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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2011)
Mary Jane (Hall) Robb - 1924-2011 Mary Jane (Hall) Robb, 87, of Logsden, Ore., died Oct. 3, 2011, at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital in Newport, Ore. She was bom near Northville, S.D., on Feb. 21, 1924, to Hattie (Levig) Hall and Ernest “Harley” Hall. Around 1930, they moved to the Strand farm near For tuna, N.D., where they resided until the drought, the dust bowl and the Depression caused them to move west. Leaving everything but their clothing behind, they set out in an old Model T with another family to cross the Rocky Mountains, ending their journey at Toledo, Ore., where they resided briefly. They moved on to Bay View just north of Waldport, Ore., leaving there when it became evident (in the absence of the yet-to-be-constructed bridge cross ing the Alsea Bay) that Mary Jane would have to walk the train trestle that crossed the bay to attend high school in Waldport. They finally settled on a ranch near Logsden, Ore., in 1937, where they kept a herd of dairy cattle and sold milk to the local creamery. Mary Jane was valedictorian of her graduating class at Siletz High School in 1941. After graduation, she attended Linfield College in McMinnville and left there to return home in the summer of 1942. For a brief time, she resided in Los Angeles with her aunt and uncle. After returning to Oregon, she saw a newspaper clipping from a neighbor about a training program for Boeing Aircraft being taught at Oregon State University. In one term, she completed a three-year course in aeronautical engineering that allowed her to work for Boeing in Seattle. Her mother joined her in Seattle to work as a riveter, leaving her father at home on the ranch. In 1944, she met a sailor who had been badly wounded in the war and was being treated at one of the hospitals in Seattle. She and Sam Robb were married Dec. 14,1944. They moved to Cloverdale, Wash., and then to Glenwood, where Sam worked in a fish hatchery, eventually mov ing to live on the ranch close to Logsden in a home near Mary Jane’s parents. Sam became a logger and sometimes fished for tuna. Together they had a son, Harley Robb, and a daughter, Teresa Robb (Simmons). Sam and Mary Jane divorced in 1961. After being a homemaker for 17 years, Mary Jane went to work for the Lincoln County engineer and surveyor in Newport. She also was the secretary for the Lincoln County Planning Commis sion until she retired in the late 1970s, moving back to the ranch to live next to her mother and son. After the passing of Mary Jane’s heartfelt comforting writings will be very missed by many of us ... thank you By Arliss Chatterson Read by Levi Simmons at Mary Jane's memorial on Oct. 9, 2011 It’s like a sentinel that’s missing - just over the hill A voice beside me whispers, I’m still here! Let’s run up aside that rainbow and slide down the other side! Think that cloud will hold us? We’ll never know until we’ve tried! Oh! There’s Harley! Let’s go catch him! Look there’s mama, Holly too! So! Back to earth my little friend, it’s just not time for you. Silly mortal! Hey, Elvis! Wait a minute! Special message coming thru! Someone I love back on earth plans to lead God’s choir with you! I shall balance on a moon beam - and swing upon a star I shall rustle tree leaves in the wind; I am anywhere you are! I’ll share the secrets of God’s realm; just feel me in your heart; Listen close, my earthly friend - ’cause we are not apart! I’ll sit in council with our Lord; I’ll say good things of you! When it’s your turn, I will hold the gate so you can come on thru. I’ll pave the way in heaven; I’ll be your mentor once again, Remember, this is just so long, it’s not goodbye, my friend. Pizza Price Pizza, Pasta & More 541-557-2000 DiNE-IN OR DELIVERY Out tytMt ôccz .¿M* 2156 NE Highway 101/Lincoln City • Owned by Larry and Tina Little Tribal ID card gets you 10% off meal (excludes alcohol drinks and delivery fee) 10 * Siletz News • November 2011 her mother and later her son, Mary Jane continued to live on the same property that her family had loved since moving from North Dakota and she lived there with her cousin, Mary Ann Shipley, nearby keep ing a watchful eye on her until she died. Mary Jane, also known as “Mary” to some and “Janie” to others, was an accomplished writer. Her poetry was published many times and she wrote for her friends and loved ones. She also was a talented craftsperson with a vision and imagination to create beautiful things. She worked in lapidary, resin, copper, with wood lathes and fabric. She created amazing works of art on large wooden trunks. She could take ordinary things and make them beautiful. Her greatest joy was people. She loved people. She loved their sorrows and their joys. She loved the stories of their lives and she loved being part of their lives. She was preceded in death by her son, Harley Robb; son-in-law Frank Simmons; and her granddaughter, Holli Miller. She is survived by her daughter, Teresa (Robb) Simmons of Lincoln City, Ore.; cousin Mary Ann Shipley of Logs den; granddaughter Alissa (Miller) Curry and husband Brandon of Lebanon, Ore.; great-granddaughters Ary anna and Alexys and great-grandson Zachariah Nelson of Albany, Ore.; great-granddaughters Madi son and Sydney Curry of Lebanon, Ore.; nieces Barbara Jacobs of Sequim, Wash., and Bette Elliot of Rose Valley, Wash.; and nephews Bill Robb of Las Vegas and Bob Robb of Beaverton, Ore. A memorial service was held Oct. 9 at the Tribal Community Center in Siletz. Memorial donations can be made to Alissa Curry, c/o Teresa Simmons, 800 SE Jetty Ave., Lincoln City, OR 97367 to be placed in an account for the family’s 2012 Relay For Life team contribution. Thank You------------------------- from Teresa Simmons Thank you to everyone who attended Mom’s memorial service (Mary Jane Robb) - to those of you who sent good wishes, prayers and positive energy, for the cards and the phone calls and the messages. Thank you for the flowers and the contributions. Thank you to Bear Spirit for drumming and to the Siletz Royalty for The Lord's Prayer in Indian Sign. Thanks to Bud and Buddy Lane for the PowerPoint presentation. Thanks to those who brought the food, to Dan Lundy for officiating and singing and to those who went to the microphone and spoke. Thank you for being there either physically or in spirit. Thank you for standing with me and beside me. I know I must have the best support network in the world. Bless you all.
