2 — THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
Local
— Community Calendar —
FALL COLORS TRAIN
Friday, October 16, two round trips at 10:15
a.m. and 1:15 from McEwen to Sumpter and
back. One round trip the other direction at noon.
Regular fares apply. Enjoy a steam-powered trip
through autumn foliage for professional photog-
raphers.
TALKING ABOUT DYING
Saturday, October 17 at the Baker County
Public Library. Talking about Dying is a new
statewide initiative by Oregon Humanities , cre-
ated in partnership with Cambia Health Solutions
Foundation. These one-time, ninety-minute con-
versations will provide opportunities for partici-
pants to reflect on the stories and influences that
shape their thinking about death and dying and to
hear different perspectives and ideas from fellow
community members. By exploring essential
questions—What do we think about when we
think of dying? When we think about our own
dying, what do we want most?—the program
aims to help participants consider how to shape a
meaningful approach to death and dying. 7 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m.
BURNT RIVER PARENT-TEACHER
CONFERENCES
Thursday, October 22. School will be dismissed
and busses will run at 12:30.
— News of Record —
JAIL ROSTER
CASS, Damien
GRIFFIN, Alexander
HARGRAVES, Michael
KEISER, Kristin
GIVENS, Joshua
GREGG, John
TUGMAN, Michael
WALKER, Jacob
WILSON, Annette
SYPHERD, Crystol
SILVA, Kendale
WEISS, Jamie
NICHOLS, Robert
ANDERS, Tyler
WHITLOW, Jonathon
WONG, David
SHELTON, Adam
LATTYMER, Melissa
BOTHWELL SHAVER, Kyle
SICKLER, Bobby
MYERS, Andrew
SCHLAHT, Nathan
RICCI, Devin
ELKSHOULDER, Ida
BOLANOS, Ann
MABE, Kevin
MADER, Casey
DOWNING, Devin
HANSON, Coty
GRAMMON, Jacob
THACKER, Melissa
CARROLL, Richard
SPRAGUE, Travis
TURNER, Darren
GILDA, Jeremy
CORNETT, Jeremy
KILBORN, Lacey
STEELE, Tiffany
FRIENDS OF THE SUMPTER VALLEY
GOLD DREDGE OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25,
Friends of the Sumpter Valley Gold Dredge and
OPRD (Oregon Parks and Recreation) invite you
to an end of the 2015 season Open House, 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. Have a cup of coffee and a pastry while
enjoying significant discounts on items in our gift
shop, learn the history of this 1935 Gold Dredge,
learn how to pan for gold and get a guided tour of
the Dredge itself. We hope to see you here!
EAGLE VALLEY FALL FESTIVAL
Sunday, October 25. The last Sunday in October
the Annual Eagle Valley Grange Fall Festival
will take place. Activities will kick off at 4 p.m.
and at 5 p.m. the potluck will start. There will be
kids’ games, cake walks, Trunk-or-Treat, costume
contest, and all manner of fun, including, a raffle.
Costumes are strongly encouraged, and those
of you that are attending are asked to remember
that this is a family friendly festival. No grue-
some or other inappropriate costumes. Prizes will
be awarded in numerous categories. For more
information contact, Mary Jane Ward, 541-893-
6346, Deanna Pennock 541-893-3377 or Marty
Pennock 541-540-1413.
AUXILIARY BOOK FAIR
Monday, October 26th. Saint Alphonsus Aux-
iliary - Baker City will be holding their annual
book fair Monday October 26th from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. The book fair will be located in the hospi-
tal breezeway. There will be a wide selection of
books as well as other gifts at 40% to 70% off
retail pricing. Come and bring a friend. Proceeds
will go to benefit Saint Alphonsus Medical Cen-
ter – Baker City and our Auxiliary Scholarship
Fund for students seeking a career in the medical
field. Credit Cards are accepted.
MASQUERADE BALL
Saturday, October 31, 7:30 - 11:30 p.m. at the
Geiser Grand. Costumes and ambiance. Carriage
rides, celebrity book signings, photography, mu-
sic, and more! Buy tickets at www.thebakercoun-
typress.com or at the front desk of the Geiser
Grand. Ticket numbers are limited, so don’t wait!
CAVYELL, Eric
SMITH, Glen
ROBINSON, Damon
KEYES, Bryan
POLICE LOG
Benadum, Derek Allen. 10/11. Dis-
orderly Conduct and Harassment.
Nixon, Angela Dawn . 10/11. Crimi-
nal Trespass II and Unlawful Posses-
sion of Methamphetamine.
Coronado, Trissya. 10/12. Out of
County Detainer.
