Cecil G. Huffman
Luella ‘Lue’ Larsen
Lane R. Potter
Jessie Nell Rizzuti
Gordon Van Patten
Cecil G. Huffman
(May 21, 1921-March 15, 2008)
Cecil G. Huffman, 86, of Sweet Home passed away Saturday March 15, 2008. He was born in Mutual, Okla., to William and Feign (Ritterhouse) Huffman.
During his life he lived in Oklahoma, California and came to Oregon in the early 1930’s. He graduated from Sweet Home High School in 1939.
Cecil served in the US Navy from Sept. 22, 1942, to Nov. 13, 1945. He served aboard ship in the South Pacific with the Medics during the war. He was Honorably Discharged during World War II.
He worked as a Liquor and Drug enforcement agent for the State of Oregon retiring in 1980. He liked collecting small guage railroads.
Cecil is survived by his wife Ruth, children Laura, Roger and three grandsons.
He was preceded in death by mother Feign, stepdad Tom Clem, Sister Charlotte and brother Gid (killed in WWII).
A Memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, March 24 at Sweet Home Funeral Chapel.
Memorial Contributions can be made to the Salvation Army.
Sweet Home Funeral Chapel, 1443 Long St., Sweet Home, OR 97386 is handling arrangements.
Luella ‘Lue’ Larsen
(July 31, 1924 - March 9, 2008)
Luella “Lue” Larsen, 83, of Baker City passed away March 9, 2008, at St. Elizabeth Care Center with her daughter Gayle and compassionate staff members at her side. Numerous phone calls were received from other family members expressing their love for her. A private family celebration of life will be held at a later date.
She was born Luella June Brainard on July 31, 1924, in Englewood, Calif., to Albert and Bessie Dunson Brainard. She was the youngest of three children growing op in Long Beach, Calif. She married Kent Larsen, Jan. 23, 1943, in San Antonio, Texas, while he was in the Army Air Corps. They had four children, Sandra, Gayle, Jeff and Coreen.
Kent and Lue lived in numerous places before moving to Alturas, California in 1951, where he managed the Modoc County Title Company for many years. Lue was well known for her excellent organizational and entertaining skills, assisting her husband with the social aspects of his business. Although for a short time she enjoyed managing the museum in Alturas, her priority was her family. They always came first in her life.
After Kent’s retirement, they moved to Cottonwood, Calif. He passed away Sept. 3, 1989. For a while she lived primarily alone, but eventually, due to health problems, she sold their home and moved in with her daughter Coreen just outside of Cottonwood. Sometime later they relocated to Red Bluff, Calif. The end of April 2003, she moved to Settler’s Park in Baker City, Oregon to be near her daughter, Gayle.
Surviving family are her daughter Gayle and husband Rick Hack of Baker City, Ore., son Jeff and wife Stacey Larsen of Alturas, Calif., and daughter Coreen Griffin of Corning, Calif. Grandchildren include Shannon Miley and son Noah of Orland, Calif, Gregg Miley of Chico, Calif., Tiffani Miley and sons Ian and Josh of Kelso, Wash., Jami and Adam Thibodeau and daughters Jordan and Tristan and son Logan of Redding, Calif., Shani Kerr of Red Bluff, Calif., and C.J. and Alexandra Griffin of Corning, Calif. Lue’s sister Betty Woodworth resides in Coarsegold, Calif. and her sister in law Alexia Hardt lives in Klamath Falls, Ore. There are numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, daughter Sandra Miley and her brother Al Brainard.
Throughout the years she enjoyed camping, traveling, entertaining friends and family, gardening, many animals, music and singing, card games, bingo and chocolate. Socializing and meeting new people, especially children, was a special joy for her. Lue was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and friend who touched the lives of everyone she met with her humor and caring ways. He was well loved by all and will be truly missed.
Gray’s West & Company Pioneer Chapel is handling arrangements, 1500 Dewey Avenue, Baker City, OR 97814.
Lane R. Potter
(May 7, 1943 - March 16, 2008)
Lane R. Potter, 64, a resident of Baker City, died Sunday, March 16, 2008, at his home after a battle with cancer.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at a later date, at his request cremation was held.
Lane was born May 7, 1943, in Bloomberg, Penn., a son of Richard D. and Harriet R. (Diehl) Potter. He received his education in Newark, Delaware and worked at various occupations. He met Gail Curtis and they were married June 7, 1986 in Delaware, they remained living there until moving to Baker City in 1989, he worked as a Landscaper.
Lane loved to sing gospel songs and play the keyboard weekly at St. Elizabeth Nursing Home. He was very active in the Agape Christian Center and was very proud of being a Christian. He also was a avid hunter and fisherman, and loved landscaping, gardening and had recently taken up wood carving. Lane loved to laugh and tease.
He is survived by his wife, Gail Potter, Baker City, Ore.; a brother, Melvin Potter, Newark, Delaware; a niece and nephew; and his beloved companions Pixie and Dixie.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Those wishing to make memorial contribution in memory of Lane Potter may direct them to Heart ‘n’ Home Hospice, through the Coles Funeral Home, 1950 Place St. Baker City, OR 97814.
