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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2016)
A2 Obituaries wallowa.com January 6, 2016 Wallowa County Chieftain Richard (Dick) Gasser July 13, 1938 to Dec. 28, 2015 Edmund (Ed) Harrington Sept. 20, 1927 to Dec. 31, 2015 Laurence (Larry) A. Loftus April 10, 1931 to Dec. 30, 2015 Richard (Dick Gas- ser passed away peace- fully at his home in Huntington, Ore., on Dec. 28, 2015. He was born July 13, 1938 in Oregon City, Ore., to Sylvester (Sid Gasser and Dorothy (Shepherd Gasser. Dick spent his child- hood in the Molalla area, where he worked for his father, Sid Gasser, in his various businesses until the family moved to the Bend area when he was in his teens. A few years later, Dick enlisted in the Air Force and served as a dog handler in the military police until 1959. At this time, he was discharged from active duty and moved to the Enterprise area, where he met Claudia Fisher. Dick married Claudia on April 27, 1961, in Asotin, Wash. They were married for 54 colorful years. Dick and Claudia had three children: Ricky, Brenda and Sandra. Dick’s work took them to various parts of Oregon over the years. Most of their children’s childhood was spent in the Molalla area, where he was very active in the community. Dick was a longtime member of the Molalla Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance service, where he was an EMT and Fire Training Of¿ cer. Dick also was a member of the Mulino Lions Club, served as Scout Master for Troop 161, and was a Little League coach. In 1980, Dick and Claudia decided they needed a change and this took them to Baker County to operate the Eagle Cap Lodge. After a few years, Dick decided to try his hand at gold mining exploration, taking them on many adventures, eventu- ally landing them in Huntington. While in Huntington, Dick served as mayor for two terms. He also had a contracting business and in his spare time he enjoyed hunting and ¿ shing with his family and many friends. Dick was the Baker County Hunters Education Coordinator, a life member of the IHEA and life member of the NRA. Dick is survived by his wife Claudia, their three children, Rick Gasser, Eugene, Brenda Coggin of Molalla, Sandra Staf- ford of Molalla; 14 grandchildren; ¿ ve great-grandchildren; and his sister Sharon of Gambrel, Mont. He was loved by all and will be dearly missed. The services will be held at 1 p.m. Jan. 16 at the Enterprise Cemetery, Boll- man Funeral Home of¿ ciating. Ed Harrington of Richland, Wash., suddenly and silently joined the Lord on Dec. 31, 2015. He was born in Deadwood, S.D., on Sept. 20, 1927 to Edmund Harrington, Sr. and Beatrice Har- rington. He grew up in Kadoka, S.D., where the Badlands and Black Hills serYed as the ¿ rst playground to a lifetime of ex- ploring and adventures. With his brother Dick and more than 50 cousins from their mother’s eight sisters in the area, the holidays and get-togethers in Kadoka in his youth were among Ed’s favorite memories. Drafted at the end of World War II, he entered the service at the age of 18 and served in the Army Air Corps as a weatherman stationed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Serving in the Air Force led Ed to obtain his private pilot’s license and he À ew throughout the Northwest (until a close call had both his wife and his mother put their feet down — so he transitioned to being a pas- senger on future À ights After the service, he attended the South Dakota School of Mines before transferring to Oregon State University, where he earned his degree in civil engineering. While at OSU, he attended a barbecue and dance at the Catholic Newman Center and he met the love of his life, Joy Linn. 7hey married on April 11, 1953, raised ¿ ve chil- dren together and were looking forward to their 63rd anniversary. Ed’s career in construction kept the family moving, with time spent in West Virginia, Montreal, California, Nevada, New Mex- ico, Idaho, Oregon and ultimately, Washington. While in Oregon, he oversaw the construction of the Trojan Nuclear Power Plant and after that, took the Washington Square Mall from the time it was an orchard until the ¿ rst occupants moved in. His job as project manager for the construction of WPPSS 2 brought him to the Tri-Cities in 1978. Instead of moving away from the area for another project, he and Joy started Shamrock Constructors in 1984. Over the next 25 years as a Butler Builder, Shamrock Constructors constructed numerous metal buildings on the Hanford Site and throughout the