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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
Hood River News, Wednesday, February 18, 2015 ROOTS A nd B ranches Jettes celebrate 50 years By MAIJA YASUI Losing two great guys The last few weeks have been difficult with the unexpected loss of two larger than life men, Bill Enyart and Leroy Nickerson. Bill Enyart was bigger than life in many ways. His fullback physique and scarred nose added to the legendary football tales told at Medford High School and Oregon State reunions. He was inducted into the OSU, Oregon and College Halls of Fame for his fetes on the football field that earned him an as- sortment of nicknames, Earthquake Enyart, the Giant Killer, and Buff. A spectacular professional career with the Buffalo Bills was knee jerked to a halt by a serious injury after only two years. Bill was a country boy at heart spending his for- mative years on the George Annala farm on the val- ley’s east side, above the banks of Neal Creek. It was here my husband and Bill became fast friends, although Bill never made a friend that wasn’t a best friend for life. They spent hundreds of hours hiking the forested hillsides looking for fishing hot spots. Bill’s family moved to Medford, the mecca of high school football, as Bill’s natural athletic abili- ty began to shine, leaving Flip to read about his friend in the sports section of the newspaper. They rekindled their friendship at Oregon State Univer- sity where Bill’s football rise to fame continued, but never got in the way of friendship. A few years later, when Bill’s football career with the Buffalo Bills was cut short, our growing families would meet at his home on the banks of the Deschutes in Bend so our kids could get to know one another. While others may have defined Bill by his football prowess Bill was much more. He was an academic all American, brilliant on many levels, a political animal, a father and a life-long friend. We only learned of his battle with cancer last week, shock- ing to think this bigger than life legend could be struck down at the age of 67. Flip picked up the phone and called his friend one last time. Bill’s death came on the heels of another shock- ing event, the sudden loss of Leroy Nickerson, an- other bigger than life man who left us much too soon. ■ the Gorge 41 years ago. T heir children are Christopher (Angela), David, and Kathleen (Bill), and the Jettes have five grandchildren. The Jettes are active in Lions Club, Lions’ Follies and Back Country Horse- men of America, and Mary has volunteered at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital for more than 20 years. The Jettes will cele- brate with a dinner on Feb. 28, hosted by their children. T RAVEL Continued from Page B1 ferences between the three children’s homes except for two things that were exactly the same: In all three homes, every single child, no matter how young or old, were in- credibly beautiful. They were filled with such love, acceptance, hope and joy. They were so amazingly pre- cious that it broke our hearts to think that anyone could have possibly aban- doned or abused them! And the second thing that was the same was we could feel Jesus’ life-changing love completely immersing every square inch of all three of these Christian orphanages. We were so moved and hum- bled by each child’s beauti- ful smile and infectious laugh and tight hug. We saw Jesus’ love in the humility, tenderness and gracious- ness of the staff. We saw His love in their eyes and smiles and how they held each child as if they were their own. To look at these children and realize they were in these Christian children’s homes because they had been cast aside as a burden, or abused in every way imaginable, hurt our hearts to the core. Every single child had a story that re- vealed the tragic crisis Guatemala and most other Central American countries are trapped in with the breakdown of the family, deeply-rooted corruption and the perverse evil that exists in the form of the drug cartels and their inhu- mane acts. As we left each home and tore ourselves away from the tight hugs of the kids, we gave a large fi- nancial gift to each director on behalf of Immanuel Lutheran Church to be used for the most critical immedi- ate need. They were all very grateful. As our last day arrived, Lynda and I packed up our suitcases, shared our love and appreciation with Uncle Willy for all his help, and took to the skies once more, this time heading not home to PDX, but off to El Paso, Texas, and a risky trip across the border to another drug cartel hotbed, Juarez, Mexico, and more visits to more wonderful Christian orphanages. But that’s a story for an- other time and place. Serving Hood River Daily! Monday - Friday: The Dalles • Hood River Call 541-386-4202 Portland, too! Guatemala City. They will be receiving their first children this fall. If you would like more information on this new children’s home, con- tact Pastor Jeff Mueller at 541-645-0191 or pastorj- mueller@gmail.com. Hear More Clearly In Noisy Places! LOOK! This size ad in the HRN 9 times for only $175 50 ! Call Liana at 541-386-1234 Free Demonstration * In your home or at our office * Hearing Aid Counselors 541-387-3277 924 12th St, Hood River SPECIAL ADVERTISING 2015 Call today to reserve your space in these Hood River News special sections! 541•386•1234 Ask for Liana, Kirsten,Jody or Chelsea HEALTH 2015 Health & Wellness Reserve ad space by: Wellness Feb. 20 A special publication of the Hood River News, April 12, 2014 Panorama 2015 Reserve ad space by: March 16 ■ COLUMBIA GORGE Visitors Guide DRIVE • HIKE • LEARN • CAMP • DINE • DRINK e: ap m – 2 A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE HOOD RIVER NEWS AND THE DALLES CHRONICLE April 15 ur sid st Cider Fest – 4 Visitors Guide 2015 Reserve ad space by: DOWNLOAD GUIDE TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE FOR INTERACTIVE CONTENT at in Fe Fe ed om B l o s s o m s ss To listen to much more detail about each children’s home and the precious kids Jeff and Lynda met, go to ImmanuelHR.org/#/media and click on the play button. Then scroll to the 2/23/14 message to listen. Postscript: Immanuel Church also sent teams to Tijuana, Mexico, Juarez, Mexico and San Salvador, El Salvador last year to learn from seven more Christian orphanages. Since then, the church has received a mirac- ulous