Siletz news /, February 01, 2012, Page 5, Image 5

Roy A. Downey - 1930-2011
Roy A. Downey, 81, of Siletz, Ore.,
died of a heart attack on Dec. 31, 2011,
in Newport.
He was born May 4, 1930, to Roy
and Mae (Adams) Downey on the Siletz
Reservation in Siletz, Ore. Roy attended
Siletz School and Chemawa Indian
School in Salem, Ore. He grew up in
Siletz and spent his young life as a logger
until a change in occupation to pipe and
tile manufacturing took him to Salem.
He married Mary Jean Speakman in
December 1950 and they raised seven
children together. They divorced after 23
years of marriage.
He married Charlene Gladden and
they remained married for many years
until her death on April 3, 2011.
He returned to Siletz within the past
year to live out his final days and spend
time with his family and friends.
He was a Korean veteran in the U.S.
Army but seldom spoke of the war except
to say that he was a gunner and was
responsible for making sure supplies got
through to his fellow soldiers.
Roy was an avid hunter until his
health made it impossible for him to par­
ticipate. He loved to travel the logging
roads and reminisce with his sons about
the days when he hunted the same areas
as a young man.
He enjoyed shuffleboard, snooker
and a good horseshoe game. He also
camped and traveled with his wife. He
loved to dance and listen to music. One
of his favorite songs was Chet Atkins’
Rosemarie. He named his eldest daughter
after this song.
He was preceded in death by his son,
Patrick Downey; a newborn daughter,
Rosemarie; brothers, Melvin Downey and
Kenneth Downey-Blacketer; and his wife,
Charlene Downey.
He is survived by his children,
Michael Downey of Lyons, Ore., Rebecca
Williams of Scotts Mills, Ore., Penny Bar­
clay of Depoe Bay, Ore., Scott Downey
of Mill City, Ore., Brenda West of Sandy,
Ore., and Kathleen Murders of Redmond.
Ore.; stepchildren. John Greer and Linda
Allen of Wichita, Kan., Linda Blaser
of Mill City, and Lorna Keyes, Angela
Dominguez, David Greer, Mel Greer and
Brenda Massey, all of Salem; siblings,
Ila Hoiness of Longview, Wash., Martha
Lockhart, Peter Downey, Blanche Tyler,
Deanna Howell and Charlotte Noble, all
of Siletz, and Tom Downey of Newport;
18 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren;
eight step-grandchildren; three step­
great-grandchildren; and many nieces
and nephews.
A memorial service was held Jan. 4
at Downey Hall in Siletz, followed by a
potluck at the Siletz Tribal Community
Center. His final resting place will be with
his parents in the Siletz VFW Cemetery.
Bateman Funeral Home handled
arrangements.
Medicare Part B, Part D notice
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums have increased. Those who currently
are enrolled and receiving reimbursement must send a copy of their premium to
Wendi Schamp at the Siletz Community Health Clinic as soon as they receive notice.
You can mail it to Siletz Clinic, Attn: Wendi, P.O. Box 320, Siletz, OR 97380
or fax it to 541-444-9678.
Trust Reform, con’t from page 1
Interior selected the members after a
ment after the Cobell settlement agree­
public solicitation for nominations and,
ment set forth resolution of a class action
in consultation with trust beneficiaries,
lawsuit regarding the U.S. government’s
evaluated the candidates on the basis of trust management and accounting of indi­
their expertise and experience in such
vidual American Indian trust accounts and
areas as government and trust, financial,
resources. The Cobell settlement will be
asset and natural resource management.
effective when all appeals are resolved.
Members were selected in accordance
Under federal law, Interior is respon­
with the Federal Advisory Committee
sible for managing 56 million surface
Act and will serve without compensation.
acres and 57 million acres of subsurface
Within 24 months, the commission
mineral estates for 384,000 Individual
is expected to complete a comprehensive
Indian Money (IIM) accounts and about
evaluation of Interior’s management and
2,900 Tribal accounts (more than 250
administration of the trust assets and offer
Tribes). Tribal trust assets include land,
recommendations of how to improve in
timber, grazing, oil, gas and mineral
the future.
resources. More information is available
Salazar’s announcement came in
at doi.gov/ost/about_ost/facts.html.
advance of the third White House Tribal
On trust lands, the department man­
Nations Conference on Dec. 2 at the
ages about $3.9 billion in trust funds and
Department of Interior. The confer­
more than 109,000 leases. For fiscal year
ence brought together leaders from the
2011, funds from leases, use permits,
565 federally recognized Tribes to hear
land sales and income from financial
from President Obama and build upon
assets, totaling about $400 million, were
the administration’s commitment to
collected for about 384,000 open IIM
strengthen the govemment-to-govemment
accounts. About $609 million was col­
relationship with Tribal nations.
lected in fiscal year 2011 for about 2,900
Salazar established the framework
Tribal accounts. There are currently
for the commission in a 2009 secretarial
156,596 individual Indian land allotments
order, which addressed the department’s
and more than 4.7 million fractionated
future responsibilities for trust manage-
interests.
