Jack Darrah
Theresa Tabor Fowler
George Aften Hansen
Robert William Metlen
Franklin H. Moody
Jack Darrah
(Oct. 4, 1937-Nov. 1, 2007)
Jack Darrah, 70, died on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007 in Richland, Ore. A Memorial Service - Celebration of Jack’s Life was held on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, at the Reasoner Retreat where Jack had resided this past year.
Jack Irwin Darrah was born on Oct. 4, 1937 in Cody, Wyo., to Harrison and Mable Dix Darrah. He was raised and educated in Cody, Wyoming. In 1953 Jack joined the United States Navy and served during the Korean Conflict until 1958.
Jack began working early in his life. He started driving horse teams hauling logs when he was 9 years old. He enjoyed working construction most during his life and worked for Peter Kewitt Construction in Wyoming. He also drove truck for quite a while until he was involved in an accident which resulted from numerous injuries leaving him unable to work.
Jack met Betty in Hermiston, Ore. Although they never married, they were together for 16 years until his death.
Jack “loved” to fish and did so whenever he got the chance. He also liked to stay busy, he always had something to do and definitely had a dry since of humor.
This last December Jack and Betty moved to the Reasoner Retreat Foster Care home in Richland. Jack enjoyed spending his time there, he enjoyed the countryside and beauty that surrounded him in every direction that he looked.
Jack is survived by his companion of 16 years Betty Gray of Richland, Ore., sons James Darrah of Cheyenne, Wyo., and Don Darrah of Palm Springs, Calif.; daughter Angela Heiser of Montana, step-daughters Nancy Nelson of Baker City and Melanie Chadwick of Cheyenne, Wyo., mother Mable Dix of Wyoming, sisters Sandy Reynolds and Linda Lorenz of Powell, Wyo., brothers Bill Hunter of Kennewick, Wash., and Joe Darrah of Powell, Wyo.; several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
For those who wish to make a memorial contribution in memory of Jack may do so to Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home to help the family with the funeral expenses P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
Theresa Tabor Fowler
(April 26, 1913 - Oct. 30, 2007)
Theresa Tabor Fowler, 94, passed away at her Baker City home on Oct. 30, 2007, surrounded by her family.
Her graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Mt. Hope Cemetery. Sister Kay Marie Duncan from Pathway Hospice will officiate. There will be a reception at 3 p.m. at VFW Hall
She was born in Sumpter, Ore., on April 26, 1913 to James W. and Margaret Tabor. She graduated from La Grande, Ore., High School at age 16. She graduated with the first class from Eastern Oregon Normal School, which is now Eastern Oregon University, with honors at the age of 18. Theresa taught school in Eastern Oregon for a number of years including Ione and Granite. She then worked for the Oregon State Employment Service in La Grande and in Baker City.
Theresa married Walter L. Fowler on June 15, 1952.
Theresa was a life member and past president of the local Post of the VFW Auxiliary. She was a life member and past president of the local American Legion Auxiliary. She was a member of the Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Society, the Soroptimist Club, and the Baker County Historical Society. She contributed historical items to local museums including the Grant County Museum at Canyon City. She was a supporter of Eastern Oregon University.
Theresa was interested in the Tabor family history, the history of Granite, and the history of Eastern Oregon. She authored a book from her dad’s notes, “Granite and Gold,” with the proceeds to support local non-profit groups like the Sumpter Valley Railroad Restoration Society and the Friends of the Sumpter Valley Dredge.
Theresa was preceded in death by her husband Walter L. Fowler in 1964, her parents and siblings Helen, Albert, Alice, Mena and James.
She is survived by three nieces; Christina Beck, Ronda McLean, and Gail Boes, and two nephews; Albert (Billy) Tabor, and Richard (Dick) Tabor. She had numerous great nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made out to Shiners’ Children’s Hospital, or Cancer Aid and Research Fund of the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW Post No. 3048 in care of Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel 1500 Dewey Ave., Baker City, OR 97814.