area. Never one to ever stop working, he supposedly retired around 1998, but found a way to stay busy by overseeing projects for Shamrock Constructors, including a large project in Seattle. He took a stab at transitioning to the computer age and began using a computer to estimate construction projects. However, he was not a natural at using technology. The joke around the of¿ ce at that time was that he was still not allowed to turn the computer on or off. Ed always enjoyed the outdoors, hunting, ¿ shing and skiing. After a long search for just the right property in just the right lo- cation, he and Joy bought “the Ranch” in Enterprise and began spending their retirement at the Ranch. They loved to sit on the deck with their morning coffee, surrounded by the Wallowa Moun- tains, watching the wildlife, and admiring the beautiful scenery. Ed had a wide grin, a contagious laugh and stories that kept his family and friends laughing. His children couldn’t imagine having a more loving and dedicated father. And he was complete- ly devoted to his wife, who was with him when he collapsed and died while raking leaves together in the front yard of their Richland home. He and Joy shared numerous adventures and enjoyed all kinds of experiences from moose hunting by horseback to sailing from Alaska to Seattle. They traveled to Africa, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico — and he even went skydiving at the age of 77. He was planning to take another dive for his 90th birthday. Ed is preceded in death by his mother and father and his daugh- ter, Shannon Harrington. He is survived by his wife, Joy Har- rington of Richland his brother Dick (Jeanne Harrington of Ra- leigh, NC his children Dan (Pamela Harrington of Pasco Mike (Heidi Harrington of Newcastle, Wash. Erin (Kim Harrington of Newberg, Ore., and Kevin (Pamela of Kennewick. He so enjoyed his many grandchildren and great-granddaughter and will always be watching over them. Visitation is scheduled from 3-6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 8 at Hillcrest Funeral Home in Kennewick, with a rosary to follow at 6 p.m. The funeral will be Saturday, Jan. 9 at 11 a.m. at Parish of the Holy Spirit in Kennewick. The family asks that in lieu of À owers, please consider a dona- tion to Catholic Family and Child Services, cfcsyakima.org. For online condolences please visit www.AskHillcrest.com Larry Loftus made his ¿ nal journey peacefully with his wife Kate by his side Wednesday, Dec. 30. Larry was born to Victor Loftus and Lulu Althiser Loftus in Washington, D.C, on April 10, 1931. When he was 8 months old, the family moved to Mexico City, where Victor served in the American Embassy. Larry attended the Ameri- can School until 1943 when his parents divorced. He and his mother returned to Saugerties, N.<., where he ¿ nished his schooling. He received a scholarship to Drew University in Madison, N.J., and they moved there in 1949. Larry graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Brothers College in 1953 and started Theological School at Drew, located on the same campus. Larry married Ruth Bollman in 1954. During his middler year they volunteered for the Christian Ministry in the Nation- al Parks and were assigned to the Olympic National Park in Washington state. Larry lost his heart to the Northwest, wrote the Bishop of the Northwest Conference and was appointed to Tualatin United Methodist Church upon graduation in 1956. Larry and Ruth had three children Jim (1957, Dan (1960 and Laurianne (1964. He served United Methodist churches in Tu- alatin, Sweet Home, First Church Portland, Fremont, Metzger and Oak Grove, from 1956 to 1991. He took a sabbatical from 1977 to 1981 to open The Bike Route, a bicycle shop in south- west Portland, with Ruth and his family. Larry returned to active ministry in 1982 at Metzger after he and Ruth divorced. He met Katherine “Kate” (Oien and after a brief courtship they married on Aug. 29, 1987. Larry loved the Northwest and reveled in the beauty and opportunity of hiking, camping and bicycling the roads, trails and highways of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and The Yukon. He helped establish the family camping program in the Ore- gon-Idaho Conference, motorcycle camps, trail camping and mountain climbing expeditions. He climbed most of the peaks in Oregon and Washington, including Mount Hood (three times, including performing a wedding on the summit and Mount St. Helens (before and after eruption. He was a member of Ma- zamas for many years, leading many