The nugget., April 10, 2019, Page 21, Image 21

Wednesday, April 10, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituaries
21
ROUNDABOUT:
Art was selected
with public input
Violet May Griffith
December 25, 1934 — April 2, 2019
Violet May Griffith
joined our Heavenly Father
surrounded by her loved
ones April 2, 2019 at her
home in Monroe, Oregon.
Vi o l e t w a s b o r n
December 25, 1934, in
Alexandria, Nebraska to
Paul and Ella Renken. She
was the oldest of seven
children.
At a young age she
moved to Oregon with her
family. When Violet was
in middle school she met
James (Jim) Griffith in the
cherry orchards in Eugene.
Little did she know she was
starting a friendship that
would turn into a life-long
adventure. James would
eventually teach Violet to
drive and she would teach
Jim about the Lord.
On April 20, 1952, Jim
and Violet started their life
together in the little white
Lutheran Church in Eugene.
Violet raised three beauti-
ful children in the Eugene-
Junction City area before
heading off to Alaska to
build houses with her hus-
band. Eventually settling
down in Sisters, where she
began their 18 years of work
for the Sisters Post Office.
After retiring, Violet and
Continued from page 1
Jim traveled in their motor
home, eventually settling in
Monroe.
Violet had many loves:
camping, hiking, learning,
crabbing, and the ocean. But
her biggest loves were the
Lord, her family, baking and
tending her gardens.
Among those awaiting
her arrival were her parents
Paul and Ella Renken; her
sister Betty Meyer; and her
son David Griffith.
She will be missed by
her husband Jim Griffith
of Monroe, two children:
Roger Griffith of Monroe,
Linda Holt (and Chris) of
Sisters; two sisters; three
brothers; five grandchildren;
and 10 great-grandchildren.
Graveside services were
to be held Monday, April 8
at Lane Memorial Gardens
in Eugene.
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.
Washington, lichen-covered
pumice from Tumalo, and a
variety of stones coming from
Colorado and Montana, creat-
ing contrasting landscapes to
complement the bronze stat-
ues. In an original landscap-
ing bid, the stones alone came
in at well over $100,000.
Bennett-Miller went out and
hand picked the stones, both
from Empire Stone and also
out in the countryside, and
had them moved, for a total
$20,000.
For traffic traveling into
Sisters from the northwest on
Highway 20, their first view
of the roundabout will high-
light where they are headed
4 the High Desert with its
grasses and sagebrush, pop-
ulated by antelope. Traffic
coming from the southeast
on Highway 20 and headed
toward the Willamette Valley
will view what is ahead for
them as they pass through
the evergreen forests that are
home to the bugling elk.
The statues are crafted
from hundreds of individual
pieces of bronze that were
first cast in wax and laid out
on her studio floor. Bennett-
Miller used an ordinary tur-
key roaster to melt the wax.
She said by the time the
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
A majestic elk is a centerpiece of the art that represents the gateway to
the High Desert.
pieces were all cast in bronze,
she knew exactly what
each piece was and where
it belonged from having
worked with them so closely
for so long.
Each statue is captivat-
ing for its form, variety of
textures, and varying colors.
The antelope really give the
impression that they have just
dashed from behind the basalt
pillars. The elk9s proud stance
and huge rack convey his for-
est majesty.
Landscaping in the center
of the roundabout and around
the perimeter is scheduled
for completion, and all work
finished on the roundabout,
in time for Memorial Day
weekend and the beginning
of Sisters9 tourist season.
Video of the elk instal-
lation is available on The
Nugget Facebook page.
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SPRD: Meet-and-greet
for candidates set
for April 12
Continued from page 3
not confirmed their atten-
dance on April 12. The
three who had include:
Jennifer Holland, Bob
Keefer center program man-
ager, Willamalane Park
and Recreation District,
Springfield; Chad Rush, rec-
reation programs director,
Sisters Park & Recreation
District, Sisters; and Stacey
Sommerfield, executive
director, Buffalo Valley
R e c r e a t i o n A u t h o r i t y,
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
The finalists have been
invited to come to Sisters
for the day on April 12. The
candidates will have a full
day beginning at 9 a.m. They
will individually interview
with two different panels 4
the board of directors and a
panel of community partners.
They will also meet indi-
vidually with the SPRD staff
to answer questions. Staff
comments will be summa-
rized for the Board9s execu-
tive session at the end of
the day. SPRD9s facility and
grounds coordinator will lead
a tour of the facility for each
of the candidates. The can-
didates will share a group
lunch at midday.
A community leader will
take each candidate on a
driving tour of the commu-
nity and then provide their
perspective on each candi-
date at the executive session.
Following the community
meet-and-greet, and after a
full day of numerous vetting
opportunities of the candi-
dates, the Board will go into
an executive session to dis-
cuss candidates and select a
finalist.
Interim director Courtney
Snead will stay at SPRD
through June 2019 to help
with the transition of the new
executive. Once the new ED
is in place, recruitment will
begin for a new finance per-
son. Currently, Snead is fill-
ing both positions.
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