Wicklander, Gordon Lee Allan.
10/13. Menacing.
FUNERAL NOTICES
Claudeen Nantz, 85, of North
Powder and La Grande area’s, died
at an care home in La Grande on
Sunday, October 11, 2015. Arrange-
ments are under the direction of
Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home &
Cremation Services. Online con-
dolences may be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com.
Marlene Frost, 80, of Baker City,
died on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at
Ashley Manor Care Center in Baker
City. Arrangements are under the di-
rection of Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral
Home & Cremation Services. Online
condolences may be shared at www.
tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com
Peggy Perkins, 78, longtime
resident of Baker City and Sumpter,
died at her home on October 8, 2015.
A Celebration of Peggy’s Life will be
held on Sunday, October 25, 2015 ~
2:00 p.m. at the Baker City Veteran’s
Memorial Club. Arrangements are un-
der the direction of Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
Online condolences may be shared
at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.
com.
Sharon Myers, 63, of Baker City,
died on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at
LaGrande Post Acute Care Center.
a Celebration of Sharon’s Life will be
held on Sunday, October 18, 2015, 3
p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Hall in
Baker City. Arrangements are under
the direction of Tami’s Pine Valley
Funeral Home & Cremation Services.
Online condolences may be shared
at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.
com
Delbert “Del” Stone,82, of Rich-
land, Oregon died at Meadowbrook
place in Richland on Friday, October
9, 2015. Del’s request was that there
not be a service. Arrangements are
under the direction of Tami’s Pine
Valley Funeral Home & Cremation
Services. Online condolences may
be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfu-
neralhome.com.
Donald R. A. DeRoest, 82, of
Baker City died Saturday, October
10th, 2015 at his residence. A memo-
rial service is planned for 11:00 AM
on Saturday, October 17th, 2015 at
Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel
with Pastor Jesse Whitford of the
Baker City Christian Church officiat-
ing.
— Obituaries —
Leroy Merrick
Baker City, 1925-2015
Born
on March
11, 1925
in Lamar,
Colorado
to Clarence
and Emma
Leroy
Merrick,
Merrick
and died on
October 11, 2015 at Mead-
owbrook Place in Baker
City Oregon at age 90.
A memorial service
is scheduled for Friday,
October 16, 2015 at 10:00
a.m. at Coles Tribute
Center in Baker City. A
reception will follow at the
United Methodist Church
and inurnment at Mt. Hope
Cemetery at 2:00 p.m.
Leroy graduated from
Nyssa High School and
worked for the Forest Ser-
vice. Leroy married Jean
Harding on November 20,
1948. He joined the Navy
on July 27, 1943 serving in
World War II and the Ko-
rean Conflict. He returned
to the Forest Service and
was the fire control officer
for the Wallowa-Whitman
Forest when he retired in
1975.
After retirement from the
Forest Service he worked
for Rambling Rotors
helicopter service in La
Grande and also served as
the Baker County Veterans
service officer.
Since joining the Baker
Elks in 1967, he had been
involved in many of the
Elk’s programs, includ-
ing: Meadowood Springs
Speech and Hearing Camp,
Casey Eye Institute, most
valuable student scholar-
ship program, Miner’s
Jubilee Bronc and Bull
Riding. During his active
45 years as an Elk, he
served as Exalted Ruler
three times and filled the
role of various chairs and
positions on the local, dis-
trict and State levels.
He was a member of
the Methodist church and
involved in many organiza-
tions and activities in the
Baker area, including, but
not limited to: American
Legion, VFW, Baker Little
League, Crazy 8’s square
dancing, Boy Scouts, Red
Cross, 55 Alive, Trail
Tenders at the Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center, Com-
munity Connections.
He enjoyed many years
of snowmobiling and
shared this passion with his
wife, children, grandchil-
dren and friends.
He is survived by Jean,
his wife of 67 years,
sons Steve and Craig and
daughter Becky, along with
seven grandchildren and
ten great grandchildren.
He is also survived by two
sisters and one brother.
Donations in memory of
Leroy can be made to the
Elks Meadowood Speech
and Hearing Camp and/or
the Elks National Foun-
dation. This maybe done
through Coles Tribute Cen-
ter, 1950 Place St. baker
City, OR 97814.
Carlyne Gae Gregory
Baker City, 1925-2015
Carlyne
Gae Greg-
ory, age
90, passed
away on
Tuesday,
October
Gae
6, 2015 at
Gregory
Meadow-
brook Place in Baker City,
Oregon. Gae passed away
peacefully while sleep-
ing, after suffering from a
fractured arm injury that
she was unable to recover
from. A celebration of
Gae’s life potluck dinner
will be held at Forest and
Ruai Gregory’s residence
at 37841 Boulder Flat Lane
on Sunday, October 18 at
1 p.m.
