COMMUNITY
Saturday, April 23, 2022
East Oregonian
A7
Happy Canyon honors volunteers for 2021, 2022
By JOHN TILLMAN
East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Happy
Canyon recognized the work
of volunteers with the return
of its Volunteer Appreciation
Awards Banquet.
The
organization
honored 2021 and 2022
winners Wednesday night,
April 20, because the pandemic
prompted the cancellation of
the event last year.
The 2021 honorees were
makeup artist Ingrid Thamert
of Adams and dancer Mitzi
Rodriguez of Pendleton.
Actor Morning Owl of Pilot
Rock was joined by his fellow
2022 award winners, servers
Dave and Shirley Baird of
Pendleton. The awards dinner
was in the Happy Canyon
Room of the Convention
Center.
Happy Canyon President
Kenzie Hansell said current
and past board directors
selected the award recipients
through a nomination and
voting process.
“All volunteers are Happy
Canyon’s backbone and the
reason why (the event) is
celebrating its 106th year,”
he said,
Allen Waggoner, former
Happy Canyon president, was
the master of ceremonies.
“We recognize that it takes
all of us, no matter how small
Happy Canyon/Contributed Photo
Actor Thomas Morning Owl of Pilot Rock, left center, displays his 2022 Happy Canyon Appre-
ciation Award during the organization’s event Wednesday, April 20, in Pendleton to honor its
volunteers. Happy Canyon President Kenzie Hansell, left, and 2022 Happy Canyon Princesses
Samantha Craig-Allen of Pendleton, right, and Marley Johnson of Portland, far right, fl ank
Morning Owl.
the part, to put together all
the pieces of the puzzle and
make a beautiful show, year
after year,” he said.
Thamert’s participation
began in parades as a member
of the Helix marching band.
She has applied makeup in
the small room under the
grandstands for 31 years. She
has loved watching the cast
grow up through the years,
and enjoys the joking and
fun which show participants
bring into the room every
night.
“Kids we started putting
makeup on, like freckles, now
have diff erent parts and kids
themselves,” Thamert said. “I
love seeing the families pass-
ing down roles.”
Rodriguez led the Night
Show’s Welcome Dance for
the Lewis and Clark party for
21 years. Her grandmother
Anna Minthorn Wannassay
helped Roy Raley write the
script for Happy Canyon in
1916.
“Eve r y t i me M it z i
performs in the show her
grandmother helped write,
she continues the beautiful
history of what both Anna
and Roy preserved for us
IRRIGON — For an
opportunity to sell items that
have been gathering dust in
your garage, consider joining
the community-wide yard sale
in Irrigon.
People are invited to submit
their name/address to be added
to the map. In addition, vendor
space is available at the Irri-
gon Pavilion, Northeast Main
Avenue — tables are $15.
The event is May 7, 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m. To reserve a space
or to provide yard sale infor-
mation, contact the Irrigon
Chamber of Commerce at
541-626-2045, irrigoncham-
berofcommerce@outlook.com
or stop by the chamber offi ce
Tuesday through Thursday,
1-3 p.m. at 420 N.E. Main Ave.
SDA pastor to share
lesson from I Peter
HERMISTON — Pastor
Kent Knight invites people
to join him as he presents a
lesson from I Peter 3:18-22,
which refers to Christ preach-
ing to “the spirits in prison.”
The free event is Saturday,
April 30, 11 a.m. at the Herm-
iston Seventh-day Adventist
Church, 855 W. Highland
Ave. A question and answer
period will follow. Those in
attendance also are invited to
stay for lunch.
Knight holds a master
of divinity and a bache-
lor’s degree in behavioral
science with an emphasis on
anthropology. He will share
what the passage means to
Seventh-day Adventist Chris-
tians who believe the dead are
truly dead — body, mind and
spirit — until Jesus returns.
For more information,
email Knight at bjkknight@
hotmail.com or call the
church at 541- 567-8241.
Presbyterian church
cancels chili feed
PEN DLETON — A
chili feed to support West-
minster Woods Day Camp/
Vacation Bible School has
been canceled.
The event, which was to
be held May 6 at the Pend-
leton First Presbyterian
Church, may be rescheduled
in the future — or a simi-
Steven Joe Myers
October 17, 1950 - April 16, 2022
Steven Joe Myers was born in
Pendleton, Oregon, on Oct. 17,
1950, to parents Clarence and
Naomi (Nunn) Myers. He passed
on to heaven April 16, 2022,
surrounded by his family.
