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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2018)
16 obituaries/classified ads january18 2018 In Memory of... Ellen Dell “Hope” Smith Nov 26, 1938 – Jan 2, 2018 Ellen Dell “Hope” Smith, age 79, passed away peacefully on January 2, 2018 with family present. Hope Smith formally of Forest Grove and Vernonia was born November 26, 1938 in Portland, Oregon to Bruce B. Wright and Leona Victoria Wright. Hope grew up in the Palmdale, California area where, at the age of 20, she met and married Ernest W. Smith, Sr. of Pink Hill, North Carolina. After a year of marriage Hope gave birth to her first son Ernest W. Smith, Jr. in Apple Valley, California. Hope’s husband was enlisted in the Air Force which took them to South Carolina where she gave birth to her second son James B. Smith. Hope and her husband separated a few months after the birth of her second child. Hope began a journey back west to Oregon where her family was now living, but made a stop in Missouri where her brother was stationed in the Army with his family. After several months Hope continued to Oregon where she made her home in Timber Oregon, where her father and step-mother were living. Hope moved around over the next few years living in Timber, Hillsboro, Forest Grove, and in 1970 moved to Vernonia. In 1973 while living in Vernonia Hope gave birth to a daughter Angel M. Smith. Hope was a very strong independent woman who worked whatever job she needed to in order to provide for her family. Hope worked as a bartender, cook, waitress, bar manager, cashier and even worked in a cedar mill. As a teenager in California hope was involved in two separate car accidents that she wasn’t expected to survive. Hope suffered severe head trauma in both accidents which later in life resulted in the development of dementia, which stole the last five plus years of her life. It was the dementia that finally lead to the decline of her health and, in turn, her death. Hope was preceded in death by her father Bruce B. Wright, her mother Leona V. Wright, step-mother Alice Wright, three brothers Bruce, Dale, and Marty, and step-sister Kathy. Hope leaves behind her three children Ernest W. Smith Jr. and his wife Robin of Vernonia, James B. Smith and his wife Vickie of Newberg, Oregon, Angel M. Smith and her wife Stephanie Ingraham of Salem, Oregon; grandchildren Jerrod J. Calhoun-Smith, Austin L. Smith, Taylor R. Smith, Sara J. Smith, Paige E. Smith; great-grandchildren Raegan Smith, and Wendell Smith; sister Laura and her husband Craig Kuhl of Hillsboro; along with dozens of nieces, nephews, and kids who knew her as mom. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, January 21, 2018 from 1:00-5:00 pm at the Fraternal Order of Eagles, 424 N 26th Ave, Cornelius OR 97113. The family has suggested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org/ donate). Rodney H. Price Rodney H. Price, 69, passed away January 2, 2018 in the Veterans Hospital in Portland, Oregon of Pulmonary Heart Disease. He was born July 12, 1948 to Mary Dee and Woodrow Price in Morris, Oklahoma. The family later moved to Coalinga, California where they made their home for several years. Rod later moved to the Vernonia area during his grade school years, living with his sister Billie and brother-in-law Jim on the family farm on Timber Road. He attended Vernonia Grade School at that time. After moving back to California when he joined the Army, Rod was sent to serve in the Vietnam War. He was a marine mechanical engineer in the 329 th Transportation Company. During this time Rodney was awarded the Soldiers Medal for Heroism for saving the life of a young Vietnamese girl from drowning. He also received the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. After leaving the service Rod moved to Portland where he met his wife Teri. They were married December 28, 1973. During their life together they had two children Rodney R. and Jennifer L. Rod was an American Legion member and served as Commander for about 10-12 years. Rod was a jack of all trades working in the oil fields, driving long haul trucks, and finally had his own Dump Truck and Exhaust Shop. Due to health conditions he finally had to slow down and retire. He enjoyed visiting with friends and acquaintances whenever he could see them. Rod was preceded in death by his step-father Lou, and his mother Mary Dee of Bakersfield, California; a sister Charlene of Glenwood, Arkansas; two brothers Roy of Bakersfield, California, and Richard of Taft, California. He is survived by his wife Teri, and daughter Jennifer of Vernonia, his son Rodney of Forest Grove; three brothers Fred, Ronald, and Steve all in California; one sister in California; and one brother John of Vernonia; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and a few great-great-nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life potluck will be held February 3, 2018 at the Cabin in Vernonia (Scout Cabin) from 2:00-5:00 pm. Please come and share your memories of Rod. Columbia County is Keeping it Local continued from page 10 ers, and other projects the campaign is focused on. “The webpage and directory are a free way for locals to advertise their businesses and it works when people use it,” explains Parvey. “The American Independent Business Alliance says that communities that implement coordinated ‘keep it local’ campaigns double the amount of money that stays in that community. Doing it county-wide is a little bit different, but we’ve been finding things that work. One of those has been the directory on our website that helps connects all of us.” The website was launched in May of 2016 and currently has over 350 listings. Parvey says use of the site has been growing exponentially as more consumers find the site and re- turn to use it as a resource. “In August 2017 we had 600 users on our website; that number spiked to 1,000 in Septem- ber,” says Parvey, “and we’re getting a reach of 5,000 each month. Growth is happening and it’s happening fast. I can see that people are going here, so businesses and community groups need to be listing themselves and their events on here. People are shopping on Natasha Parvey is working to strengthen Columbia County’s economy. A Trusted Name in Funeral Service Angel Memorials Headstones Fuiten, Rose & Hoyt Funeral Home & Crematory 2308 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove 503-357-2161 741 Madison Ave., Vernonia 503-429-6611 Granite Markers & Monuments 971-344-3110 Jeff & Kathryn Hoyt Locally owned in Vernonia Serving NW Oregon All Cemeteries Accepted Order drawing at no charge online Forest Grove Memorial Chapel 503-357-3126 www.angelmemorialsheadstones.com To sign the online guest book or to send a condolence to the family go to www.fuitenrosehoyt.com Family Owned & Operated Formerly Prickett’s Mortuary HELP WANTED Certified Medical Assistants needed! Full-time positions at Tillamook Medical Plaza, Vernonia, and Banks.Competitive wages and benefits.CMA and BLS certification preferred. Apply online at: AdventistHealth.org/trmc/careers 9-1-1 COMMUNICATIONS SPECIAL- IST Columbia 9-1-1 Communications District (C911CD) is conducting a hiring process for full-time 9-1-1 Dis- patchers (Communications Specialist) to join our training program as limited training slots become available. Log on to www.columbia911.com and click on ‘Careers’. For any questions call (503) 366- 6976. here and finding services they need.” Another project Parvey helped establish in June of this past year is a weekly radio show on KOHI 1600 AM. The Keep It Local radio show repeats Monday through Friday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. A new program each week, co-hosted by Christine Dahlgren and Parvey, includes interviews with three to four business owners and lead- ers of community groups to talk about what a certain business offers and what makes them unique, what is going on around the County, upcoming Cham- ber of Commerce or other community events... “anything that promotes the County,” says Parvey. KOHI broadcasts out of St. Helens and features news, sports, and talk radio focused on Columbia County issues. Parvey says while the reach is small – from Scappoose to Rainier and across the Columbia River into La Cen- ter, Woodland and Kalama, Washington – it can also be streamed online. KOHI donates the air time for the show, as a way for Keep It Local to fundraise for their programs by selling advertising. Parvey says that right now advertising on the radio show is by do- nation, so it can be a very inexpensive way for a businesses, especially new businesses that are just getting estab- lished, to reach potential customers. “Being on the radio show provides an opportunity and experience continued on page 17