She was born on June 3,
1925 in Shreveport, Loui-
siana to Carl and Bob Bee
Jeter. Her brother Dick was
born two years later.
Her childhood was
during the great depres-
sion, but she was always
well cared for. Her dad
worked for the Louisiana
Pacific Railroad help-
ing maintain the railroad
cars. This resulted in Gae
having a lifetime love for
the sound of railroads and
train whistles. Her parents
divorced when she was
nine and Gae lived with
her mother and her brother
lived with her dad. She
visited her dad often and
remained close to him.
After the divorce her
mother, Bob Bee, worked
as a secretary. Her grand-
mother and aunt on her
mother’s side lived nearby.
Her aunt, whom she visited
often, owned a country
store and had a large
garden. During high school
she and her mother lived
in Houston, Texas and in
El Paso, Texas, where her
mother was a General’s
secretary at Fort Bliss
Army Base.
It was at Fort Bliss
when she was sweet
sixteen that she meet her
future husband, Loyd
Gregory, at a USO dance.
He was stationed there as a
member of the Army’s 1st
Cavalry Division. Shortly
thereafter on November 1,
1941 they eloped to Las
Cruces, New Mexico. Her
mother was not too happy
about having her daughter
“stolen away”, but let the
marriage stand. A month
later on December 7,
Pearl Harbor was bombed
and Loyd was sent to the
Philippine Islands shortly
thereafter. They were apart
for the most part of three
years during the war.
They had two sons, Terry,
born in 1943 during World
War II and Forest, after the
war in 1947.
Loyd stayed in the mili-
tary. Gae and her two sons
were on the first ship of
military dependents to go
to Japan after the Korean
War in 1952. In Japan,
Gae carried Forest around
on the back of her bicycle
passing rice paddys fertil-
ized with “honey buckets”
and shopping at the road-
side marketplaces.
When they returned to
the US they lived on Hol-
man Air Force base near
Alamogordo, NM and the
White Sands missile test
range. Dust storms were
common. Weekly trips to
a drive-in theater were a
family treat.
They spent three years
in France from 1956 to
1958. They had just pur-
chased a 1956 turquoise
and white Fire Chief Pon-
tiac which drew a crowd
of admiring Frenchmen
wherever they traveled.
Gae loved to knit and cook
and kept a spotless home.
She and Loyd loved play-
ing canasta with friends.
She was a loving wife and
caring mother for her sons.
After returning from
France, the family lived
in Biloxi, Mississippi and
Lubbock, Texas before
moving to Dallas, Texas
after Loyd’s retirement
from the US Air Force.
Gae worked in retail sales
at the Neiman Marcus
store in downtown Dallas.
She was at work waiting
at an upstairs window for
President John F Kenne-
dy’s parade to pass by, but
he never appeared as he
was assassinated just a few
blocks away on November
22, 1963. She worked at a
toy store, Toy World, as the
manager for several years
while living in the Dallas
area into the 1970s.
Gae and Loyd moved to
Oregon in 1980 to be near
their son, Forest, who lived
in Pine Valley. They were
well known as the couple
that walked all around
town. Gae was a member
of the Pine Cone Club and
the VFW ladies auxiliary.
She loved being out of the
big city in the peace, quiet
and friendliness of a small
town. They also lived in La
Grande for several years
before moving back to
Halfway after purchasing a
home on North Pine Street
in 2002.
Gae continued to be
an avid walker. She heard
carrying weights in your
hands while walking
would strengthen your arm
muscles, so she carried
canned food for weights!
Unfairly, a series of falls
over several years resulted
in her being confined to
a wheelchair for the last
five years of her life. It
was very challenging as
she was a very indepen-
dent woman, but she had
a strong will and tried to
make the best of it. She
had loving care from local
caregivers and family.
She loved nature and
her favorite past time was
watching birds at a feeder
outside her dining room
window that she always
kept full. Hummingbirds
were her favorite. She
loved dogs and had one
most of her adult life. She
also loved watching old
western movies and TV
shows such as Gunsmoke.
After Loyd passed away
in 2005, her dog, Star, a
poohuahua ( poodle and
Chihuahua mix) was her
loving companion and
center of her attention.
During the last year
of her life she lived at
Meadowbrook Place where
she was greatly loved and
cared for by her caregivers.
She loved watching the
TV series, “The Waltons.”
SEE OBITUARIES
PAGE 11