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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2015)
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 18, 2015 Polk County News OBITUARIES Carolyn B. Lindbeck Aug. 20, 1923 – March 1, 2015 Memorial service for Car- olyn B. Lindbeck, 91, is Sat- urday at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem. Virgil T. Golden Funeral Service in Salem handled arrangements. Florine Lillian Gibson-Kent Aug. 25, 1928 – March 8, 2015 Florine Lillian Gibson- Kent, 86, of Dallas died March 8 in Dallas. She was born in Oakhurst, Okla., to Earl Victor and Delia Helena Gibson. Flor ine graduated f r o m Daniel Webster High in 1946, and earned an HRT degree at Chemeketa Community College. She worked as a Certified Nurse’s Assistant at the Oregon State Hospital. She married Jesse Lee Kent on Sept. 26, 1946, in Oklahoma. She was a member of Dal- las Seventh-day Adventist Church. Florine volunteered at H2O in Dallas for 14 years. She enjoyed reading the Bible, sewing, genealogy, furthering her education and helping others. She was set apart by her sense of humor, her positive attitude, patience and sweet person- ality. She loved her family, and her dream was to go to heaven. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jesse Kent. Survivors include her son, Roy Kent of Mill City; daugh- ters, Jewell Kent-Weston and Elizabeth Kent-Miller, both of Dallas; eight grandchil- dren; and nine great-grand- children. Private interment will be at Willamette National Cemetery, Portland. Farnstrom Mortuary in Independence handled arrangements. To send an online condolence: www.FarnstromMortuary.co m. Elbert ‘Al’ Gerald Durfee Oct. 19, 1932 – Feb. 10, 2015 Elbert “Al” Gerald Durfee, 82, of Milton-Freewater, died Feb. 10 in Walla Walla, Wash., from injuries sus- tained in an auto accident. He was born to Justus Bennett Durfee and Wilva Lenore Finch Durfee at home in Pedee. Elbert spent most of his adolescence going to school and working with his dad on the family farm and in saw mills. He worked many hours on the tractor, singing and yodeling while plowing their fields. He and his dad did custom farming for other farmers. He learned his strong work ethic from his dad and mom. His family lived in Pedee, Lebanon, and Dallas, during his childhood. He went to schools in Dallas and gradu- ated from Dallas High School in 1950. He attended Oregon Technical Institute in Klamath Falls and earned AMY DIANE STALNAKER January 28, 1963 - Feb. 26, 2015 Amy Diane Stalnaker, 52, passed away tragically on February 26th in Dal- las. Amy was the much-loved daughter of Beverlee and Harry Stalnaker. She was born in Salem on January 28, 1963. She attended elementary and middle school in Salem. One of her favorite ac- tivities was softball, which she continued when the family moved to Dallas. She completed her high school education there and then attended college in Seat- tle, earning an Accounting degree. She worked for 16 years for the Oregon Dept. of Revenue. Amy had a great love of the outdoors and thoroughly enjoyed hiking, camping, walking on the beach and evening camp- fires. She hiked with the Chemeketans for several years. One of her most mem- orable experiences was a trip to Banff in Canada with a friend. Amy had a fantastic way with animals. She had cats and pigeons, but dogs were her favorite pets. Her first dog was named Jazz. So that Jazz would not be lonesome, she got Riley. When Jazz died, she thought Riley needed a friend, so she got Pendleton. Just last month when Riley died, she got a puppy and named him Cody. Although they miss Amy now, Pendleton and Cody do have each other. Amy was a great organizer, was always willing to help a friend, and had a terrific sense of humor. She was a real peo- ple person and enjoyed good times with friends and family. She is survived by her parents and her brother, Scott Stal- naker (wife Veronica); her Uncle Robert Roy (wife Beverly); and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her brother, Marcus Lee. A Celebration of Life is being planned for a later date. Contributions may be made to Savin Juice Medical Dog Res- cue at 8733 Ravena Dr. N, Salem, OR 97303. a degree in automotive re- pair. Elbert worked for Joe Card’s Service Station in Dal- las. Elbert enlisted in the Army in 1953 and served his country during the Korean War at Fort Lewis, Wash., as a combat engineer, private first class, in Company C, 34th Engineering Battalion. He was honorably dis- charged in 1955. Elbert married Helen Ann Booth on June 16, 1956, at t h e Un i t e d Me t h o d i s t Church in Sa l e m . Early in his career he worked as a mechan- ic in La Grande at Hand Ford. In 1961, El- bert and his family moved to Dayton, where he worked for another Ford dealership as a mechanic and later a parts man. He was also a parts man for Harvester Supply Inc. in Dayton. In 1987, Elbert and Helen moved to Milton- Freewater, where he worked at Pendleton Grain Growers as a parts man until he re- tired in 2009. He enjoyed his family, fol- lowing the sports teams of his children and grandchil- dren. He was known as “Grandpa” to many kids in the Touchet, Wash., commu- nity where they lived. Elbert had a great sense of humor and a smile that lit up a room. He was a devoted and hardworking provider for his family. He had a great appre- ciation for the outdoors, en- joyed traveling, photogra- phy, hunting and fishing. He also enjoyed reading west- ern fiction and history books. Elbert was a member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the National Rifle Association and the North American Hunting Club. Following his wife’s death he founded a scholarship in Helen’s name through the Touchet Educational Foun- dation to honor her teaching career and to assist Touchet students pursuing a career in education. