A6
COMMUNITY/RECORDS
East Oregonian
OBITUARY
Delmer O. Crawford
April 29, 1924 — Oct. 4, 2021
Hermiston
Delmer O. Crawford of Kennewick, Jeff rey (Jean-
Hermiston, was born April Pierre) Correa, Brooklyn,
29, 1924, outside of Ione, on New York, Jerid (Toni-
the Oregon Trail
sha) Falconer,
to parents, Wate
Va n c o u v e r,
and Mabel (Phil-
Wa s h i n g t o n ,
lips) Crawford.
and Jana (Mike)
He died Oct. 4,
Topf, Pasco; 17
2021, in Hermis-
great-grandchil-
ton at the age of
dren and three
97 years. Delmer
great-great-
was raised and
grandchildren.
attended school in
Delmer was
Ione before join-
preceded in
ing the United
death by his
Crawford
wife of 71 years,
States Navy. He
Francine Craw-
served during
ford; a daughter,
World War II
Cyndee Falconer;
until his honor-
his parents; and
able discharge
seven siblings,
and ret u r ned
home and married Francine Ver non, Sam, Rollo,
Ely April 22, 1949.
Margaret, Melba, Harlan
They owned the Shell and Ruth.
We would like to give
Oil Bulk Plant in Herm-
iston and Pendleton along thanks to the Good Shep-
with several Shell service herd Medical Center
stations, following their staff for the kindness and
retirement from the oil busi- compassion shown not only
ness, Delmer worked secu- to Delmer but to our family.
rity at various agriculture
In lieu of fl owers, contri-
plants in the area for several butions may be made to
years. He enjoyed traveling, Vange John Memorial
farming and time spent Hospice Education Fund c/o
with his family. Delmer was Burns Mortuary of Hermis-
an active member of the ton, P.O. Box 289, Hermis-
Elks Lodge #1845, holding ton, OR 97838
several offi ces, the Eagles
A celebration of life
Lodge and the Ione Ameri- service will be held Satur-
day, Oct. 16, 2021, at 1 p.m.
can Legion Post.
He is survived by his at Burns Mortuary Chapel,
daughters, Marlene Bush, Hermiston. A private burial
Hermiston, and Anita will be held at the Hermis-
Kongslie, Kennewick; ton Cemetery, Hermiston.
nine grandchildren, Jona-
Please share memories
than Bush, Kennewick, of Delmer with his family
Justin (Susan) Bush, Elko, at burnsmortuaryhermis-
Nevada, Jocelle (Bert) ton.com.
Arrangements are with
Quinn and Jenee Bush,
Hermiston, Jacki (Darral) Burns Mortuary of Herm-
Moore and Loni Kongslie, iston.
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Thursday, October 14, 2021
Sending a message of gratitude, support
MARC
MULLINS
MARC’S REMARKS
I recently read an article on the front
page of the East Oregonian (“A place to
lay sadness,” Saturday, Oct. 9) about the
importance of hospital chaplains, and
the benefi t they provide for health care
workers in a time such as we are in with
so many COVID-19-related hospitaliza-
tions and deaths.
As an ordained pastor, I agree with
the premise of that article. With COVID-
19, we are in the throes of a very real and
serious threat to the physical, emotional,
relational and spiritual aspects of our
existence. I applaud the attention and
concern given to health care workers
who toil long and arduous hours, day in
and day out, to provide care for the most
vulnerable.
Having said this, I also have grave
concern for the patients who occupy
the bed spaces in fi lled-to-capacity
hospital rooms. In my role as pastor,
I’ve been called on in recent weeks to
visit patients in the last days of their
lives. In their fi nal hours and follow-
ing their deaths, I’ve been honored and
privileged to be present with family
members who want only the best for
their dying loved one.
Fortunately, here in Pendleton, we
have a crew of physicians and nurses
who understand the importance of
arranging it so that family members
can be with their loved ones as death
draws closer. I am so very grateful for
such wisdom, care and compassion that
is evident in our local teams of health
care staff .
Such is not the case in other places,
however.
