obituaries
Oliver E Smith Jr., 1946 - 2011 gloria Wiggins Dies at 54
O
liver (Ollie) Elgie
Smith Jr. died Nov.
23, 2011. Services are
scheduled Friday, Dec.
9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
at
the
East
Hill
Foursquare
Church
Youth Center, 50 NW
5th Gresham.
Smith was born May 8,
1946, to Oliver E Smith
Sr. and Alise Smith. He
attended school at St
Lawrence Elementary
and Mt Angel Seminary
and graduated from
Lincoln High School. He
received a Political
Science degree from
PSU. Smith and Oretha
were married Dec 26, 1997.
Smith worked for KGW 1966-1972; at
John Deere 1972-1979; Western Electric
1979-1983.
He was an aide to Mayor Bud Clark
from 1985-1989 and worked for
Express-It Courier Service from 1992-
1997. He was owner of Gresham Courier
from 1997-2007 and Spicers Paper
Driver from 2002-2011. Smith was a
member of the Teamsters Local 162 and
IBEW Local 48.
His community service included serv-
ing as a Head-Start board member; a
member of American Leadership Forum
Class 6; Billy Webb Lodge #1050- mem-
ber and exalted ruler;
and Smith was an
African
American
Men’s Club member.
He was preceded in
death by his father
Oliver E Smith and
mother Alise Smith,
his eldest son Oliver
Smith III and grand-
son
Andray
Minnieweather.
Smith leaves to
mourn his passing
Oretha Smith, Brother
Calvin Smith of
Seattle WA., daughter
Alicia Jean Smith of
Oakland Ca, son
Casey Alan Smith of
Beaverton OR, granddaughter Ayanna
Smith of Beaverton, OR. Ollie became
POPS to Archie Jr., Jerry, Michael,
Sherron, Russell, Audray, and Tracey
Minnieweather. Ollie was POPS, and
helped raise grandsons; Craig, Randy,
and Shaun Lambert, adopted by Oretha
prior to their marriage. Grand-children
Terrell, Tykiya, Shakiya, Meyaka,
Naelyn, Michael Jr., Madison, Russell
Jr., Aderia, DaVante’ Minnieweather,
Devin Cherry, and Najee Burkes.
Nephews Calvin Jr., David, Stephan,
Lucas, Phillip, and Tony Smith, Two
great-grandsons Randy Jr. and Quincy
Lambert.
G
loria Wiggins died on Dec. 1, 2011,
at the age of 54. She leaves behind
an exemplary legacy of dedicated
service to the Latino community in Oregon.
The Rosary was held on Tuesday, Dec. 6,
at St. Henry’s Catholic Church. Funeral
services were Dec. 7, at St. Henry’s
Catholic Church.
Daily Novena will take place at 5:30 p.m.
at El Programa Hispano beginning Dec. 8.
In lieu of flowers, donations of toys for El
Programa Hispano’s Las Posadas Christmas
event may be delivered to 138 N.E. 3rd
Street in Gresham Monday through Friday
between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. before Dec. 22,
2011.
Ms. Wiggins was a leader within the
Latino community and an advocate for low-
income families and children at risk. She
began working for Catholic Charities El
Programa Hispano in 2000 as a Case
Worker and became Division Manager of El
Programa Hispano in 2002.
Ms. Wiggins worked tirelessly to expand
and enhance the organization’s outreach and
services to the Latino community in
Multnomah County, lobbying especially for
policy changes to promote minority aca-
demic performance and to assist victims of
domestic violence.
In addition to her community work on
behalf of the Latino community, Ms.
Wiggins worked in partnership with diverse
communities to reduce disparities based on
race and ethnicity.
She was a founding member of the
Coalition of Communities of Color, and
volunteered with numerous community
groups, such as the Rockwood Urban
Renewal Committee, the Gresham Safety
Blue Ribbon Task Force, and Multnomah
County’s Fatality Review Committee.
In recognition of her outstanding work,
the
Multnomah
County
Citizen
Involvement Committee honored Ms.
Wiggins with the Gladys McCoy Award for
lifetime volunteer achievement in 2010 and
the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber of
Commerce with its Latino Community
Service Award in 2011.
www.
theskanner.
com
page 8 The Portland Skanner December 7, 2011
COME
EXPLORE