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Wednesday, July 15, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituaries
Michael Anthony Graham
ron A. laws
January 15, 1945 — June 4, 2015
September 2, 1942 — July 2, 2015
Michael Anthony Gra-
ham, a resident of Sisters,
died on June 4, 2015.
He was born on January
15, 1945, in Los Angeles,
California, to Wayne A. Gra-
ham and Louise Whitman.
Michael’s youth was
spent perfecting his baseball
game, a lifelong passion, as
well as his creative talents
for mischief. There may have
been rigged light switches
for exploding toilets or cars
disassembled and reassem-
bled inside his high school,
but Michael’s involvement
can neither be confirmed
nor denied. These creative
efforts, however, did not dis-
tract Michael from earning
the rank of Eagle Scout.
Michael’s life was irrevo-
cably altered when Carolyn
Berger walked into his Eng-
lish class at Pasadena City
College. In front of the class,
Michael beckoned Caro-
lyn to come sit by him, to
which Carolyn replied with
a resounding “no.” She only
agreed out of sheer embar-
rassment, and 47 years later,
Michael must have done
something right.
After graduating with a
degree in industrial engi-
neering from California State
Polytechnic University–
Pomona, and after a brief
stint as an engineer, Michael
decided to instead turn his
passion for rare coins into
his career of over 40 years.
Having worked for and
owned his own coin compa-
nies over the years, Michael
was a member of the Ameri-
can Numismatic Association
and the Professional Numis-
matists Guild. As a resident
of Central Oregon, Michael
bought and sold rare coins
for over 30 years in Bend,
Oregon, at his company,
Mountain High Coins and
Collectibles.
In addition to his love of
coins, Michael loved to fish
and was a big sports fanatic,
always picking up ball caps
from every sporting event he
attended to add to his ever-
growing collection. Michael
could be found enjoying
every major sporting event,
and in the absence of any,
you just might have found
him scanning the channels
and settling on the Women’s
Collegiate Ultimate Frisbee
Championship. If it was a
sport, it was good enough for
Michael.
His soft spot for animals
had him surrounded by a
menagerie throughout his
lifetime, but most recently,
he doted on his favorite
“daughter,” his mini dachs-
hund, Sadie Sue.
Michael was always help-
ing those in need. A friend
of yours was a friend of
Michael’s. His love of his
family was rivaled only by
his intense love of Big Red
chewing gum and Burt’s
Bees lip balm. He will be
truly missed.
Michael was preceded
in death by his parents, his
father, Wayne A. Graham,
his mother, Louise Whitman
Graham; and his stepmother,
Bobbie Jo Roland Graham.
Michael is survived by
his wife, Carolyn; and his
children, Colleen McGrew
(Dave) and her children
Kalie, Connor, and Kelsey
of Redmond; Christina
Flinn and her son, Liam, of
Portland; Maryann Snyder
(David) and their dachshunds
Cookie and Alfie, of Dallas,
TX; and Leanne Weinhold
(Steve) and her children
Megan and Daniel of Sparks,
NV. He is also survived by
two sisters, Tommilu Skerl
and Kathy Hayes.
A memorial mass will be
held at St. Edward the Mar-
tyr Catholic Church in Sis-
ters on July 25, at 11 a.m.
A celebration of
Michael’s life will be held
afterward at The Open Door,
303 W. Hood Ave. in Sisters.
In lieu of flowers, the
family requests donations be
made in Michael’s memory
to the Make a Wish Founda-
tion, St. Jude’s, or the Bend
Ronald McDonald House.
Ron A. Laws, 72,
of Sisters, passed away
Thursday, July 2.
Ron was born September
2, 1942 to Arty and Lauraine
Laws and raised in Rogue
Valley.
Ron grew up in the beau-
tiful Applegate and Rogue
River valleys of Southern
Oregon. It was said that in
the old-growth forest grow-
ing there, if one were to lis-
ten to the wind late at night,
there were stories to be
heard.
