Vernonia Freedom—Page 7
Thursday October 1,1981
OBITUARIES
Charles Dean McMaster
Charles Dean McMaster, 53, who
had been a resident of Vernonia since
1971 died very suddenly early
Sunday, September 20 in Vernonia.
Mr. McMaster was born in Rolla,
North Dakota on November 21,1927,
Emily Helen King
Emily Helen King, 88, a long time
resident of Vernonia, died suddenly at
her home, Tuesday, September 22.
She was born in Reardan,
Washington, the daughter of the late
William and Kate Hamilton Childs.
She spent her early life in Reardan
where she received her education. On
June 15, 1912 she married Harry L.
King who preceeded her in death.
Mrs. King was an avid golfer and
was a member of the Vernonia Ladies
Golf Club and had the distinction of
winning the Cascade Ladies Golf
Championship at Forest Hills in
1932. Other interests included her
family and fishing. She also helped
her son, Bob, in the King grocery
store until her retirement in 1972.
Survivors include her two sons,
Robert and Earl of Vernonia and four
grandchildren,
Bill
Howard,
Christina King Redmond, Marilyn
King Fennel and Don King.
Funeral services were held Friday,
September 25 at 1:30 pm at the
Fuiten Mortuary Chapel in Vernonia,
with the Rev. Russ Vinyard, pastor of
the Vernonia Christian Church,
officiating. Committal services and
vault interment were in the Vernonia
Memorial Cemetery.
The family suggests contributions
to the Vernonia Cemetery fund.
the son of the late Charles and Mary
McMaster. He spent all of his early
life and received his education in
Rolla and was married to Donna Wick
on May 27, 1961 in Bowbells, North
Dakota.
In 1947 he moved to Bismark,
North Dakota where he worked as a
salesman. In the early 1950’s he
moved to Spokane where he lived
until 1960 at which time he returned
to North Dakota, settling in
Bottinenau. While living in
Bottinenau he worked in heavy
construction.
In 1966 he and his family moved to
Portland and Mr. McMaster worked
painting the Astoria bridge. In 1968
they moved to Anchorage, Alaska
where he was injured in an industrial
accident causing him to take an early
retirement.
Mr. McMaster was a member of the
Vernonia Bible Church and enjoyed
hunting and fishing.
Survivors include his wife, Donna
McMaster, ar I his mother, Mary
McMaster, both of Vernonia, four
children, Jeffery of Beaverton and
Allen, . Tammy and Candice
McMaster, all of Vernonia.
Additional survivors include four
sisters, Mrs. Joyce Urdrian, Spokane,
Wash., Mrs. Fred (Margaret) Ehr,
North Dakota,
Mrs.
Henry
(Louwanda) Quasbarth, Vancouver,
Wash, and Mrs. Donald (Norma)
Peterson of Douglas, Alaska.
Funeral services were held
Thursday, September 24 at 2 pm at
the Vernonia Bible Church with Rev.
D.J. Dickey officiating. Concluding
rites and vault interment were at the
Vernonia Memorial Cemetery.
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Lesta Gamer
Lesta Garner, 77, one of the most
knowledgable people regarding
Vernonia area history (and who, in
June of this year had completed and
had published a book on Columbia
County _ history,) died Sunday,
September 20 at a Milwaukie, Oregon
hospital after suffering a heart attack
while visiting friends at Milwaukie.
Funeral services were held at the
Fuiten Mortuary Chapel in Vernonia
Thursday, September 24 at 11 am
with the Rev. Steve Hopper, pastor of
the Vernonia Evangelical Church,
officiating. Concluding rites and
interment were at the Vernonia
Memorial Cemetery.
Mrs. Gamer was herself a true
member of the earliest Vernonia
pioneers as her mother’s family,
Henry and Catherine VanBlaricom
with their four sons and two
daughters were the first settlers to
homestead in the Upper Nehalem
Valley where the city of Vernonia is
now located. They took up their
homestead in 1874 and then her
father, Judson Weed came into the
area and took up a homestead four
miles up the Nehalem River toward
Timber in 1878 when there were still
only eight families in the area and in
1879 he married one of the
VanBlaricom daughters and they
settled bn his homestead.
Mrs. Gamer was bom at Philomath
on October 6, 1903 while the family
was living there to permit the older
children in the family to be educated
at the United Brethem College there.
She moved with her family back to
Vernonia a short time later and
received all of her early education in
the Vernonia schools and then
graduated
from
Willamette
University. She returned to Vernonia
and taught school here for several
years and was married at the family
home to Edward Gamer October 24,
1926.
With the exception of five years
they spent at Wagontire and other
Oregon communities they spent all of
their married years in Vernonia and
Mr. Gamer died here in February
1970.
Mrs.
Garner
had
been
correspondent and feature writer for
the Vernonia Eagle newspaper from
1954 until she retired in 1969. She
had written feature articles on early
Vernonia area history for a number of
publications since her retirement and
provided considerable historical
articles when the Vernonia paper
published a special 75th anniversary
edition.
Mrs. Gamer had been a longtime
active member of the Vernonia
Evangelical Church and of the
Pythian Sisters and Rebekah Lodges
in Vernonia and had served in many
capacities including being a Past
Grand Chief of the Pythian Sisters
Lodge of Oregon. V*
Surviving is a son, Larry Gamer,
Salem; three grandchildren, Susan
Garner, Monmouth; Brad Gamer
with the U.S. Air Force in England
and Karl Gamer, Vernonia and a
great-grandson, Paul W Gamer of
England. The family suggests
contributions to the Pythian Home at
Vancouver?