2 Winter 2017 Applegater
OBITUARIES
Arthur Nelson Cauble
Michael James Kuzma
February 28, 1927 - June 9, 2017
September 28, 1946 - October 9, 2017
Arthur Nelson Cauble,
known as Nelson, died in
Roseburg, Oregon, on June
9 at the age of 90. He was
the seventh of 12 children
who lived on Missouri
Flat in the Applegate. The
Cauble family moved from
Missouri to Oregon during
the depression, and Nelson
lived here until he and his
brother, Robert, at ages 17
and 15, respectively, joined
the merchant marines
during World War II.
Nelson always considered
Applegate “home” and
visited often with his wife, Shirley.
Nelson learned to drive a 1931 Model
A truck when he was 12 years old. Soon
after, miners on the Applegate River hired
him for $3 an hour to transport all their
equipment from the river up a slick and
muddy road on the Cauble property.
Nelson raked in a total of $15, which
“suddenly made me the richest kid on
Missouri Flat Road.”
About five miles from Nelson’s home
was a popular swimming hole on the
Applegate River on the property of the
Meeks family. One day a family friend
in the middle of the river was screaming
for help. His daughter had a “death grip”
on her father and had pulled him under.
They were struggling to stay afloat when
Nelson jumped in and got them safely to
shore. The grateful father repeatedly shared
this story over the years, knowing Nelson
had “most certainly” saved his and his
daughter’s lives.
As a freshman at Grants Pass High
School, Nelson made the varsity football
team. Soon after, he left school thinking he
had “already learned all I needed to know.”
At 14, Nelson took a job with a sawmill
on Williams Creek and became a truck
driver—“one of my best jobs,” he declared.
He also worked for Bear Creek Orchards in
Medford stacking full boxes
of pears. Due to a bad back,
he quit after two weeks.
When he learned that a
bus trip from Medford to
Grants Pass would cost
$8, he walked across the
street to a used-car lot and
bought a “well-used 1924
Chevrolet coop” for $8,
which barely got him home
to the Applegate. Soon
after, he sold the tires off
the Chevy for more than
he paid for the car. Nelson,
a long-time car enthusiast,
bought, traded, and sold
numerous cars. He also survived his share
of car accidents, including flipping a Model
T in a stranger’s front yard, accidentally
shooting a hole in the roof of a neighbor’s
brand-new 1937 Chevrolet sedan, and
rolling a 1940 Buick sedan down an
embankment into Thompson Creek with
his parents and brother in the car. No one
was injured.
While working as a merchant marine
after the war, he met his future wife,
Shirley. When they married, they moved
to Pomona, California, where their four
children, Michael, Terry, Sandra, and John,
were born. In 1956 the family moved to
Orland, California, where he and Shirley
opened a successful flooring business.
Nelson joined the Masonic Lodge and
Shriners and was involved in the Orland
Volunteer Fire Department. In 1993 they
moved to Sutherlin, Oregon, where they
lived for 24 years.
Nelson is survived by Shirley, his wife
of nearly 70 years; brothers Robert (Janell)
and Donald (Jackie); sisters Bernice Row
and Rachel Buff; sons Terry (Phyllis)
and John; nine grandchildren; 17 great-
grandchildren; and three great-great
grandchildren. He was predeceased by
his children Michael Cauble and Sandra
Grimshaw (Steven).
Dennis Dragon
January 6, 1947 - September 25, 2017
It is with deep
sadness that the
family of Dennis
Dragon announces
his death. He passed
away unexpectedly
on September 25,
2017, in Williams,
Oregon.
Dennis was born
in Los Angeles,
California. He was
the youngest son
of world-famous
arranger, composer,
and conductor
Carmen Dragon and opera soprano Eloise
Dragon. Shortly after his birth, the family
moved to Malibu, where they became a
local fixture for the next 50 years.
At the age of five Dennis was “bangin’
on the drums,” with brothers, Doug and
Daryl, at the keys. From an early age, he
played in various bands. One of the first
bands was The Malibu Music Men Plus
One, featuring his neighbor, the very
young Natalie Cole as lead vocalist.
Note: See more obituaries
on page 21.
In t h e m i d -
seventies, he got
a call from his
brother Daryl to
engineer the first
Captain & Tennille
record at A&M
Records. The result
was a long string of
hits and a Grammy
award for “Love
Will Keep Us
Together,” which
was Record of the
Year in 1975.
These successes
opened the door to professional audio
engineering and producing gigs for many
years. When Dennis established his
own recording studio in Malibu, he was
“booked solid.” Among the many well-
known artists he worked with were Carole
King and Johnny Rivers.
In 1976 he formed the rock band The
Surf Punks and utilized all his talents
simultaneously. He produced, engineered,
drummed, sang, wrote tunes, and produced
videos for the band. The group was signed
to Epic Records in 1970 and had a “wild”
ten-year run.