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen in 2003 and his brothers, Allen and Cary. Survivors include his daughter, Teri (Jeff) of Mil- ton-Freewater; sons, Stuart (Laurie) of Touchet and Jess (Regina) of Albany; sisters, Donna Brennan and Lela Gaither, both of Dallas; brother, Elmer Durfee of Lebanon; six grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. At his request no service was held. Celebration of El- bert’s life is March 28 in Touchet. Contributions are sug- gested to the Helen and El- bert Durfee Educational Scholarship Fund in care of the Touchet Educational Foundation, P.O. Box 272, Touchet, WA 99360, or Provi- dence St. Mary’s Regional Cancer Center, 401 W. Poplar, Walla Walla, WA 99362, or to a charity of the donor’s choice. Galen Lee Henry Aug. 9, 1945 – March 6, 2015 Galen Lee Henry, 69, of Lebanon died March 6 in Lebanon. He was born in Waldport. He moved to Dallas as a child and graduated from Dallas High School. In 1962, he joined the Na- t i o n a l Guard. He received his associ- ate degree in drafting from Chemeketa Communi- ty College and then a bache- lor’s degree in theology from Western Baptist Bible Col- lege. Galen pastored a church in Crabtree until 1979, and then went to work for the phone company (currently CenturyLink) and retired in 2011. Galen married Sharon Cauthorn on Sept. 27, 2002. Galen enjoyed hunting, fishing, aviation and civil war history, golfing and woodworking. He was preceded in death by two sisters. Survivors include his wife, Sharon; children, Aaron Henry of Albany, Colleen Henry of Sweet Home, Shawn Henry of Newberg, and Matthew Henry of Lebanon; and brother, Rusty Henry of Washington. Me m o r i a l s e r v i c e i s March 28 at 11 a.m. at Grace Bible Fellowship Church, 33990 McFarland Road, Tan- gent. Hu s t o n - Jo s t F u n e r a l Home in Lebanon handled arrangements. Esther H. (Kroeker) Eckert Oct. 9, 1930 – March 12, 2015 Esther H. (Kroeker) Eck- ert, 84, of Dallas Thursday in Dallas. She was born in Goessel, Kan., in Marion County, to Klass E. Kroeker and Agan- thena E. Harder. Esther attended school in Inman, K a n . , S a l e m , Aumsville and West Salem and graduated from the We s l e y a n Methodist Academy in Mil- tonvale, Kan., in 1949. She met Rex L. Eckert (her future husband) during her senior year of high school. She returned to West Salem where her parents lived. She worked for the state of Oregon Unemploy- ment Department. In 1951, the family moved to Hutchinson, Kan., where Es- ther worked for Bankers Life. In August of 1952, she married the love of her life, Rex in the Nazarene Church in Hutchinson. Rex was in the Air Force and on his way to his duty station in Denver at the time they married. They traveled extensively in the United States during his service time. Esther worked during this time. In 1956, their first child was born and Esther choose to be a full-time mother. When Rex was discharged they returned to Kansas where Rex worked with his father in home remodeling in Salina, and then returned to farming in Niles, Kan. Es- ther also helped at the farm during this time. In 1964, the family left the farm to help their former minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Madison, Wis., to organize a new church in Anchorage, Alaska. Esther was very in- volved in the Anchorage Rescue Mission, the 5 Days Clubs, Child Evangelism Fel- lowship and with teens at the church. Activities that she greatly enjoyed were salmon fish- ing, clam digging, berry picking, snow machining, cross-country skiing, hiking and various craft activities. Esther and Rex spent two years traveling in an RV and Sudoku Solution then settled in Dallas, where they designed and built their home and attended the Evangelical Bible Church. She is preceded in death by her sister, Margaret. Survivors include her husband, Rex; sons, Steven, Ray, and Kenneth Lee ( Tammy) Eckert; three grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Graveside service is today (Wednesday) at 10 a.m. at Dallas Cemetery. Memorial service follows at 11 a.m. at the Evangelical Bible Church in Dallas. Contributions are sug- gested to Northwest Nazarene University for the Rex and Esther Eckert Schol- arship. Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center handled arrange- ments. To send an online condolence: www.dallastrib- ute.com. Hazel Darlene Johnson Oct. 2, 1928 – March 10, 2015 Hazel Darlene Johnson, 86, of Monmouth died March 10 in Salem. She was born to Hal and Marie Clary in Highland, Kan. She was known by her mid- dle name of Darlene, which she thought was a prettier name than Hazel. Darlene met Warren C. Johnson in Independence when they were both very young as neighbors. Years later after Warren went into the Air Force, Darlene and her father moved back to Kansas. While Warren was on leave in 1944, he went to Kansas and they were mar- ried. They later moved back to Oregon in the late 1940s settling in Monmouth, where she was a homemak- er. Darlene enjoyed garden- ing, hunting, camping and sharing her faith in God. She was preceded in death by her husband, War- ren; daughter, Theresa Reyes; brother, Robert Clary; sister, Elsie Benitz; and three grandchildren. Survivors include her daughter, Patricia Arreola of Salem; son, Warren C. John- son Jr. of Salem; sister, Betty Ballant of Rancho Cuca- monga, Calif.; 11 grandchil- dren; and 14 great-grand- children. No service will be held and burial will be private. Celebration of life with the family is planned for a later date. Farnstrom Mortuary of Independence handled arrangements. To send an online condolence: www.FarnstromMortuary.co m. Michael B. Benson May 22, 1957 – March 13, 2015 Michael B. Benson, 57, died Friday. Service will be held at a later date. Virgil T. 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