RECORDS
Thursday, January 6, 2022
2022 New Year’s baby born at Grande Ronde Hospital
ThE OBsErVEr — A3
Fishtrap goes live Jan. 7
ENTERPRISE —
The first Fishtrap Fire-
side of the new year will
be available online on
Friday, Jan. 7, with read-
ings from three Wal-
lowa County writers:
Sara Miller and Marika
Straw and an appearance
by Shannon McNerney,
Fishtrap’s executive
director.
View the monthly
reading series at www.
fishtrap.org and on Fish-
trap’s YouTube channel.
DEATH & SERVICE NOTICES
Grande ronde hospital/Contributed Photos
Violet Lin Knight was the first baby born at Grande Ronde Hospital,
La Grande, in the new year arriving on Jan. 3, 2022. At left, the infant
rests with her parents, Allyson Smith and Keb Knight, on Tuesday,
Jan. 4. To celebrate her arrival, Violet’s parents were presented with
a basket of diapers and gifts from the GRH Auxiliary as well as a quilt
from the Quilt Questers.
Theresa A. Fields
La Grande
Theresa A. Fields, 61, of La Grande, died Jan. 4,
2022, at a local care facility. Arrangements are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel & Crematory, La Grande.
Robert R. Miller
Cove
Robert R. Miller, 76, of Cove, died Jan. 3, 2022, at
Grande Ronde Hospital. Arrangements are by Loveland
Funeral Chapel & Crematory, La Grande.
PUBLIC SAFETY REPORT
MONDAY, JAN. 3
NOTE: Disabled vehicles continued to be a common call for
service.
8:08 a.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office received a report
of a tree that fell and knocked down power lines on the 300 block
of South Fourth Street, Union.
8:53 a.m. — A caller reported a power line was down at East
Grande and South Bellwood streets, Union
8:57 a.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office received another
report of a tree that fell in Union, this one on the 800 block of South
Main Street.
1:36 p.m. — A Union County sheriff’s deputy took a report for
a sex crime.
2:50 p.m. — La Grande police responded to a residence on the
2400 block of R Avenue for a domestic disturbance. Police tres-
passed one person at the scene.
4:50 p.m. — The Union County Sheriff’s Office arrested Rodney
Dean Bartlett, 59, for driving under the influence of intoxicants.
6:07 p.m. — A caller reported criminal mischief at Walmart,
11619 Island Ave., Island City. A Union County sheriff’s deputy
responded and warned the subjects.
7:09 p.m. — A Union County sheriff’s deputy responded to a
residence on the 1000 block of Galveston Street, Elgin, on a report
of a disturbance. The parties separated.
8:31 p.m. — A caller reported livestock was on the road at Pierce
Road and Bond Lane, La Grande. A Union County sheriff’s deputy
resolved the situation.
TUESDAY, JAN. 4
11:11 a.m. — A caller on the 700 block of Alder Street, Elgin,
reported a suspicious person. A Union County sheriff’s deputy
responded and trespassed the individual.
11:47 a.m. — Local law enforcement assisted medics at a crash
involving injuries at milepost 3 on Highway 82, La Grande.
2:43 p.m. — A caller reported an assault on the 1500 block of
21st Street, La Grande. An officer responded and took information.
3:37 p.m. — A caller reported an assault on the 21080 block of
Maple Street, La Grande. An officer tried to make contact and left
a voicemail.
6:22 p.m. — A caller on the 100 block of Aries Lane, La Grande,
reported two adults and a child were knocking on doors in the
neighborhood. An officer searched the area but did not find the
trio.
6:39 p.m. — La Grande police received a complaint about child
neglect. An officer took information and explained options.
8:05 p.m. — A caller reported a child was alone at Birch Street
and Y Avenue, La Grande. An officer responded and returned the
child to its home.
Snow maiden adorns Adams Avenue
Gertrude E. Gilliland
La Grande
Gertrude E. Gilliland, 89, of La Grande, died Jan. 3,
2022, at her residence. Arrangements are by Loveland
Funeral Chapel & Crematory, La Grande.
Barbara Weishaar
La Grande
Barbara Weishaar, 87, of La Grande, died Jan. 3,
2022, at a local care facility. Arrangements are by Love-
land Funeral Chapel & Crematory, La Grande.
Audrey B. Bean
Formerly of La Grande
Audrey B. Bean, 87, formerly of La Grande, died
Dec. 22, 2021, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Meridian, Idaho.