George Aften Hansen
(Dec. 21, 1916 - Nov. 1 2007)
George Aften Hansen, 90, a long-time resident of Pine Valley passed away quietly Nov. 1, 2007 at St. Elizabeth Nursing Home in Baker City, Oregon.
A Traditional Funeral Service will be on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007, 2:00 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Halfway Branch followed by a Vault Interment at Pine Haven Cemetery. There will be a reception for friends and family at the L.D.S. Church following the services.
George was born Dec. 21, 1916 to John Peter and Dora A. Hansen, in Lawrence, Utah. He lost his mother when he was two years old. After that he remembers traveling part way across Utah in a covered wagon to a place his father had homesteaded. His father passed away 3 months after they arrived. George then lived with his oldest brother Ralph and his wife. They moved to Halfway Jan. 1, 1926. He attended schools in Carson and Pine Valley. After graduating he worked as a logger and at the sawmill until 1940 where he went back to Utah where he attended a sheet metal school. He worked for Boeing for two years before joining the service to serve 3 years during WWII, which included ten months in the South Pacific. He was discharged in 1945. He returned to Halfway, where he owned and operated a service station, which he later sold. He worked on his brother’s ranch for a while, until he bought Stockmen’s and ran it for several years before selling out.
George married Bessie Makinson in 1956 and they lived happily together until Bessie passed away in 1993. George worked on the dams on the Snake River, Ellingson sawmill, managed the Pine Eagle Co-op, and several other jobs until he became Halfway Postmaster in 1965 until retirement in 1982. Through all this time George was very active in his church and many service organizations. He was a member of the VFW (the posts’ oldest lifetime member at this time), the Pine Valley Grange, the Halfway Lions, the Baker County Sheriffs Posse, and the Elks. George and a few other locals were instrumental in getting the first VFW Ambulance in Pine Valley. George volunteered on the ambulance for many years, eventually becoming one of the first EMT II’s in the area. George responded to many, many ambulance calls over the years. For a number of years the ambulance phone was in their home and Bessie helped dispatch. George was the bookkeeper, did the billing, paid the bills, attended meetings again and again to keep the ambulance service up to standard and was relentless in obtaining needed upgrades to the equipment and new ambulances. He was also a member of a group who started the Pine Eagle Clinic, which is a huge asset to the community. In his years as a Posse member he helped put on the youth trail ride, went on numerous search and rescue operations, and helped with many, many other events the Posse sponsored.
George is survived by his niece Venna Moody of Halfway, Joyce Gordon, St. George, Utah, great nephew Barry DelCurto, Halfway, and numerous other relatives. For those who wish to make a memorial contribution in memory of George they may do so to the Halfway/Oxbow Ambulance Service through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
Mariner David Izatt
(Aug. 8, 1935-Oct. 26, 2007)
Mariner David Izatt, 72, of Beaverton, Ore., a former Baker City resident, died Oct. 26, 2007, at his home.
His Memorial Service was Wednesday at Pilgrim Lutheran Church in Beaverton, Ore. Burial was at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.
He was born on Aug. 8, 1935, in Baker City, Ore., to Lloyd Izatt and Elizabeth Holland Izatt. He was from a long line of Pioneer families in Baker County, including the Stoddard family. As a young boy he lived with his family on their ranch in Sumpter Valley. He attended grade school at McEwen and Baker, graduating from Baker Sr. High School. He attended Eastern Oregon University. His career was in Civil Engineering with the State of Oregon. He was in the Air Force and served in Korea.
His love of flying inspired him to become an airplane pilot and flight instructor for many years. His hobbies included competitive shooting, horseback riding, and taking on building projects. He had a great love of the outdoors, especially the mountains.
He was preceded in death by his parents and grandparents.
Mariner is survived by his wife, Gisela of Beaverton; two sons, David of Palm Springs, Calif., Paul, of Tigard, Ore., and one daughter, Suzanne, of Milton-Freewater, Ore.; three step-children, Uschi, Brian, and Sandy; 10 grandchildren, and one great-grandson; two sisters, Betty Rouse, of Baker City, Ore., and Eleanor Charlton of Sauvie Island, Ore.; and an uncle of Provo, Utah, Dr. Reed Izatt; and nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Memorial contributions may be made to Autism Research Institute, 4182 Adams Ave., San Diego, CA 92116.
