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Wednesday, March 29, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituaries
Emil John Leason
Georgia (Edgington) Gallagher
January 11, 1931 — March 15, 2017
March 22, 1922 — March 18, 2017
John was 86 years old.
Born to Vince and Tillie
(Michalski) Leason on
January 11, 1931, the 12th
of 13 children, in Benton
County, Minnesota.
After farming in
Minnesota, John joined the
Marines in 1951 and fought
in Korea earning a National
Defense Service Medal, a
Korean Service Medal, and
a United Nations Service
Medal. After an honorable
discharge in 1953 John met
Gertrude Clara Fussy on a
bus while going home on
leave and they married in
1955 in Morrill, Minnesota.
They settled in Tigard,
Oregon, where they raised
two daughters.
John started his construc-
tion business, U.S. Tank &
Construction. Co. Inc., an
industrial steel construc-
tion fabrication and erection
business based in Tualatin,
in 1960, fabricating and
installing a variety of proj-
ects in lumber and pulp
mills, as well as water tank
storage for municipalities in
a majority of the 50 states
and Canada.
John and Gertrude
bought their beloved Pine
Ridge Ranch in Sisters in
1970, a cattle and hay ranch,
which he had for 42 years.
John also earned a private
pilot’s license and even
had a designated airport
on the ranch (Pine Ridge
Ranch Airport), so he could
land his tail-dragger air-
plane called a Maule Lunar
Rocket.
Georgia (Edgington)
Gallagher, a long-time resi-
dent of Sisters, passed away
on March 18. She was 95.
Georgia was born March
22, 1922 on the family ranch
south of Sisters to Ellis
and Ellen Edgington. She
attended school in Sisters
and graduated from Sisters
High School in 1940. She
attended Oregon State
University, graduating with
a degree in dietetics in
1944.
She was Sisters Rodeo
queen in 1944, and Grand
Marshal of the rodeo in
2006.
In 1946, she married
Vince Gallagher of Bayonne,
New Jersey. They had three
children, Norah, Dennis,
and Vince. She and Vince
(senior) lived in Redmond
for a few years, then moved
to Salem in 1953, then back
to Sisters in 1973.
She and Vince spent
many summer weekends
with their children camping
and fishing in the high lakes
of Central Oregon. Vince
passed away in 1981.
While in Salem, and
while raising her family, she
worked for Hillcrest School
for Girls, and Oregon State
Hospital as a dietitian and as
an independent dietary con-
sultant. After moving back
to Sisters, she volunteered
with the Sisters ambulance
as an EMT for 19 years,
was on the Sisters Planning
Commission for a time, and
was an active member of the
Sisters Garden Club.
John was also a proud
member of the Elks and
Knights of Columbus. John
loved family, nature, hunt-
ing, and always looked for-
ward to his next project.
He was preceded in death
by his wife, Gertrude Clara
Fussy, and all of his eight
brothers and sisters.
He is survived by his
two daughters: Catherine
(Bill) Behan of Frisco,
Texas and Victoria Leason
of Redmond. Six grandchil-
dren: Joshua, Tory, Johnny,
Beau, Cody and Nicole.
Five great-grandchildren:
Madeline Gertrude, Clara
Lynn, William Leon, Emil
Loyle and Maisie Kay.
His favorite charity
was St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital. The family also
wishes to express their grati-
tude to Visiting Angels and
Hospice of Redmond.
Funeral mass will be
held April 1, at 1 p.m. at St.
Edward the Martyr Roman
Catholic Church in Sisters.
John’s fifth great-grand-
daughter Maisie will be
baptized immediately after
service.
Sisters
Oregon
G u i d e Sells
Sisters!
Just ask Sue...
“Advertising in Th e Nug-
get and the Sisters Or-
egon Guide works! Th e
She was Deschutes
Pioneer Association Queen
in 2008. Georgia attended
First Presbyterian Church
in Bend. She was a life-long
Presbyterian. She lived her
last three years at Aspen
Ridge Retirement Home in
Bend. She is survived by
her daughter Norah Roberts
of Sisters; sons Dennis of
Bend, Vince and his wife
Karen Henderson of Salem,
and Dennis’s sons Andy
Gallagher of Prineville and
Chris Gallagher of Bend.
Her family will miss her.
Georgia loved being out-
of-doors. She loved wild-
flowers, mountain lakes,
exploring and spend-
ing time with friends and
family.
Services will be held on
Saturday, April 1, at First
Presbyterian Church, 230
NE 9th St. in Bend at 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers,
please make a donation to
Brightfocus Foundation
(macular degeneration
research) or The Deschutes
Land Trust (Whychus Creek
restoration), or a charity of
your choice.
Obituaries Policy: The Nugget Newspaper does not charge a fee to publish obituaries. Obituaries may be up to 400 words and include one photo.
Obituaries outside these guidelines are handled by The Nugget Newspaper advertising department. Obituary submissions must be received by noon
on Monday. Obituaries may be submitted to The Nugget by email or hand delivery to our office located at 442 E. Main Ave., Sisters.
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— Sue Leek, Proprietor,
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Oregon Guide
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