A viewing will be held Jan. 15 at 9 a.m. at the Island
City Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A
funeral Service will follow the viewing at 10 a.m.
Arrangements are by Loveland Funeral Chapel & Cre-
matory, La Grande.
UPCOMING LOCAL SERVICES
Luke Boyles, a construction
worker with an affinity for snow,
puts the finishing touches on
his snow mermaid along Adams
Avenue on Wednesday, Jan. 5,
2021. “I make it a goal to get one
snowman in a year,” Boyles said,
stating that the annual tradition
started 10 years ago when he
moved to La Grande. An Alaska
native, Boyles said that snow
gets a lot of negative attention
in the news and he wants to
bring a smile to anyone who
passes by. In previous years, the
snow sculptor made 7-foot-tall
snowmen in parks, but he said
this year he wanted to do some-
thing a little different.
Please follow guide-
lines regarding face cov-
erings and social dis-
tancing at all gatherings.
Jan. 6 —
MICHELLE
CREPEAU: 2 p.m.
funeral; Loveland Funeral
Chapel, La Grande.
Jan. 6-7 — BRIAN
SPENCER: Thursday,
1 p.m. Rosary and Mass
of Christian Burial, Our
Lady of the Valley Cath-
olic Church, La Grande;
Friday, 1 p.m. graveside
service, Burns Cemetery.
Jan. 7 — TERRI
HOCKER: 2:30 p.m.
funeral, Wallowa Chris-
tian Church; burial fol-
lows at the Wallowa Cem-
etery, then a reception at
the church.
Jan. 15 — AUDREY
BEAN: 9 a.m. viewing,
10 a.m. funeral; Island
City Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
Jan. 15 — JIM
LUNDY: 2 p.m. memo-
rial service, Gilbert
Center, Eastern Oregon
University, La Grande.
— calendar cour-
tesy of Loveland Funeral
Chapel
alex Wittwer/The Observer
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
Cove senior lunch
served twice a month
COVE — Cove senior
lunches are again being
served at Founders Hall
on the Ascension School
grounds on the first and
third Tuesdays of the
month, with coffee and tea
at 11:30 a.m., lunch at noon.
The menu for Tuesday,
Jan. 18, is sweet and sour
chicken, rice pilaf, winter
squash, salad bar, rolls and
brownies.
The price is $5 per
meal and reservations are
requested by calling 541-
568-4902 or 1-907-299-
6072 by Jan. 11.
Library launches
Kid Craft Fridays
LA GRANDE — Cook
Memorial Library, 2006
Fourth St., La Grande,
invites children ages 7-10
to a weekly craft activity
every Friday afternoon.
Kid Craft Fridays begins
at 3 p.m. Children must be
accompanied by an adult,
and masks are required.
— The Observer
Judith “Judy” Ann (Beels) Hunt
Kenn Gilson
May 15, 1942 - November 2, 2021
Kenn was born in La
Grande, May 15, 1942,
the eldest son of Carl
and Rosalie (Herrmann)
Gilson. He passed away
November 2, 2021, in
Portland, OR. Kenn
went to schools in La
Grande, moving to
Portland during his La
Grande High School
days. He is survived by
his son, Marc Gilson;
sister, Lenore Law-
rence; brother, Terry
Gilson; one grandson;
and several cousins in
the La Grande area. He
was loved and will be
missed.
Marilynn “Joann” Nelson
Michelle Lynn Crepeau
August 11, 1930 – October 25, 2021
April 18, 1973 – December 19, 2021
Marilynn “Joann” Nelson,
age 91, of La Grande, died
October 25, 2021, at
her home. A funeral
service will be held
sometime in the spring
and will be announced
by
Daniels~Knopp
Funeral, Cremation
& Life Celebration
Center.
Joann was born on Au-
gust 11, 1930, the daughter of
William and Mary Josephine
(Thistlethwaite) Hawkins in
Decatur, Illinois. After gradu-
ating from high school, she fin-
ished nurses’ school in Illinois.
On June 7, 1953, she married
Charles Nelson in Decatur and
they moved west to Oregon,
first to Baker City and later to
La Grande. She worked as a
nurse for the old Grande Ronde
Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hos-
pital for 20 years. She then
was a video production techni-
cian for the Union County Ed-
ucational District for 20 years.
