Siletz news /, May 01, 2010, Page 7, Image 7

Aileen Chiodo, 1910 - 2010: Oldest Living Tribal Member Walks On
Aileen Chiodo was born Feb. 14,
1910, in Siletz, Ore., the fourth of
five children bom to George and Faye
Fitzpatrick. Her mother, Faye, was the
daughter of Charles Klamath and Harriet
Hunsaker, the granddaughter of Klamath
Annie and sister of Louis Klamath.
Aileen grew up on the banks of
the Siletz River bordering her mother’s
allotment by Medicine Rock. Like most
children at that time, she shared her fam­
ily s work - fishing and hunting with dad
and brothers, milking the cow, picking
berries (when the bears weren’t) and tend­
ing the garden.
When she was old enough to be child
labor, she worked in the fish cannery near
the mouth of the Siletz River. Armed with
a sixth-grade education, she left home at
age 13 and worked as a live-in housekeep-
er and nanny to a local family, a job she
described as near-slavery. During the next
five years, she cooked in a lumber camp
and was a waitress in a Seaside cafe and
in Portland’s Roaring ’20s nightclubs.
It was in Portland that she met and
married her first husband, Sam Miller,
then a radioman and later a lieutenant
commander in the U.S. Navy. They
traveled coast to coast and to Alaska,
pre-WWII China, Japan, the Philippine
Islands and Hawaii. Just before the 1941
attack on Pearl Harbor, they left Hawaii,
returned to the mainland and settled in
San Diego.
Aileen opened her own restaurant,
serving home-style meals to WWII defense
workers. Her sixth-grade education served
her well as she kept meticulous books for
her household and restaurant business.
Walter Lawrence Klamath
1930-2010
Walter Lawrence Klamath, 79, of Logsden, Ore., died from cirrhosis of the liver
on March 28, 2010, at his home.
He was bom May 18, 1930, to Katherine Marie Walter and Sam Lewis Klamath in
Logsden. He grew up on a daily farm in Logsden. He graduated from Siletz High School
and attended MIT for four years. After high school, he served in the U.S. Army in the
Korean War.
After return­
ing home, he
worked in sawmills
and in the woods
before moving to
Portland to raise
his family. While
there, he worked
in Custom Stamp­
ing as a pond man
and also created
his own business.
He married
Frances Ann Mc­
Cune in January
1983 and moved
back to Logsden
to his family land.
He worked for the
Siletz Tribe in the
Alcohol & Drug
Program and spent
the rest of his
life helping the
community.
He was a Trib­
al Elder and spent
his time helping to
restore his native
culture, beliefs
and spirituality in
his own communi­
Photo by Natasha Kavanaugh
ty as well as at the Walt Klamath is shown here at a luncheon in his honor last May.
prisons and state
hospital in Salem and elsewhere. He created “Singing Salmon Sweat Lodge” as part
of the rehabilitation program for his Tribe and it will continue as part of his legacy.
He was a member of several hunting organizations, The American Legion, Eagles,
Elks, Moose Lodge and served as a volunteer firefighter for Siletz Valley as an engineer
for 23 years. He loved to hunt, cut firewood for the sweat lodge and tell stories. He
also enjoyed country-and-westem dancing and the two-step.
He was preceded in death by his son, Clifton Dale Klamath and sister, Marie Spratt.
He is survived by his wife, Frances Ann Klamath of Logsden; children, Barbara
Jean (Roger) Klamath-Williamson of Spokane, Wash., Pamela Kay Legeau of Gold
Hill, Ore., and Lanette Rae Klamath; stepchildren including, Debra, Bob and Dave;
25 grandchildren; 25 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held March 31 at the Siletz Tribal Community Center,
with a reception that followed.
Affordable Burial and Cremation in Newport handled arrangements.
She wrote letters and notes in beautiful
handwriting and perfect grammar.
She was an advocate of workers’
rights and was one of the founding mem­
bers of the San Diego United Foods and
Commercial Workers Union.
Always striving and working for a
better life, she bought a house overlooking
San Diego Bay. She made it a home and
raised her son, Robert, there.
Shortly before her retirement, she
married her second husband, Joseph
Chiodo, and settled into a comfortable
lifestyle, happily caring for Joe, her cats
and her garden. She always had a beauti­
ful rose garden outside her window, often
saying it reminded her of Oregon.
In her last few years, she lived quietly
in an assisted living cottage and was the
oldest living member of the Confederated
Tribes of Siletz Indians. She passed away
on March 6, 2010.
Aileen’s 100-year journey took her
from being a little girl wearing a hand-
me-down dress and no shoes who waved
to the steamboat passing up and down the
Siletz River to being a self-made success,
a product of hard work, determination and
self-sufficiency.
Aileen is survived by her son, Dr.
Robert Miller; four grandchildren, David
Miller, Alan Miller, Joan Martin and
Thomas Miller; two great-grandchildren,
Dr. Linda Carr and Lisa Martin; and one
great-great-grandchild, Lisa’s son, Owen.
She also is survived by her nephew,
Dennis Tufts; his daughter, Cat Tufts; and
his son, William Tufts.
STCCF Advisory Board Recruitment
The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund Board currently is accepting
applications from Tribal members for a three-year appointment beginning June
2010 through May 2013. Applications must be received before June 4, 2010.
The Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund Advisory Board currently
is composed of seven members, including: Jessie Davis, Siletz Tribal Council
representative; Cheryl Lane, Nicholle Kessinger and Kurt Arden, Siletz Tribal
members; Karen Gerttula and Mike Holden, non-Tribal members agreed upon by
the governor and Tribal chairman and approved by the Tribal Council; and Jim
White, non-Tribal member selected by the Tribal chairman and approved by the
Tribal Council from a list submitted by the governor.
The Board is composed of unpaid volunteers who receive travel reimbursement
only for attendance at meetings and distributions. Other public relation events also
are eligible for reimbursement.
The Advisory Board meets quarterly (January, April, July and October) to
review approximately 100 applications received from chantable organizations or
local governments within the Siletz Tribe’s service area and American Indian enti­
ties or activities located anywhere in the United States for the following purposes:
education, health, public safety, gambling addiction, prevention, drug and alcohol
treatment, housing, the arts, the environment and natural resource preservation,
cultural activities, historic preservation and other charitable purposes.
Tribal programs are not eligible to receive contributions pursuant to the Distri­
bution of Net Revenues Ordinances and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the State of Oregon and the Siletz Tribe.
Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund
Advisory Board Member Application
Name:
Roll No:
Address:
City/State/ZIP:
Telephone: (Day)
(Evening)
E-mail:
Applications must be submitted by June 4,2010, to be considered for appoint­
ment at the Regular Tribal Council meeting in June. If you have any questions,
please contact Kelley Ellis at 800-922-1399, ext. 1227, or 541-444-8227; or via
e-mail at kelleye@ctsi.nsn.us.
May 2010
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Siletz News
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