Florence Griggs - 1920-2012
Sister Francella Mary (Florence
Griggs) died at the Marie-Rose Center at
Mary's Woods in Lake Oswego, Ore., on
Jan. 7, 2012. She was 91. She was a
member of the Sisters of the Holy Names
for 71 years.
Sister Francella was the daughter of
Lloyd Manley and Amanda West Griggs,
born on Feb. 5. 1920, the older of their
two daughters.
Her childhood would seem to an out­
sider to have been a sad one, for her father
died when she was 3 and her mother died
when she was 9. Their mother was admit­
ted to the tuberculosis hospital in Salem
the same day as her two little daughters
left their home in Siletz to enter Christie
School. Their mother had the happiness
ot seeing them in their First Communion
dresses just before she died.
Sister Francella, in her customary
optimistic way, remembered happily the
care and advice her mother gave her and
enjoyed the school and sisters at Christie,
where she stayed until her senior year of
high school. After graduating from St.
Mary’s in Medford, Ore., she entered the
Holy Names novitiate and made her first
profession of vows on her 23rd birthday.
After earning a bachelor's degree
in English and Spanish, Sister Francella
went on to become a much-loved high
school teacher at Holy Names Academy
in Seattle and Holy Names Academy
in Spokane, both in Washington; and
at Sacred Heart Academy in Salem, St.
Mary's High School in Eugene, Star of the
Sea in Astoria and St. Mary’s Academy in
Portland, all in Oregon.
At least three Holy Names sisters
feel they owe their vocations to Sister
Francella’s example. A wonderful cor­
respondent, she kept in touch with many
of her pupils through the years.
In the late 1960s, she turned her
attention to her cultural roots. The Tribe
to which her family belonged, the Siletz,
had been terminated decades before. She
joined a commission that, with the help
of Sen. Mark Hatfield and other Oregon
congressmen, resulted in re-establishing
the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
She became an esteemed Elder and
the oldest member of the Tribe, and served
as the grand marshal of the Tribe's pow­
wow parade several years ago.
Courtesy photo by Maria Westervelt
Sister Francella attends the Elders
Christmas Gathering in December 2011.
In her work she assumed some pres­
tigious positions, including executive
director of the Portland Urban Indian Pro­
gram, on the board of the Native American
Rehabilitation Association (NARA) and
professor in the Indian Center at Eastern
State University in LaGrande.
Every student was important to her
- from fourth-graders in New Mexico
to minority students at Jefferson High
School in Portland. She spent many years
in the Southwest working with American
Indian and Hispanic children.
In the Holy Names community, Sis­
ter Francella was noted for her cheerful,
unflappable personality, her good humor,
appreciation of all God’s creatures and
complete trust in God’s love and guid­
ance. She was always ready to help and
always ready for a good time.
Sister Francella is survived by family
members, the Siletz Tribe and members of
her religious community. Remembrances
may be made to the Holy Names Sisters
Foundation, P.O. Box 411, Marylhurst,
OR 97036.
A Mass of Christian burial was held
Jan. 18 in the Provincial House Chapel.
She was buried with her Tribal family on
the Siletz Reservation.
Arrangements entrusted to the care of
Riverview Abbey in Portland.
STBC offers entrepreneur class
Any Tribal member interested in taking a course on how to start a business
should contact Stephen Larrabee at the Siletz Tribal Business Corporation. He
can be reached via phone at 541-994-2142 or 877-564-7298 and by e-mail at
slarrabee @ stbcorp.net.
CTSI Jobs
Tribal employment information is available at ctsi.nsn.us.
Note: “Open Until Filled” vacancies may close at any time. The Tribe’s Indian
Preference policy will apply. Tribal government will not discriminate in selection
because of race, creed, age, sex, color, national origin, physical handicap, marital
status, politics, membership or non-membership in an employee organization.
CTSI constantly is looking for temporary employees to cover vacancy, vaca­
tions, maternity leave and extended sick leave. If you are retired, a homemaker
or a student and are looking for temporary work that can last from two weeks
to 12 weeks, please submit a temporary application for the temp pool.
February 2012
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Siletz News
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