Just two weeks ago my own mother-
in-law died alone, lonely and distressed
in a Tacoma-area hospital. Although her
condition was not COVID-19-related,
not once were any family members
allowed to visit her in person during
her six-day stay. For nearly a week she
remained isolated from those who knew
and loved her the most.
Imagine, then, the utter shock
when my brother-in-law received a
call from the hospital, announcing
her death to him and granting him
permission to enter the hospital to
visit his deceased mother.
“What? You wouldn’t let me see my
mother when she was alive, because of
COVID fear, but now that she’s dead it’s
somehow OK for me to come in and see
her?”
Understandably, all of us in the
family were more than a little angry over
this apparent double standard of a policy.
Ours is not the only family who has
faced such a tragedy. Countless others
can share similar experiences. The
reason I share mine is to bring recogni-
tion and appreciation to those health care
workers in our own town. Whenever I’ve
entered our local hospital as a pastor, I’ve
been welcomed by the staff as a part of
an important health care team. (Spiri-
tual, emotional and relational well-being
are important components of physical
health.)
Plus, I’ve witnessed allowances for
at least one family member per day to
be with their non-COVID-19 hospital-
ized loved ones. I invite you to join me
in sending messages of gratitude and
support to the doctors, nurses and other
health care workers who serve tirelessly
in our community each and every day.
———
Marc Mullins is co-pastor of the First
Christian Church of Pendleton.
Hermiston Seventh-day Adventist Church plans grand opening
By ERICK PETERSON
East Oregonian
HERMISTON — The
Hermiston Seventh-day
Adventist Church is back.
Havi ng completed
constr uction on a new
church building at 855 W.
Highland Ave. following an
electrical fi re that destroyed
the old building three years
ago, church leaders are
welcoming people to a grand
opening and dedication. The
celebration is Friday and
Saturday, Oct. 16 and 17.
Sid Rittenbach, chair of
the building committee and
a church member, recently
recounted his feelings about
the fi re.
“It was a discouraging
time,” he said.
The old building was
“gutted,” blackened and
destroyed. Much of the
building was reduced to
rubble, he said.
Other people felt the same
way, Rittenbach said. The
fi re, though, was not enough
to break their spirit. They
kept meeting for services,
moving their usual around
100-person services to the
gymnasium of their school.
The congregation formed
a committee in response to
their building’s destruc-
tion. They discussed, and
they started plans for a new
building. The new building,
which would end up costing
around $5 million, accord-
ing to Rittenbach, would be
larger and would include
addition features.
The new building, just
less than 24,000 square feet,
is an upgrade from the old
building’s 14,000 square
feet. It also has LED light-
ing that is programmable, as
are the heating and security
cameras.
“I’m sure that those who
built the old building do
miss it, but we are blessed
to have this one,” he said.
Dean and Karen Lifshay
have been with the church
more than fi ve years, Dean
as the pastor and Karen as
the communications secre-
tary.
Karen said the old build-
ing was nice and in the style
of other Seventh-day Adven-
tist churches. This gave it a
“familiar” feel, she said,
but there were drawbacks,
too. It did not have a fellow-
ship hall, and it gave little
space to the Spanish-speak-
ing congregation, which
meets separately from the
English-language services.
There is a chapel inside the
new building, whereas a
classroom held Spanish-lan-
guage services previously.
“We planned for growth,”
Karen said.
The chapel can accom-
modate 120 worshipers,
though there are only 40
Spanish-speakers in the
chapel group presently. The
main room of the old church
had capacity for 400, though
this number is mislead-
ing, she said. If there were
400 people in the service
hall, they would have been
tightly packed together. The
new sanctuary has space for
350 people in much more
comfortable seating, she
said. There also are rooms,
where people also can watch
the service.
“In theory, it’s around
1,000 people,” Karen said of
the potential total occupancy
of the church for a worship
service.
Karen said she likes
this “wider format” and
improved technology. The
new building is missing an
organ, which was present
in the old building, but the
other upgrades are more
than worth that loss, she
said. Besides, the organ was
not often used.