Jessie Nell Rizzuti
(April 6, 1927-March 6, 2008)
Jessie Nell Rizzuti of 1976 Scarpelli died Thursday, March 6, 2008, at her home. She was 80.
Memorial contributions may be made to Walla Walla Catholic Schools.
Jessie was born April 6, 1927, in the community of Muddy Creek near Haines, Ore., to Leo K. and Edna C. (Weise) Adams. She attended Muddy Creek School, which stood on a corner of her family’s ranch, from 1st grade until her graduation in 1944.
Following graduation, she moved to Baker City, staying with family friends while working at Baker State Bank. Jessie developed several treasured friendships with her co-workers there, staying in touch with them over the years.
Following her father’s death in 1949, Jessie moved with her mother and her brother Lyle, who was injured during World War II, to Walla Walla to be closer to the Veterans’ Hospital. She began work at Baker Boyer Bank and worked there until her marriage to Leonard J. Rizzuti and the birth of her two sons. Her skills in financial matters, however, were still required. She became bookkeeper for the family’s farming enterprises, a job she held until shortly before her death.
A busy homemaker and bookkeeper, Jessie still found time for personal pursuits. She loved discovering new plants for her flowerbeds and watching the quail and hummingbirds who visited her yard. She was a life member of Beta Sigma Phi, Nu Master Chapter, and held her time and service with her sorority sisters as time enjoyably well spent. A childhood love of adventure and seeing new places carried over into her adult life. If she and her husband weren’t adding another country to their list of places traveled, their motor home was rumbling down a highway somewhere in the United States. Jessie was an accomplished oil painter, specializing in landscapes and old buildings. Her signature creations were her “Jessie’s Johns,” paintings of a variety of outhouses, many customized to reflect the lifestyle of the family in whose “facilities” they were displayed. Her friendships with her fellow artists and their many adventures traveling to art shows were very dear to her. Most precious to Jessie, however, was her time spent with her grandchildren: shopping and discussing art with her granddaughter, reading books and just visiting with her grandson.
Jessie is survived by her husband, at the home; two sons and daughters-in-law, Gary and LeeAnn Rizzuti, and Randy and Sherry Rizzuti, all of Walla Walla; and two grandchildren, Katy and Ryan.
He was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Lyle E. Adams.
Gordon Van Patten
(Aug. 11, 1922-March 7, 2008)
Gordon “Pat” Van Patten, 85, long time Baker City resident, died March 7, 2008, at Evergreen Health and Rehabilitation Center in La Grande.
A memorial service was held at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel at 2 p.m., Saturday, March 15, 2008, with a reception following at the American Legion Club.
Gordon was born Aug. 11, 1922, at Town Gulch near Bridgeport, Ore., to Chester Arthur and Tina Whitworth Van Patten. He was the youngest of three children. He grew up in the Burnt River Canyon area including Town Gulch, Clarks Creek Dredge Camp, and by the Burnt River where his dad worked on the dredge and mined. They lived in Dredge Camp on Clarks Creek for many years.
Gordon served in the 706th Tank Division in the South Pacific during World War II. He fought in many of the major island battles including Guam, Leyte, Luzon, Okinawa, and Iwo Jima.
He married the love of his life Flossie Kennedy on Aug. 17, 1946, in Weiser, Idaho. They shared 60 years together. Gordon was a “jammer” operator in the woods for many years working for Grant Logging and then eventually for Ellingston Lumber Company. For a brief time in 1966 Gordon was a security guard for the federal government at the Umatilla Army Depot. He couldn’t stay away from Baker City and the mountains he loved. He soon returned and continued to work in the timber industry. He enjoyed a lifetime of hunting and fishing, particularly with his son Gary and son-in-law Steve Wickert, and later with his namesake grandsons Pat and Gordon, and granddaughter Susan and spouse Mike. In his last years he developed a strong friendship with John Mattis. They enjoyed fishing and trips down the Burnt River Canyon reminiscing and looking for bighorn sheep. He enjoyed gardening, particularly growing tomatoes and onions which he shared with everyone. Flossie and he enjoyed trips to Nevada to play the slots.
Survivors include his son, Gary Van Patten and his wife, Rosanne of Baker City; daughter, Sherry Wickert and her husband Steve of La Grande, grandchildren Katie Gauther and her husband Chris of Salem, Ore., Susan Pearson and her husband Mike of Baker City, Pat Van Patten and his wife Kristin of Lewiston, Idaho, Ann Van Patten of Portland, Sarah Wickert of La Grande, and Gordon Wickert and Nicole of La Grande, eight great-grandchildren, and a whole valley full of nieces, nephews, and family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Cecil Van Patten, sister Rose Haskin, and his beloved wife Flossie.
Memorial contributions can be made to Pathway Hospice in care of Gray’s West & Co., 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
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