4 — THE CHRONICLE
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019
OBITUARIES
OPINION
OBIT UARIE S
April 21, 1923 –
Oct. 4, 2019
N o r m a n Wa l l a c e
Benton, known to many
of his friends as Norm,
departed for his heav-
enly home on Oct. 4,
2019 and now is in the
presence of the Lord.
Nor m was bor n
on April 21, 1923, in
Redmond, Oregon, to
Earle and Clara (Woods)
Benton, the youngest of
their seven children.
The family moved from
Redmond to Creswell,
Oregon, in 1927, and
Norman was a resident
of Lane County for 86
years before he moved
to Redmond in 2013.
Nor ma n g raduated
f rom Creswell H igh
School in 1940. While
still in high school, he
became a member of the
First Baptist Church of
Eugene. He regularly
attended church and
was a familiar face as an
usher, and for a time as
the clerk of the church.
He was a member of
First Baptist Church of
Eugene for 81 years.
After the outbreak of
World War II, he worked
in defense industries in
Bremerton, Washington,
and San Diego. Drafted
in 1943, he was assigned
to the U.S. Army Air
Corps and was trained
to be a B-29 bomber
ground crew mechanic
in California, Texas,
Illinois, Washington,
N e w M e x i c o, a n d
Kansas. He was assigned
to t he 870 t h Bomb
Squadron which arrived
in Saipan in October
1944.
A f t e r t he wa r i n
the Pacific ended, he
returned to the U.S. by
way of Iwo Jima and was
discharged at Fort Lewis
in time to reach home in
Creswell by Christmas
Eve, 1945.
Two years later he
went to work as a rural
ma i l ca r r ier i n t he
Creswell-Pleasant Hill
area, a job he held from
1947 until 1979. He
prided himself on his
ability to work quickly
and efficiently and his
fa m ilia r it y with the
people on his route. He
became an avid sports
fan, especially follow-
ing the University of
Oregon’s basketball and
track teams.
His military service
had taken him many
places and as a civil-
ian he continued to be
a traveler, first making
annual trips “back east”
Frank ‘Lowell’
Solesbee
Oct. 3, 2019 -
Feb. 23, 1940
Fra n k “L owel l”
Solesbee left this earth
Thursday afternoon on
Oct. 3, 2019 followed by
a celebratory Willamette
Valley downpour.
His 79 adventure-filled
years of loving life began
on Feb. 23, 1940 in
Murphy, North Carolina,
with his father Jerry,
mother Annice and 12
siblings.
Lowell’s short career
as an elementary school
boy wasn’t an indication
of the profound impact
his years on this earth
would have on so many
strangers yet to meet. His
home base of Cottage
Grove, Oregon for the
most recent 65 years is
scattered with monu-
ments of his ability to
perform a vast array of
manly wooden creation
and construction proj-
ects.
His reverence for wild-
life and wilderness was
ever present in his yearly,
11-month preparation
for hunting season. He
funded his relentless
passion for hunting big
game with a remarkably
skilled 60-year career
as a faller (logger). His
wo r l d - r a n k e d, m o s t
dangerous job left many
piles of brush, perfectly
cut stumps and countless
friends.
L owel l’s on ly t wo
mistakes in life were
smothered by his quiet,
end less k i nd ness as
a father to his lovely
daughter and two hand-
some sons, as grandfa-
ther to seven amazing
young adults and as
g reat-g r a nd fat her to
eight spirited children.
A mong a long list
of talents and lifelong
principles, he possessed
an ability to see past the
fog of religion and man’s
faults at times, to a deep
love of Jesus. He found
his church, his office
and playground in the
“woods.”
A Celebration of Life
and Reception will be
held at 10:30 a.m. on
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019
at New Hope Baptist
Church, 597 S. Front
St., Creswell, Oregon.
A r rangements in the
ca re of Sm it h Lund
Mills Funeral Chapel of
Cottage Grove.
Seasons never change the same way in Peggy
Bryant’s backyard.. Last year, the tree was smattered with soothing purples;
this year, a deep red, Bryant said. ERIN TIERNEY/THE CHRONICLE
The Columbarium
at Creswell Pioneer Cemetery is
located just west of town. Situated
in a beautiful historic cemetery
surrounded by Pacific Madrone
and towering old growth Douglas
Fir. Constructed of solid granite,
each private compartment fits up
to two urns and is complimented
by a solid-cast name plate and
optional vase. The Columbarium
provides a simple, lasting tribute
for family, friends and generations
to come.
Obituaries are printed for free
at The Chronicle. Email info to
Erin@Chronicle1909.com
Norman
Wallace Benton
to get a new car, but
soon beginning to set his
sights on further desti-
nations.
His life changed on
Labor Day 1948 when
he reached the summit
of his first mountain,
the South Sister. From
th is f i rst ascent, he
was hooked on moun-
tain climbing and began
tackling other peaks in
the Cascades in Oregon
and Washington, and
his beloved Canadian
Rock ies. By t he
m i d -19 5 0 s h e wa s
a c t ive l y m e n t o r i n g
young men and women
in the skills and disci-
plines of hiking and
climbing.
He t hen expa nded
the world of his climb-
ing. In 1964 he climbed
Denali in Alaska along
w it h s eve r a l o t h e r
members of the Seattle
Mountaineers. In 1965
he climbed the three
M ex i c a n vol c a n o e s
(O r i zaba, Pop o a nd
Ixty). Over the follow-
ing decades he visited
all seven continents and
reached the summits of
the tallest mountains
on five of them: Denali
i n No r t h A m e r ic a ;
Aconcagua in South
America, Kilimanjaro
in Afr ica, Elbr us in
Europe and Kosciusko
in Australia.
He
climbed
with the Eugene
Obsidians, the Seattle
Mountaineers and the
Iowa Mou nt a i ne er s.
In 1967 he was part of
the American-Japanese
Joi nt Exp e d it ion to
the Wrangall Range in
Alaska that made a first
ascent of Mt. Kobe, at
14,000 feet, the high-
est unclimbed peak in
Alaska.
Articles
about
Nor man’s ascents of
Denali, Mt. Kobe, and
other peaks throughout
the world appeared in
local newspapers.
In his later yea rs,
he continued to take
treks and simply travel
throughout the world.
Altogether he visited
more than 80 countries
in his lifetime.
Early in his climbing
years, Norman devel-
op ed a n i nterest i n
photography and always
traveled with a camera
in hand, thus captur-
ing places and experi-
ences. Many remember
his slideshows back in
the time before digital
photography. Norman
also wrote of his expe-
riences and those
accounts were gathered
into four volumes enti-
tled “The Adventures of
Norman Benton.”
He is sur vived by
12 nieces and neph-
ews living in Oregon,
Washington, California,
C o l o r a d o, K a n s a s ,
Michigan and Nor th
Carolina.
Creswellcolumbarium.com
123 S. 7th St. | Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-0185 • smithlundmills.com
123 S. 7th St. | Cottage Grove
P: 541-942-0185 | Smithlundmills.com
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P: 541-342-6853 | Sunsethillseugene.com
Creswell Cemetery Columbarium
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