gift of a million dollar car, once owned by singer/actor Pat Boone. They are using the proceeds from the sale of that car to fully fund their own orphan- age, called “Immanuel Chil- dren’s Home,” which is lo- cated in the heart of Tue&Thur Service The Dalles Hood River • PDX lo B ■ Leroy gave many of us that “just saw Santa” feel- ing; that special feeling of excitement of things to come, of caring and giving, of love and laughter, of the innocent playfulness of our childhood. We will miss his exuberance for life, his interest in explor- ing something new, his creativity, his playfulness and his love of Dana and music. Leroy and Bill were two bigger than life men who left us a legacy of how to live life in their own unique ways. We are thankful to have had them in our lives and been able to call them our friends. Fred and Mary Reghit- to-Westlund Jette of Mt. Hood-Parkdale mark their Golden Anniver- sary on Feb. 20. They were married on Feb. 20, 1965, at St. Cecil- ia’s Catholic Church in Beaverton, attended by Nick Lambing (friend) and Carol King (sister of the bride) Fred served as an Ore- gon State Police Trooper until retiring in 1992. Mary worked as a home- maker. They lived in Aloha before moving to Ashley Heck and Fer nando Murillo of Odell were married Aug. 23, 2014 at Highland Far ms in Mosier, on a beautiful summer day. Rev. Anna Car michael Submitted photo of St. Mark’s Episcopal of- Ashley Heck and Fernando Murillo ficiated as the 150 guests rillo (cousins of the groom), gathered for the outdoor cer- Grandpa Joe, and Kim emony. Cantrell (Aunt of the bride). The bride is the daughter Sarah Benson arranged of Dave and Jackie Heck of the bouquets and bouton- Hood River and the groom is nieres and family helped the son of Trinidad and Rosa arrange the bouquets of Murillo of Snowden, Wash. flowers grown by family and The bride’s sister Andrea friends. Mark Whitehead of Heck and Kara Graves were Ahi’s Ohana Catering pro- Matron of honor. Jessica vided a feast for dinner. Russum, Katie Pritchett, Pauline Koll made local fruit Jennifer Meresse, and Kim pies and Jennifer Bloom Hoctor were bridesmaids. made the wedding cake. Josh The grooms brother Angel Duffus and cousin Jason Murillo and Dean Russum Fisher photographed the were Best Men. Chris Hask- wedding day. ins, Sam Murillo, Andy Mer- Dave Tallman and Natasha esse, and Jake Wilkes were Muenzer (cousin of the groomsmen. bride) sang at the reception. Ring bearers were Devin Fernando is employed at Russum and Lane Meresse. GS Long of Oregon and Ash- Flower girls were Hailee ley is employed at Ahi’s Heck (niece of the bride), Ohana Catering and home Madison Russum and health care. Also, she is a vol- MacKenzie Hoctor. Grand- unteer EMT for the Wy’east parents of the bride are Joe Fire Department. and Agnes Heck of Baker The newlyweds honey- City. mooned on the Yucatan Scripture readers were Peninsula and reside in Sam Murillo and Patty Car- Odell. 2014 We came to know Leroy in the last three decades of his life, when he moved to Hood River to work with the telephone company. He was never the stereotypical corporate executive, distant and stuffy. He dressed casually, played in a rock and roll band, and sought adventures in business and recreation. You were could always be comfortable around Leroy although his intelligence on so many subjects could astonish even the brightest among us. None of us expected his life to be cut short at the age of 64. He was a lean athletic machine, a non- smoker, moderate drinker, who lived life with the honest expectation that he would match his mother Ollie’s longevity, enjoying life into his nineties. From a preventative standpoint, Leroy was check- ing off all the long lived boxes, making his sudden death all the more painful but giving us a greater appreciation for each of the days of life we are given. The vast number of people who filled every nook and cranny of the Tribute Center, overflowing onto the lawn, were a testament to his ability to estab- lish and maintain relationships in an age when face book friendships are a dime a dozen. Tales of wild road trips in a lemon yellow van he personally “restored” its tires rolling off on a Corvallis road added a youthful ex- uberance to the man I knew. Leroy’s love for fun was legendary. He would dress up in one wacky costume or another at the drop of a hat, for Hal- loween or birthday par- ties. He was a Nordic fix- ture at the annual St. Urho’s Day parade. Leroy in the St. Urho’s The dream that so Day parade, 2003. many young men of the sixties and seventies shared, of starting a garage band and making it “big” like the Grateful Dead or the Beatles Leroy lived across a fifty year span. Making it big in Leroy’s music terms was not about signing con- tracts with a music label, but enjoying music with his family, friends and fans. In the early eighties Flip and I were stepping out in the Hood River dance scene with friends Aki and Cliff Nakamura, Lil and Koe Nishimoto, Tom and Kaz Sumoge. It was in the back room of Jack’s Chi- nese Restaurant that we began our friendship with Dana and Leroy through the music of Larkspur. There is nothing like Proud Mary to get everyone on their feet. Rollin’ on the river. No one on the music scene was rocking the house better than Larkspur. It was an honest to goodness feel good time, without the booze, drugs and fights. We retired our dancing shoes as our children’s sports and school activities took over our lives but we occasionally pulled them out of the closet for a Columbia Gorge Center (Opportunity Connections) or Sister City fund raiser where Larkspur filled the dance floor and the nonprofit coffers. Larkspur played for so many local non-profits that their music became synonymous with service. “People on the river are happy to give.” Leroy and Dana became a fixture at our family Christmas Eve parties. Our kids and later our grandkids became some of their surrogate children as did an assortment of children across the valley. Although initially apprehensive of playing the role of Santa, Leroy brought great joy to the grandkids by making several surprise appearances on Christ- mas Eve. The look on Cooper’s face was priceless. That squeal of delight, saucer sized eyes incredu- lous as Santa strolled up to the front door of Grand- pa and Grandma’s house. Submitted photo Mary and Fred Jette Heck, Murillo marry AND B2