Robert William Metlen
(Died Oct. 31, 2007)
Robert (Bob) William Metlen died Oct. 31, 2007.
Bob was born in Townsend, MT and raised in Pocatello, ID. At 17, he joined the Airforce and was shot down on his 5th mission as a ball turret gunner on a B-17. He walked from Belgium to Gilbralder with the underground and was incarcerated in England until he could be positively identified. The war ended the day he was to fly from California to the Pacific as a radioman on a B-36. After the war he went to the University of Idaho where he met and married the bride of his life, Ruth Walden and now Metlen. He also graduated with dual range and forestry degrees. He retired from U.S. Forest Service after 35 years of government service at age 55. He had been a district ranger for 19 of those years, two at Joseph, Ore., nine at Unity, Ore., and eight Mazoma, Wash. the back country was always his passion. He was very active in each of his communities as a Firstaid Responder and Instruction, Boy Scout Leader, and Ski Patroller. At 55 years of age he and Ruth moved to their “homestead” out of Vale, Ore., where they with no former carpentry experience, built the house and shop where he spent the rest of his life.
Bob is survived by his wife of 60 years, Ruth Walden Metlen, a sister Janice Hovey of Pocatello, ID, sons Kit Metlen of Olympia, WA, Kim Metlen of La Grande, OR, and Scott Metlen of Moscow, ID. Also 7 grandchildren and two, almost 3 great-grandchildren. A sister died earlier.
In leu of flowers, photos and stories of Ranger Robert are requested at the memorial. It will be held at the Boulevard Grange Hall between Ontario and Cairo, Oregon on Nov. 17, 2007 at 2 p.m.
Franklin H. Moody
(March 16, 1923-Oct. 29, 2007)
Franklin H. “Bill” Moody, 84, of Halfway, Oregon, died at St. Elizabeth Health Services in Baker City, Ore., on Monday, Oct. 29, 2007 after a long illness. Military graveside services were held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2007, at Pine Haven Cemetery in Halfway. Friends and family celebrated his life at a reception at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall in Halfway.
Bill was born March 16, 1923, in Baker, Ore., to George and Anna Moody. He was raised in Baker, the 9th of 11 children. When he was 11 years old, he went to live with his brother “Doc” and his wife “Matty” and their children Charles and Kaylene, who he considered a brother and sister.
Bill joined the Navy in 1941, and was on the USS Minneapolis, sailing into Honolulu, Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941, when they were informed of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served until 1947 and was honorably discharged. He returned to the U.S. and was married to Belva Densley on Oct. 12, 1944. They started their life together in San Francisco, where their first child Nancy was born. They later moved to Boise, Idaho, where their first son, Fred was born and later moved to Richland, Oregon and had a second son, Dan. Bill moved his family to Baker, Oregon where he was employed by Purina and Baker Mill and Grain. He later went to work for Morrison and Knudson and Peter Kewitt Construction on the Brownlee, Oxbow and Hells Canyon Dams. Later, because of the long commute, he moved the family to Halfway. In 1961 he moved again to Richland and operated a dairy for three years. In 1964 he moved back to Halfway where he operated his own dairy. In 1973 he began working for the S-7 Ranch until his retirement in 1994.
His wife Belva died in 1982. He later married Venna Del Curto. At the time of his death they had been married nearly 23 years. During their marriage they traveled extensively in their motor home and made many new friends in Yuma, Ariz.
He was preceded in death by his parents, nine siblings, his wife Belva, his son Fred and his nephew Charles Moody.
Bill is survived by his wife Venna, his sister Pat Martin, his niece Kaylene Helgerson, his daughter Nancy Stover and her husband Steve of Boise, Idaho, and son Dan Moody of Enterprise, Oregon, 15 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Those who wish to make a memorial contribution in memory of Bill may do so to the Pine Haven Cemetery Beautification Fund through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
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