Michael James
Ku z m a , a 4 1 - y e a r
resident of the
A p p l e g a t e Va l l e y,
passed peacefully on
Monday, October 9,
2017, at the age of 71
with his family by his
side. He is survived by
his wife, Gail, children
Michelle and Tim, and
three younger siblings,
Patricia, Kathleen, and
Joseph.
After graduating in
1964 from Junipero
Serra High School in
Los Angeles, Mike
moved to Vancouver, Washington, to live
with his grandmother and attend Clark
College. Having drawn a losing number in
the draft lottery, he enlisted in the US Navy
in 1967. He took his service to our country
very seriously, as he did with anything he
endeavored to do. After serving on the
USS Coral Sea off the coast of Vietnam, he
was transferred to New Jersey for further
training. He was ultimately stationed as a
flight services weather observer at US Fleet
Weather Central in Rota, Spain.
Mike reunited with service buddy
James Baxter of Weaverville, California,
and in 1973 married Jim’s little sister, Gail
(who spent much of her career teaching
our children at Ruch Elementary School).
Mike graduated from Humboldt State
University with a degree in geography, with
an emphasis in cartography. Maps became
a lifelong passion for him.
Mike and Gail became our neighbors
in Ruch in 1976. Mike went to work for
the US Forest Service doing fuels reduction
work. As always, Mike moved up the ranks
doing cartography, revising the “fire map”
for the Star Ranger District, and working
as a civil engineer technician. After several
years Mike left federal employment for
work at Allan Cartography of Medford.
While there, he helped
produce amazing
pictorial topographical
maps that are truly
beautiful. He then went
to work for the Bureau
of Land Management,
where he helped
develop the Hyatt Lake
recreation area. This
put him back outside,
which he loved. All
told, Mike logged more
than 27 years of federal
service.
Mike loved
hiking, camping, and
woodcutting and
always carried a special bag with him so
he could “carry out more than he brought
in.” He took his role as dad very seriously
and taught his children to read maps.
When his son, Tim, became interested in
soccer at age six, Mike was an avid soccer
dad and was soon coaching the team. And
when Tim got interested in snowboarding,
you guessed it, Mike was soon sliding down
hills with the best of them.
Mike was an early and long-time
organic gardener and avid recycler. He
believed in community service and was
a long-time member of our volunteer
fire department. As always, he moved up
the ranks and retired as battalion chief of
the Ruch fire station with over 18 years
of service. Mike had an extensive vinyl
collection and always enjoyed a microbrew
and good music. We will all miss his
amazing smile.
There was a celebration of life for
Mike at the Schoolhaus Brewhaus on
Saturday, November 11. To make a
memorial donation in Mike’s honor, please
consider The Nature Conservancy, Oregon
Public Broadcasting, or the Alzheimer’s
Association.
Richard Goodnough
richgoodno@gmail.com
In 1990 he moved to Montecito where
he married and had two boys, whom he
adored. He was truly happy in Montecito,
taking his boys down to Miramar beach
every afternoon.
In the final years of his life he moved
to Oregon to run his “dream studio,”
originally built by Steve Miller, at Pacifica
Garden in Williams. He quickly became a
local favorite and fixture in the community.
Local musicians coming alive around
him was a true testament to the amazing
effect he had on those with whom he
worked. Some local artists Dennis worked
with include Alice DiMicele, Intuitive
Compass, J.D. Rogers, and The Evening
Shades band.
In winter, he hopped over to Hawaii
for an extended stay with his good friend,
John Hunt. Body surfing, ping pong, and
sound gigs became his life during this time.
He loved the beauty and awesome power
of Hawaii.
To summarize Dennis Dragon’s legacy
in a single page is nearly impossible. His
journey spanned decades, but he was most
proud to be a father to his amazing sons,
Cody and Jack.
Dennis was preceded in death by
his parents and two sisters, Kathy and
Carmen, whom he loved deeply. Dennis
is survived by his former wife, Heather,
and their children, Cody and Jack, who
will continue to honor his life and cherish
their times with this extraordinary man.
A paddle-out to honor and celebrate his
life and passion for the ocean was held on
November 19 at Carbon Beach in Malibu.
Dennis Dragon was a revolutionary
and refreshing individual, and his
accomplishments were innumerable.
Growing up in Hollywood in its golden
era, he literally played a strong hand in
engineering the surf sound. Playing drums
was one of his earliest passions, followed
closely by audio recording and video
work. One of his bands, The Surf Punks,
had an immense influence in the surf and
skateboarding scene, to put it mildly.
I first met Dennis in Williams, Oregon,
shortly after we had both moved to the
area. While I was rigging an aerial silk at
Pacifica, he emerged from his recording
studio and proceeded to observe me
and make commentary. We had a nice
exchange, the first of many. He was one of
the few people I have encountered in this
valley whom I didn’t have to be concerned
about offending. We seemed to have a
similar sense of frustration and disgust with
the low-quality modern day and a shared
enthusiasm for the “old school.”
Later, when my band, Intuitive
Compass, began recording with him, his
commitment to the old school became
that much more evident, and working
with him in the studio was so refreshing!
He was not interested in making subpar
See DENNIS DRAGON, page 20