She was a member of the Faith
Lutheran Church in La
Grande and was active
with Weight Watchers
and the VFW Auxilia-
ry. When her children
were young, she was
active in PTA and Boy
and Girl Scouts. She
was a booster for sports. She
enjoyed tole painting and was a
member of the Tole Painter’s of
America. She also made can-
dles, sewed and was a collector
of Beanie Babies.
Survivors include her chil-
dren, Charles ‘Eric’ Nelson of
La Grande, Vern Justin Nelson
of La Grande, Tracy Owen
Nelson of San Francisco, Cal-
ifornia, Nelsa Drey of San
Bernadino, California and Alex
Almar Nelson of Roseburg,
Oregon; brother, Richard Haw-
kins of Hawaii; six grandchil-
dren; one great-grandchild and
other relatives and friends.
Michelle Lynn Cre-
peau, 48, of Union, passed
away on Sunday, Decem-
ber 19, 2021 at
her residence.
A
viewing
will be held at
Loveland Fu-
neral Chapel
on Wednes-
day, January
5, 2022, from
5:00pm
-
7:00pm. A fu-
neral service
will be held
at Loveland
Funeral Chapel on Thurs-
day, January 6, 2022, at
2:00pm.
Michelle was born on
April 18, 1973 in Chica-
go, Illinois, to William
Jr. and Lorelei (Lange)
Polster. She resided in
Henderson, Nevada, and
Union, Oregon.
Michelle loved gar-
dening and spending time
with family.
Michelle is survived by
her husband,
Matthew
Boyd Crepeau
of Union, OR;
son,
Caleb
Crepeau of La
Grande, OR;
daughter, Ca-
rissa Crepeau
of Union, OR;
parents, Wil-
liam and Lo-
relei Polster
of Henderson,
NV; brothers, Chris Pol-
ster (Morieene) of Hen-
derson, NV and Steve
Polster (Katia) of Hawaii;
sister, Tina Polster of Mt.
Prospect IL; and 8 nieces
and nephews.
Online
condolences
may be made to the fam-
ily at www.lovelandfuner-
alchapel.com.
February 14, 1941 - December 10, 2021
Judith “Judy” Ann
(Beels) Hunt, 80, passed
away on Friday, Decem-
ber 10, 2021, at
her home. A cel-
ebration of life
will be held on
March 26, 2022
at 3:00pm at the
La Grande Sev-
enth Day Ad-
ventist Church,
located at 2702
Adams Avenue,
in La Grande, Oregon.
Judy was born on Feb-
ruary 14, 1941 in Winner,
South Dakota, to Mahlon
Bruce and Irene Viola
(Skibinski) Beels. She
graduated from Elgin
High School in 1959 and
married Wavel Hunt in
Weiser, Idaho.
Judy and Wavel start-
ed their family with three
birth children and add-
ed two overseas adopted
children several years
later. Over the course of
several years, they ad-
opted five more children
with special needs. While
Judy was home school-
ing her birth children, she
also took a French class
at Eastern Oregon State
College.
Judy was a busy moth-
er and provided child and
foster care to a number
of children. She operat-
ed a community services
program (Dorcas) for her
church which served peo-
ple by supplying clothing
and food items to those
needing help. She later
opened her own resale
store (Tabitha’s) which
sold clothing and house-
hold items to the area at
very low prices.
Judy began volunteer
work at People
Helping People
Thrift Store al-
most 20 years
ago,
during
which time she
had many op-
portunities
to
minister to the
spiritual needs
of
customers
seeking help with prayer
or comfort. She continued
this work until this past
summer.
Judy is survived by her
husband, Wavel Hunt of
La Grande; sons, Michael
Hunt of Middleton, ID,
Jacob Hunt of Pendleton,
OR, London (Rocky) Hunt
of Rexburg, ID, and Fred-
erick (Skie) Hunt of La
Grande, OR; daughters,
Jennifer Knoll of Gresh-
am, OR, Angela Hanley,
Sarah Hunt, Stella (Valen)
Hunt, and Indhira (Cozil)
Hunt of La Grande, OR;
13 grandchildren; and 26
great-grandchildren. She
was preceded in death by
her son, Joshua Hunt and
parents, Mahlon and Irene
Beels.
In lieu of flowers, me-
morial donations may
be made to The Hospice
Promise Foundation at
901 Hugh Wallis Road
South, Lafayette, LA,
70508,
www.lhcgroup.
com/foundation, or to the
charity of your choice.
Online
condolences
may be made to the fam-
ily at www.lovelandfuner-
alchapel.com.