FRIDAY, MAY 20, 2016
THE BAKER COUNTY PRESS — 9
Local & Entertainment
— Obituaries —
CONTINUED FROM
PAGE 2
John Steiger, Jr.
Though the path was
winding, John completed
his Bachelor of Science de-
gree and went to work for
Boise's Morrison Knudsen,
a company he was proud to
serve as a Civil Engineer
and Cost Estimator for
more than 36 years, the
vast majority of his profes-
sional life.
Those who knew John
can probably agree about
two defi ning features: he
was an amputee and he had
a powerful sense of humor.
The two were linked. John
lost his leg to cancer at 28
years old when given a
choice between the leg and
his life. Having faced that
choice, he committed him-
self to loving the life that
he had chosen. As he often
said, "if it sounded fun, I
would do it." During his
recovery period lifelong
friendships emerged and
John developed the boom-
ing laugh that is probably
still echoing through Baker
County.
John's life was for-
ever fulfi lled when he met
Leslie Olsen, a bright and
vivacious Baker City girl,
while working in Boise
for MK. They almost met
years earlier while John
was assigned to the Hells
Canyon Dam project. He
stopped into Baker on the
way to a holiday celebra-
tion, and two Baker High
teenagers noticed his Trans
Am. They followed him
through town, but couldn't
keep up when he hit the
gas on the edge of town.
Fate didn't give up. John
and Leslie met again in
Boise and married in Baker
on June 5, 1976. Daughter
Elizabeth joined them in
1977, and son Eric in 1979.
John's work moved the
family to Texas in 1990.
John and Leslie resettled
in Las Vegas in 1997.
Following John's retire-
ment in 2002, they reset-
tled in Baker City to start
the fi nal happy chapter of
John's life.
Relieved of the stress of
work, John was free to em-
brace his passions—learn-
ing, gardening, fi shing,
serving, and laughing. He
joined the Masonic
Lodge when he was 21,
and after retiring, became
active in Blue Mountain
Lodge #34 in Baker, even-
tually serving as Master.
He continued his Masonic
journey by entering the
Scottish Rite and becom-
ing a 32nd degree Mason.
He was a member of the
Baker Elks Lodge #338.
He engineered scooters and
other devices that allowed
him to move around his
yard, coaxing vegetables
and fl owers from the soil.
He read voraciously,
if slowly. He shared his
passion for learning with
others, and he worked
with literacy programs
and tutored youth. He
pestered locals for stories
and lessons from their lives
in ranching, logging, and
teaching. He enjoyed a
wide range of interests, but
he was most interested in
the people he met. He was
a member of First Lutheran
Church, and served on
the Church Council. He
made friends everywhere
he went and never knew
a stranger. Whenever
possible, he doted on and
bragged about his grand-
sons, Frederick and Otto.
John's Christian faith
as a committed Lutheran
ensured that he saw his
death not as a sad end, but
rather the eternal reward
promised to him by the
grace of Jesus Christ. He
was preceded in death by
his parents, his sister, and
his infant twins, Charles
and Arielle. He is survived
by his wife Leslie, daugh-
ter Elizabeth and son-in-
law Benjamin Cellar, son
Eric and daughter-in-law
DeAnna Steiger, and their
two children - Frederick
and Otto.
He also is survived by
his extended family includ-
ing Madelyn Olsen, Steven
and Sue Olsen, Kristen
and Carl Poteete, numer-
ous nieces and nephews,
and many close friends. He
was loved by a much larger
community of friends,
family, and acquaintances
who will feel his loss.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the First
Lutheran Church, Best
Friends of Baker City or
The Oregon Scottish Rite
Clinic through Gray's West
& Company Pioneer
Chapel.
To light a candle in mem-
ory of John, please visit
www.grayswestco.com.
Lila Mae Westrope
Baker City, 1925-2016
Lila Mae Westrope, 90,
of Baker City, Oregon
passed away on May 14,
2016 at Meadowbrook
Care Facility in Baker City,
Oregon. A
Graveside
service will
be held
on Thurs-
day, May
19, 2016
at 10:00
Lila
a.m. at
Westrope
Mt. Hope
Cemetery in Baker City,
Oregon.
Lila was born on October
2, 1925 to Ethel Cogswell
Stolsing in Stockton, Cali-
fornia. On February 11,
1941, Lila was married to
Kenneth Leroy Westrope
in Vancouver, Washington;
they were married for 54
years before Kenneth’s
passing in 1995.
