6
Wednesday, August 11, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Obituaries
Walter (Wally) Henry Rietz, Jr.
August 17, 1923—July 26, 2021
Wally Rietz passed on
July 26. Wally was born
at the home of his parents,
Walter Sr. and Margaret Rietz
in Highland Park, Illinois.
Wally graduated from
Highland Park High School
and attended the University
of Illinois in Champaign in
1941. Wally joined ROTC
on campus in December.
Finishing Officer Candidate
School as a second lieuten-
ant, Wally was assigned to
the 11th Armored Division,
41st Cavalry Reconnaissance
Squadron under the com-
mand of General George
Patton.
On December 16, 1944,
Wally landed on the French
coast in Cherbourg. That
same day, German forces
initiated the counter-offen-
sive known as the Battle
of the Bulge.
In May, Wally arrived at
the Mauthausen Concentra-
tion Camp in Austria after it
was liberated the day before.
Wa l l y 9s s e r v i c e i n
Europe ended June 1946.
He completed his degree at
University of Illinois with a
BS in business. He met his
future wife, Jean Easton, and
started his career in Indiana
and Illinois.
In the early 1950s, Wally
transferred to Southern
California, living in Whittier
for almost 20 years. He was
transferred to Portland in
1970.
Spending vacations in
Central Oregon, Wally and
Jean purchased a five-acre
property in the Desert Sands
subdivision and spent 23
years there in retirement.
Wally was active in
Sisters Rotary, hired as a
starter at Aspen Lakes Golf
Club, Sisters Jazz Festival,
and Deschutes County Board
for Children and Families.
Life became difficult to
continue to stay at Desert
Sands due to Jean9s fail-
ing health. In 2008, they
moved to SpringRidge in
Charbonneau.
Wally is survived by a
daughter, Roberta Strom
(Dale) of Beaverton, grand-
sons Brock Strom of Norfolk,
VA and Kerby Strom of
Portland, brother Robert
Rietz of Delaware, OH, and
daughter-in-law Peggy White
of Timber, Oregon. He was
preceded in death by his wife
of 61 years, Jean; sons James
in 1950, and Scott in 1992;
brother Charles in 2019.
Before Wally9s passing,
he wrote memoirs of his war
experience and another on
News nuggets Snippets and tidbits from Sisters Country
a.m. on September 23, 2021.
Reception to be determined.
DAVIS TIRE
Our family can take care of your family of autos & trailers
Brakes • Axles • Ball Joints • Suspension • Shocks • Struts
By Bill Bartlett
TIRE INSTALLATION, ALIGNMENT, REPAIR,
BALANCING, ROTATION
Correspondent
" Gas prices continue to
climb. If you drive a perfor-
mance auto that requires pre-
mium unleaded fuel, you can
expect to pay $4.75/gallon in
Sisters for ethanol-free gas.
For everybody else it9s $3.85/
gallon on average for the
four petrol stations in town.
That9s an increase of 23 cents
in just one month and $1.09/
gallon since January.
" Pump your own.
Speaking of gas, the 76 sta-
tion at Sisters Pumphouse
& Country Store is allowing
self-service due to its con-
tinuing staffing shortage. The
labor crisis in Sisters remains
dire with many businesses
curtailing hours.
" Hospitalizations for
COVID-19. St. Charles
remains on high alert for the
possibility of the Delta vari-
ant taxing the system, but
as of Monday, five COVID-
related patients were in ICU,
three of whom were on ven-
tilators. Systemwide, St.
Charles has 30 ICU beds. In
all of Oregon there are 651
intensive care beds, 140 spe-
cialty ICU beds that can be
diverted for COVID-19, and
5,195 acute care beds.
" Sheriff hosts National
Night Out event in Sisters.
The Village Green was the
scene of a few hundred
citizens last week, many of
whom were families with
young children who came
to meet some 40 members
of the Deschutes County
Sheriff9s Office (DCSO).
Sheriff Shane Nelson
posed with kiddos and along
with Sisters Substation
Commander Lt. Chad Davis
and scores of deputies, gave
attendees an up-close look
inside the myriad vehicles
his 97 years of life. The sec-
ond memoir was completed
days before his passing.
Wally recorded a podcast on
November 6, 2019, regard-
ing his World War II expe-
rience on <Aging Today=
with host Mark Turnbull
(bit.ly/WallyRietz). That epi-
sode can be downloaded.
Service to be held
at Willamette National
Cemetery. Procession to
begin promptly at 11:15
Serving Sisters Since 1962
Sisters Industrial Park
188 W. Sisters Park Dr.
541-549-1026
Say Aaahhh...
General
Cosmetic
Implant
Family
Dentistry
PHOTO BY BILL BARTLETT
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office showed local children an array of
law enforcement vehicles during National Night Out last week.
used by DCSO in its work
4 from treaded search-and-
rescue vehicles to water-
craft. Children, treated to ice
cream bars, were able to sit
in patrol cars and work the
lights and sirens 4 much to
their delight.
" Getting a jump on the
fire. Central Oregon Helitack
deployed three trucks and
a helicopter within hours
after lightning ignited three
fires near Green Ridge. The
Bureau of Land Management
team based in Prineville
included firefighters from
Montana. They stationed
themselves and extensive
gear at Sisters Eagle Airport,
often the base for helo opera-
tions in our area during fire
season. Their first mission
was to drop four rappelers
near the fire to clear a base
pad for the chopper.
" Iconic gallery begins
wind-down. Ken Scott9s
Imagination Gallery on
West Hood Avenue expects
to vacate Sisters in October.
The years-long tourist favor-
ite represents 29 artists, 24
of whom are local and all
of whom will need to find
new representation. Scott
will take up residence in
Leaburg along the McKenzie
Highway. He will open a
small gallery and maintain
a studio for his considerable
list of commissions.
" The sports nutrition
company Picky Bars, in
Bend, owned by American
professional runners Lauren
Fleshman and Stephanie
Bruce and American triath-
lete Jesse Thomas, has been
acquired by Laird Superfood
for $12 million. The brand,
known for its real-food
granola bars, oatmeal, and
granola targets athletes and
people with active lifestyles.
We’re here to help you
SMILE with confi dence!
Dr. Thomas R. Rheuben
~ Serving Sisters Since 1993 ~
541-549-0109
|
304 W. Adams Ave.
|
Sisters