While living with his parents,
they traveled the world serving the
U.S. military. Steve graduated high
school in Richmond, Kentucky,
then worked for the FBI in Washington, D.C., and later
made his home in northeast Oregon.
Steve made growing crops his career as a center
pivot technician while raising his family in Boardman.
He later retired in Stanfield, where he enjoyed gardening,
rock hunting and adventuring in the scenic northwest.
Steve is survived by his wife of 43 years,
Roxie (Fuller) Myers; and four children and families,
Anthony and Sarah (Myers) Scott, Farmington
Minnesota; Alicia Myers, Salem Oregon; Henry and
Ashlee Myers, Hermiston Oregon; and Anthony
and Carrie (Laird) Myers, Albany Oregon; and six
grandchildren, Spencer, and his wife, Heather; Wyatt,
Adelaide, Dimitri, Henry II and Isabella.
lar fundraising event might
be planned. For questions,
contact Alison Moses, offi ce
manager, at 541-276-7681 or
fpcp@pendletonpresbyte-
rian.com.
Nazarene church
hosts yard sale
HERMISTON — In an
eff ort to raise money for a
July mission trip to build a
and Clark scene. His entrance
was on the back of Veva Bill,
playing Sacajawea.
“Whoever had a baby
volunteered for the scene,”
Morning Owl said.
Waggoner said Morning
Owl in more than 55 years
has played parts through-
out the show, including in
the wedding and war party
scenes and lastly as a key
drummer and singer in those
scenes.
Mor n i ng O wl also
narrated the show in the
late 1990s and helped with
changes and additions in
2000 to 2001, Waggoner
continued. His grandfather
George Spino, as well as other
family members, acted and
sang in the show, and at least
fi ve generations of his family
have been participants.
“He missed acting in the
show for only a few years,
including those he served in
the U.S. Army,” Waggoner
said.
“I’d like to dedicate this
award to those not here
tonight,” Morning Owl said.
He also said because
of Happy Canyon the
tribal Wedding Dance was
preserved.
“The rewrite integrated
it into the show,” he said.
“Without being incorpo-
rated, it probably would
have been lost.”
Heidi Kelly
COMMUNITY BRIEFING
Irrigon chamber
plans community
yard sale
all,” Waggoner said.
Rodriguez said her partic-
ipation began in Round-Up
as a child, helping set up the
tepees, before becoming a
dancer.
“I will continue as long as
I’m physically able,” she said.
“On with the show.”
Waggoner said t he
Bairds have served since
the 1980s and more recently
13 consecutive years for the
Happy Canyon Co. during
Round-Up week.
“Their hard work and
service begins every year at
the Kick-Off Concert sell-
ing scrip, the two nights of
Extreme Bulls and ends in all
four nights working behind
Goldie’s Bar,” he said. “They
faithfully stand on their
feet serving people from all
over the world for seven full
nights. This is just one of the
reasons Dave and Shirley
have earned the award.”
“I never knew my wife
to be at a loss for words,”
Dave Baird said. “We’re very
humbled to be selected from
hundreds of hard-working
volunteers.”
Waggoner introduced
Morning Owl with the story
of his break into acting as a
baby. His career began in
1963, when he was 7 months,
portraying Jean Baptiste
Charbonneau in the Happy
Canyon Night Show’s Lewis
April 28, 1973 to April 5, 2022
church in Honduras, Hermis-
ton Church of the Nazarene is
holding a yard sale.
People are invited to
come shop for treasures
Saturday, April 23, 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m. at the church, 1520
W. Orchard Ave., Hermis-
ton. For more information
about the mission trip, visit
www.hermnaz.church or call
541-567-3677.
— EO Media Group
Sharon Johnson
May 18, 1935 - April 19, 2022
Sharon was born May 18, 1935,
in the old Walla Walla General
Hospital to Don and Elene (Tootie)
Olinger. She lived on Upper Dry
Creek Road north of Weston,
Oregon, until age 18.
After
graduation
from
McLoughlin High School in 1953,
she started work at the Bank of
Commerce. On Sept. 24, 1953, she
married Joseph Roff and lived in
Milton-Freewater, Oregon. During the course of their
marriage, she had three children — Debbie, Dixie and
Don. She began working part time at the bank for the
next 20 years as it was more important for her to be a
stay-at-home mom to raise her three children.