In his own words:
“Often I imagined myself
to be one of the great trees,
standing tall and proud. In
their sacred presence I felt
the miracle of my heart beat-
ing, the gift of pure air fill-
ing my lungs, my feet rooted
in the earth … and in the
gold light of the sun I would
spread my arms as great
branches and my thoughts,
like birds, would soar. I was
Free! Singing with my coy-
ote brothers, my heart fly-
ing in great circles with the
hawk. And when I danced
naked amidst the pines, the
wisdom and music of cre-
ation flowed through my
being as effortlessly as wind
moved through the branches
above me. Sometimes, from
deep in the mystery of this
wondrous world, I would
hear stories whispered, per-
haps by the old-growth,
about those who had danced
in this meadow before me,
and who had, each in their
times, been drawn away
into this busy world of Men
where there were many tasks
to accomplish and many les-
sons to learn.”
In 1994 he began hand-
crafting Native American
flutes in a shop near Bend,
Oregon and continued this
work in Sisters, daily visit-
ing the rivers and mountains
of Central Oregon, playing
oregon ice-
cream-truck
operator
arrested for
drunk driving
his flutes. Ron was one of
the finest craftsmen in the
business and a member of
the International Native
American Flute Association
(INAFA).
He was a performing
musician and a founding
member of the music group
“COYO.” He taught flute
classes, played for local
hospice, and held work-
shops with at-risk youth. He
facilitated Lakota hand drum
workshops and was held in
deep love and regard as an
elder and wisdom-keeper in
his vast community bringing
his teaching of love, peace,
compassion and the Sacred
Hoop.
Ron is survived by his
son, Sean Laws; his sister
Elizabeth Laws Bestul; and
two grandchildren, Nicole
Laws Grantham and Kyle
McCreery.
A Celebration of Life
Gathering will be held at the
HarmonyHouse, August 1
at 7:30 p.m. www.skyway
flutes.com or 541-280-1821.
CORNELIUS (AP)
— Sheriff ’s Deputies in
Cornelius arrested an ice-
cream-truck operator on
drunk-driving charges while
he was selling ice cream to
children.
The Washington County
Sheriff’s Office says a resi-
dent on Friday evening
reported that an ice-cream
truck was driving erratically.
The caller said the ice-cream
truck drove into oncoming
traffic and twice hit a curb.
Deputies arrested the
driver, 38-year-old Noe
Andrade Silva, as he was
selling ice cream to kids out
of his music-playing van.
Deputies say Silva had been
driving around and selling ice
cream under the influence of
alcohol.
Silva was lodged in the
Washington County Jail on
$2,500 bail. A court date has
not yet been set.
Kalin Emrich & Katie Crabb
541-549-2882
EF
E
B
D
E
I
R
U
B
REW .
AND n B
11 a.m.-2 p.m
Sat., July 18
Smile,
Sisters!
We’re
committed
to your dental
health!
Exceptional Health,
Prevention & Aesthetics
Ben Crockett, D.D.S.
Cn Main Ave.
the Cascades
Cf
nk
Ba
tC
t
Nex
Held during the
2015 Glory Daze Annual Car Show,
Buried Beef and Brew is an opportunity
to eat beef that has been cooked
underground overnight, taste
‘Beer Keg Beans’ (made from a secret
family recipe), and have a brew
from Three Creeks Brewing.
Tickets will be sold at the door.
Proceeds benefi t SPRD youth programs.
1750 W. Mckinney Butte Rd. | 541-549-2091
View activities & classes and register online!
www.SistersRecreation.com
SNO CAP
MINI STORAGE
p 541-549-9486 f 541-549-9110
410 E. Cascade Ave. • P.O. Box 1027 • Sisters, Oregon 97759
Hours: Mon., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Tues.-Wed., 8 a.m.-4 p.m.;
Thurs., 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
Thank you,
Buried Beef
and Brew
sponsors!
Sisters Industrial Park
157 Sisters Park Dr. • 541-549-3575
www.SistersStorage.com
• State-of-the-art
Security Technology
• Sizes from 5x5 to 12x40
• Individual Gate Codes
• Long-term Discounts
• On-site Manager