Wednesday, July 15, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
Obituaries
Thomas Kinney Worcester
February 12, 1929 — July 3, 2020
Thomas
Kinney
Worcester, 91, passed away
peacefully and surrounded
by family on Friday, July 3,
in Sisters.
Born February 12, 1929
in Boulder, Colorado,
Worcester attended Boulder
High School. After high
school, Tom joined the
Reserve Officers Training
Corps (ROTC) and gradu-
ated from University of
Colorado, Boulder with a
degree in Journalism. After
college, he fulfilled his duty
with ROTC and proudly
served in the U.S. Navy.
Worcester was an hon-
ored member of the Ancient
Order of the Deep, hav-
ing crossed the equator
as a Midshipman aboard
the U.S.S Theodore E.
Chandler on August 12,
1949. Continuing his naval
service, Worcester served
in the Korean War. While
on leave in 1951, Worcester
returned to Boulder to
marry Lois E. Nichols
whom he met at Boulder
High School. Following
his active duty, Worcester
remained in the U.S. Navy
Reserves on the destroyer
escort U.S.S. McGinty, until
his retirement as Lieutenant
Commander.
After his military ser-
vice, Tom and his bride
Lois, returned to Colorado
Springs, where he became
an instructor of journalism at
Colorado College. In 1958,
Worcester and his family
moved to Portland, where
he joined the faculty of
Reed College. In December
of 1970, the Worcester fam-
ily moved to Clackamas, to
live on a small farm along
the Clackamas River. It was
here that Worcester contin-
ued his career as a freelance
writer, editor and photogra-
pher with numerous cred-
its to his name; including
coffee table books such as
<A Portrait of Oregon= and
<A Portrait of Colorado=.
As well as the biography,
<Norjak: An Investigation of
D.B. Cooper.= Tom and Lois
shared a fondness for horses,
skiing, camping, fly-fishing
and traveling with their kids.
Upon retirement in 1990,
it was the love of fly-fish-
ing and all things outdoors,
that brought Tom and Lois
to Sisters to be near Tom9s,
beloved Metolius River.
Tom and Lois enjoyed skiing
at Mt. Bachelor and HooDoo
Ski Area. Additionally, they
traveled annually for ski-
ing, to Idaho, Colorado
and Utah for many years.
It wasn9t until they turned
85, that they hung up their
skis. Taking yearly trips to
Mazatlán and other locations
throughout Mexico, Tom
and Lois took great inter-
est in touring and learning
about many of the ancient
pyramids. In addition, they
traveled much of our great
country and Europe was a
favored destination for the
Worcesters.
Worcester proudly served
the Sisters community as a
Kiwanian working on high-
profile events such as the
Sisters Jazz Festival and the
Sisters Rodeo. Tom9s com-
munity service was noted
by many honors, includ-
ing Sisters Citizen of the
Year in 1995; the Kiwanis
Spirit Award for 2006-7 and
Kiwanian Of the Year in
2007-2008, to name a few.
In addition to his commu-
nity service, Tom broke out
his French Horn after many
years, to become a proud
and dedicated member of
the Cascade Horizon Band.
He then again <retired= his
horn in 2018, at the age
of 89.
Tom is survived by his
beloved wife of 69 years
Lois Worcester. His chil-
dren; Ken Worcester, Laura
Worcester-Law and Mollie
Worcester, all of Oregon
City, as well as Andy
Worcester of Bend. Tom
was the proud grandfather
to three granddaughters and
a grandson, as well as two
great-grandsons. Worcester
Bette Jean (Dean) Little
August 8, 1927 — July 8, 2020
was preceded in death by
son Phillip and daughter
Sharon.
In 2019 the Sisters com-
munity held a celebration
marking the 90th birthdays
of both Tom and Lois. At
his request, there will be no
service.
In lieu of flowers, Tom
requested donations be
sent to the Kiwanis Club of
Sisters 328 W. Main Ave.
Sisters, OR, 97759 and/or
Candlelighters for Children
with Cancer www.candle
lightersoregon.org or 6200
SW 92nd Ave., Ste. 160
Portland, OR, 97223.
Bette Jean (Dean) Little
of Sisters was born August 8,
1927 and passed on July 8, in
Idanha, Oregon.
Bette was born in Dallas,
Texas, and raised in Ada,
Oklahoma. She graduated
from East Central University
in Ada. She taught school in
Kansas and California for
40 years before retiring to
Oregon. She married three
times and out-lived them all.
She is preceded in death
by a brother, a child, a grand-
child and a great-grandchild.
She is survived by four
children, 10 grandchildren,
and 19 great-grandchildren.
With her third husband (G.V.
Little), six adult children and
their descendants joined the
family.
Our beloved matriarch
is returned to Oklahoma to
rest with family. This lovely
Christian woman is a loss
to family, friends and the
world.
Quality Truck-mounted
CARPET CLEANING
Quality Cleaning 16 years in
Reasonable Prices Sisters!
— Credit Cards Accepted —
ENVIROTECH
541-771-5048
Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL
NEW CHEF
NEW MENU
Outdoor Seating!
Dine-In or Take-Out
391 W. Cascade Ave. | 541-549-2675
corkcellarswinebistro.com
A BIG THANK YOU
TO ALL OUR VIRTUAL SHOW SPONSORS:
Alpaca by Design • Beacham’s Clock Co. • Bedouin
C&T Publishing • Cherrywood Hand Dyed Fabrics
Clearwater Gallery & Framing • Common Threads
Fika Sisters Coffeehouse • First American Title
FivePine Lodge & Conference Center
GrandStay Hotel & Suites • Hardtails Bar & Grill
High Desert Frameworks! • Heritage U.S.A. • Hike-N-Peaks
Island Batik • Les Schwab • Paulina Springs Books
Ray’s Food Place • Robert Kaufman Fabrics
The Roundhouse Foundation • Sisters Coffee Co.
Sisters Ace Hardware • Sisters Bakery
Sisters Feed & Supply • Sisters Mainline Station
Sisters Meat and Smokehouse • Stitchin’ Post
Sundance Shoes • Takoda’s Restaurant • The Jewel
The Paper Place • The Pony Express • Wildflower Studio
FOR THE SUPPORT OF:
Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce
City of Sisters • The Nugget Newspaper
MORE INFO: WWW.SOQS.ORG
AND TO OUR QUILTERS
FOR SHARING THEIR QUILTS!