In 1980, Joe and Sharon were divorced. Two years
later, she married Don Johnson in August 1982. They
built a two-story house off Blalock Pond near College
Place, and moved in to the completed home in February
1983. They sold Don Johnson Plumbing, and developed
Don Johnson Sales into one of the largest horse and
cargo trailer dealerships in the Northwest. She retired
from the business in 1992, but kept an active interest in
the trailers and visited the lot almost every day.
She belonged to several organizations such as the
Blue Mountain Riders, Walla Walla Wagon Wheelers,
Milton-Freewater PEO, Pythian Sisters and was a
member of the College Place Presbyterian Church.
She enjoyed horses, having had them all of her life,
and rode on the Chief Joseph Appaloosa trail ride for
29 years in a row, riding 100 miles in a week. Home
cooking was another of her passions, especially with
Dutch ovens.
She loved her family who had all been supportive,
especially after the death of her husband, Don, in
January 2010.
She is survived by three children, Debbie Miller
(Dave), Dixie Aichele, (Gary) and Don Roff; four
grandchildren, Justin Guild, Tiffany Klein, Nicole
Kallstrom and Wilder Taylor Roff; three great-
grandchildren, Brooklyn Klein, Silas Klein and Kadima
Kallstrom; one brother, Jasper Olinger; and two
nephews, Ike Olinger and Jason Olinger.
Memorial services will be held at the College
Place Presbyterian Church on Friday, May 6 at 3 p.m.
Any donations in her memory may be made to the
Blue Mountain Humane Society or the College Place
Presbyterian Church.
Heidi Kelly went to be with the
Lord on April 5, 2022, in Salt Lake
City, Utah, due to complications in
surgery. She was born in Pendleton,
Oregon, the daughter of Lanny and
Lois Cooper.
Heidi graduated from PHS
in 1991, went to BMCC for one
year and transferred to Boise State
where she received her degree in
graphic design. She loved her field
and began that journey at Cougar Mountain Software.
From there, she went to Albertson’s corporate, Critical
Mass, Oliver Russell, CLM and her present position
as creative director for Power Engineering, a job she
loved so much as well as her co-workers.
In 1995, she married the love of her life, Sean Kelly.
On May 25, 2005, they were blessed by a son, Ronan
Kelly.
Heidi is survived by her husband, Sean, son, Ronan,
parents, Lanny and Lois Cooper, brother, Erik Cooper
and sister, Kiersten Cooper.
A memorial service will be held April 30 at 1 p.m. at
Eastwind Community Church, 4750 S Surprise Way,
Boise, Idaho.
In lieu of flowers a scholarship fund has been
established for Ronan Kelly. Donations may be
made thru mealtrain.com or checks can be made to
Sean Kelly, Dennis Technical Center, Ronan Kelly
Scholarship Fund, 3324 S Milwaukee Street, Suite 110,
Boise, Idaho 83709.
Willam "Bill" Norwood Reynolds
May 6, 1937 - January 13, 2022
William Norwood Reynolds
(aka Bill) was born in Roswell
New Mexico to his parents, James
T. Reynolds and Catherine M. Cor-
ley Reynolds, on May 6, 1937, (the
day the Hindenburg crashed and
burned, Bill was born on an aus-
picious day). He died on Jan. 13,
2022, in Hermiston, Oregon, at the
age of 84 years.
Bill received master's degrees at
the University of New Mexico, University of Colora-
do and University of Hawaii in agricultural engineer-
ing and business management. He always said he was
educated beyond his intelligence. Bill was known as
a very intelligent and humble man. He always did his
best to do things right and honest. He did engineering
projects in the U.S., South America, Africa, the Middle
East, Jamaica and Canada. He was well known and re-
spected internationally as well as by the local farming
community.
Bill leaves behind his beloved wife of 30 years, Thel-
ma Wynne-Reynolds, four children, David Reynolds,
Bruce Reynolds, Kathy Shultz and Cynthia Alexander.
Bill’s memorial service will be held on May 7, 2022,
at 11 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in
Hermiston, Oregon.
In lieu of flowers he has asked that donations be
made to the First United Methodist Church or Guide
Dogs For The Blind.
Please share memories of Bill with his family
at burnsmortuaryhermiston.com
Burns Mortuary, of Hermiston, Oregon, is in care of
arrangements.
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