14
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituary
Ranger District to host open house
Edward D. Helton
June 19, 1945 — February 21, 2019
On February 21, 2019
a stroke felled Ed Helton
and sent him on his eternal
ride in the Crooked River
National Grasslands very
unexpectedly at age 73.
I miss Ed Helton.
I first met Ed through
work developing standards
for healthcare, where, with
this calm but persistent
approach, he always got the
job done. Ed was a kind,
thoughtful man, always
willing to share his time, to
really listen and to lend a
hand. Ed believed in making
our world a better place and
was not afraid to be unpop-
ular to do the right thing,
which he did several times
in his career in positions at
NCI for standards develop-
ment, at FDA in drug safety,
in academia and the pharma-
ceutical industry.
Ed was a captivating
storyteller, always looking
for the perfect audience. He
would talk proudly about
having served two tours
during the Vietnam War as
Army Captain and Director
of the Clinical Investigation
Laboratory at Brooks Army
Medical Center, for which
he earned the Meritorious
Service Medal. I admired
him for the good things he
quietly achieved for man-
kind, like getting lifesaving
drugs approved by FDA, or
removing dangerous ones
from the market, but it was
his crazy horse stories and
tales of nature9s beauty
which touched my heart. Ed
clearly loved living life.
Ed adored his children
and grandchildren and spent
a great deal of time ensur-
ing they were taken care of
while he was alive, and even
in death.
Ed always dreamt of hav-
ing a simpler life that would
allow him to focus on the
things that mattered to him,
and he found that in Sisters.
Here, Ed was able to be close
to his son and grandsons,
which allowed him to share
with them his passion for the
outdoors. Ed did appreciate
the natural beauty of the high
plateau and the unfenced
land, so he could ride his
horse, Pacific Fritz. And Ed
liked the people here, who
are <real,= understand the
land and embody the best
qualities of a neighbor.
Ed had just bought his
dream property adjacent to
the Crooked River National
Grasslands when I got to
know him better. Ed loved
this place, because he could
ride from his house for hours,
or even days, whenever he
felt like it. Ed wanted a prac-
tical house that took care of
the basics, satisfied his sense
of beauty and gave him a
place of peace and quiet.
So he built his barn the way
he wanted, got himself two
wonderful dogs for company
and moved in to finally start
living his lifelong dream.
Ed loved the view from his
windows of all the peaks
of the Cascades, which he
would name off frequently,
the clouds and colors in the
sky, the sunlight on Smith
Rock and the snow on the
Ochocos. I was fortunate
to share and contribute to
his dream, even if just for a
short amount of time. Ed had
found his happy place and
we had made lots of plans
for new adventures.
Please join me in remem-
bering Ed by spending time
with friends. Bring your
stories and pictures of Ed
and some food to share on
Sunday, April 28 from 2 to
4 p.m. to the clubhouse at
the Sisters Rodeo Grounds.
Instead of flowers, consider
a donation to the American
Cancer Society, https://
donate3.cancer.org, in his
name.
Obituary submitted by
Riki Merrick
Plan Ahead!
SPRING IS
COMING!
Make Your
Reservations
Soon For...
Thatchers
and
Aerators
There are a lot of projects
afoot in the forests surround-
ing Sisters.
Foresters will soon be
taking down dead trees
along the Highway 20 cor-
ridor, the Sisters Ranger
District is planning a major
forest-health project around
Suttle Lake, and fire season
will soon be upon Sisters
Country.
In mid-April, the
Deschutes National Forest9s
Sisters Ranger District will
host an informational open
house for the public to learn
about what is happening
on the national forest lands
within the ranger district.
The open house will be
held on April 11, 2019 at
the Camp Sherman RFPD
Fire Station, 301 S. Elm St.,
in Sisters from 5 to 7 p.m.
Doors will open at 4:45 p.m.
and the program will begin
at 5 p.m. If people cannot
attend at 5 p.m. for the for-
mal program they are still
welcomed to come any time
prior to 7 p.m. to visit with
Sisters Ranger District staff.
Forest Service staff
will discuss the upcom-
ing removal of hazard trees
along Highway 20 for public
safety, expectations for the
coming fire season, and cur-
rent and upcoming projects
and answer questions about
any other items the public is
interested in discussing.
In addition, for people
interested in volunteering for
the Forest Service, Discover
Your Forest will be at the
open house to visit about vol-
unteer opportunities and how
to become a volunteer.
<We want to share our
work from the past year and
plans for the coming year
with the public in an infor-
mal setting to allow people to
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Bottle & Can Drive!
Furry Friends Foundation can use
your redeemable bottles and cans!
Help us raise funds by picking some of our blue bags to oll and
return to Ray9s Food Place. It9s easy to do, you just scan the tag on
the bag, open the door in the bottle drop and leave the bag. The
empty blue bags can be picked up at 204 W. Adams, Ste. 109.
You can still drop off bottles & cans (closed plastic bags please)
in the blue bins at 442 E. Main Ave.
FURRY FRIEND S
501 ( c )( 3 )
NEED IT, RENT IT!
541-797-4023
506 N. Pine St.
541-549-9631
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talk to us, ask questions and
share their thoughts about
the national forest. We hope
to see a lot of people join us
to let us know what is impor-
tant to them,= said Ian Reid,
Sisters District Ranger.
For more information
about the open house, the
public may contact the
Sisters Ranger District at
541-549-7700.
FOUNDATION
Open Tues. & Thurs., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
204 W. Adams, Ste. 109, Sisters Art Works Bldg.
Next to the Sisters Habitat Restore parking lot.
www.FurryFriendsFoundation.org
Sisters Pet Food Bank " Spay/Neuter Sponsorships " Emergency Medical Assistance
THIS AD SPONSORED BY THE NUGGET NEWSPAPER.