmon VanHorn of Florida.

Cathy was preceded in death by her father, Frank, and her mother, Anna Cerar; and her brothers, Bob and John Cerar.

Those wishing to make contributions in Cathy’s memory may direct them to St. Francis de Sales food bank through Coles Tribute Center, 1950 Place St., Baker City, OR 97814. If one wishes to light a candle in Cathy’s memory, go to www.colestributecenter.com