Before retiring in 1990,
Lila worked as a cook for
St. Elizabeth Hospital and
the Powder River Cor-
rectional Facility. She was
employed by St. Elizabeth
for 25 years. Lila also
worked as a sales clerk
for the Big V department
store.
In her spare time she en-
joyed gardening, cooking,
baking (she made some of
the best homemade pies!),
reading, and spending
time with her family at the
cabin. Lila was a member
of the Nazarene Church,
the V.F.W. Ladies Auxil-
lery, and the Cowbells in
Bend, Oregon.
Lila had many proud
accomplishments in her
life, but her most trea-
sured were; being married
to Kenneth for 54 years,
working at St. Elizabeth
Hospital for 25 years, and
having a green thumb with
the ability to grow her
fl ower garden beautifully.
Lila is survived by
her daughter Susan and
husband Marc Mansholt
of Baker City, Oregon, son
Ken Westrope Jr. D.V.M.
and wife Pam of Ephrata,
Washington, grandaugh-
ter Savannah Wellman of
Baker City, Oregon, and
grandson Ian Westrope of
Seattle, Washington.
She is preceded in death
by her husband Kenneth
Westrope Sr., her sister Le-
ota Swafford, her brother
Delmar Stolsing, and her
friend Curt Medlin.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Heart
‘N’ Home Hospice through
Coles Tribute Center at
1950 Place Street, Baker
City, Oregon 97814.
To light a candle in
memory of Lila, please
visit: www.colestribute-
center.com.
City to begin fire
hydrant flushing
The Baker City Public
Works Department will be-
gin its annual fi re hydrant
testing and fl ushing on
Tuesday, May 17, 2016.
It is expected that the
testing will continue for
approximately two to three
weeks. This testing is
done annually to ensure all
hydrants are functioning
properly and are delivering
water at the correct pres-
sure and volume.
Through this testing/
fl ushing process small silt-
like particles may become
“stirred up” in the lines.
These are particles which
have settled in less active
water lines. Water may
appear yellow or cloudy
as a result of this fl ushing
process.
If your water has this
appearance, please run
your faucet full force for
fi ve minutes.
After such time, the wa-
ter should again run clear.
If your water continues to
be cloudy you may contact
the Baker City Water
Department at (541) 523-
6541.
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Bebe’s word search
The Littles’ crossword puzzle
Across
1- Bobby of the Black
Panthers;
6- Bonkers;
10- West Point inits.;
14- Chilean pianist
Claudio;
15- Gardner and others;
16- School orgs.;
17- Knot;
18- Took off;
19- Powerful D.C.
lobby;
20- Find the answer;
21- Aesthetic skill;
23- Dada pioneer;
25- That’s the spot!;
26- Jester;
29- Elvis’s middle
name;
32- Small hand drum;
37- Football’s Par-
seghian;
38- Stump;
39- Trojan War hero;
40- Iranian range;
43- Animosity;
44- Pianist Gilels;
45- No kidding!;
46- Cheerful;
47- Attention getter;
48- Take fi ve;
49- Compass pt.;
51- Admiral’s affi rma-
tive;
53- Numbed;
58- Strike ___;
62- Stir up;
63- Within (prefi x);
64- Leases;
65- Hungary’s Nagy;
66- Magician Henning;
67- Single piece of
information;
68- Honey producers;
69- Black cuckoos;
70- Rock;
Down
1- Droops;
2- Cube creator Rubik;
3- Asia’s ___ Sea;
4- Immature insects;
5- Swiss mathemati-
cian; 6- Refrain syl-
lables;
7- Superior to;
8- Long full robe;
9- Port of old Rome;
10- ___ the crack of
dawn;
11- Matinee idol;
12- Mother of Jesus;
13- Warbucks cohort;
22- “Fiddler on the
Roof” setting;
24- Fall guy;
26- Large drinking bowl;
27- Teheran native;
28- Molten material;
30- Grog ingredient;
31- Woodwind section
members;
33- Literary collection;
34- Light grayish brown;
35- Back streets;
36- Good point;
38- Drunken;
39- “West Side Story”
character;
41- ___ Tin Tin;
42- Hesitant sounds;
47- Knight’s banner;
48- Say again;
50- ___ lift?;
52- Fenced areas;
53- Stadium topper;
54- Land of Molly
Bloom;
55- Draft picks;
56- Needle case;
57- Canines;
59- I’m ___ you!;
60- Knock for a loop;
61- Salinger girl;
62- Josh;