climbs. Larry was an avid bicyclist, riding 500 miles per week in- cluding century rides (100 miles in one day and charity rides for the MS Society (raising over 30,000 in seven rides. He loved riding Wallowa County roads on his mountain bike. In his 60s, he rode the Oregon, Washington and Idaho Bike Rides, av- eraging 24,000 feet of elevation gain in six days per each event. In 1994, Larry was given a special appointment to the Los- tine Presbyterian Church in Lostine, where he served for 11 1/2 wonderful years as Pastor. During that time, he and Kate found 5 acres on the Lostine River where they built their dream log home. Although Larry wanted a one-room log cabin, they com- promised and designed it together. Both felt they had died and gone to heaven with the river on the west, the wildlife refuge on the east, and the breaks of the Wallowa Mountains bordering the property. Larry so enjoyed hiking with their two Border Collies, Mira and Shep. Larry retired from the United Methodist Church in 1996 af- ter 41 years of service and later retired from the Lostine Pres- byterian Church in 2005. In 2008, he began a two-year Interim Ministry at the La Grande First Presbyterian Church, commut- ing three days a week. It was a wonderful capstone to a ministry he gave his life to. Even after 55 years of service, Larry never left the pulpit, says friend Ellen Barton. Larry was a consum- mate pastor and preacher who was a “wholly human messenger of God”. Larry loved À ying (he wanted to be a pilot before choosing the ministry, fast cars, hiking, travel, mountaineering, motor- cycles, camping and reading (especially after retiring for the third time. Larry was extremely proud of Kate, who is a direc- tor, actor and founder of the MidValley Theatre Company in Lostine (since 1995. He was her biggest supporter and House Manager for many of the productions. Larry is survived by Kate, his wife of over 29 years; son Jim and his wife Star, son Dan and his wife Susan, daughter Laurianne and Keith, daughter Sharon Heni¿ n (husband Vern, daughter Kate Conrad (husband Nick, son Robert Oien; grand- children Jason Loftus (wife Sheridan, Tyler Loftus, Chelsea Pickthorn, Steven Loftus, Cody Oien, Polina Conrad, Alek- sander Conrad; and great-granddaughter Miette Loftus. Larry also is survived by his former wife Ruth TenEyck and his cous- ins Harry Loftus (of California and Russell Teetsell (of Virgin- ia. He was preceded in death by his parents Victor and Lulu. A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10 at the First Presbyterian Church in La Grande (1308 Washington Ave.. A fellowship gathering will follow at the Presbyterian Friendship Center (across from the church. Arrangements are in care of Bollman Funeral Home, Enterprise. D EATH N OTICE Leona Warnock Leona Warnock, 87, of Enterprise passed away peacefully Dec. 7, 2015 at Wallowa Valley Senior Living in Enterprise. No services are planned at this time. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. A full obituary will be published later. M ORE OBITUARIES ON A3 About Obituaries News obituaries are a free service of the Wallowa County Chieftain. The paper accepts obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is subject to editing. Send obituaries by e-mail, obits@wallowa.com; fax, 541- 426-3921; or mail, PO Box 338, Enterprise, OR 97828. The deadline to submit an obituary is 2 p.m. Monday for the Wednesday paper. For more information, or to inquire about a paid memorial, call 541-426-4567. Painting and General Contractor Also specializing in GARAGE D00R Weather Forecast Courtesy of Weather Underground. www.wunderground.com INSTALLATION AND REPAIR Call Paul Vlietstra 541-263-1247 Licensed Bonded & Insured CCB#200036 of t n e d Stu e th Week Annie Duncan Joseph Charter School Annie Duncan is a junior at Joseph Charter School. She is involved in cross country and track and is an active member of FFA and FCCLA. Annie wants to be a physical therapist so she has taken advantage of some of our advanced science classes such as chemistry and sports medicine and also takes pre-calculus and childhood development for college credit. Annie has been a wonderful addition to Joseph's student body and we are thrilled to have her at our school. Congratulation Annie! See Philip Ruud at Wallowa Valley Eye Care (Dr. Baileys Office) January 13th 519 W. North St. Enterprise, OR 97828 Call 800-678-3155 for appointment High Low Conditions Jan. 7 30 19 Mostly cloudy Jan. 8 30 16 Partly cloudy Jan. 9 27 13 Partly cloudy Jan. 10 25 11 Clear Jan. 11 25 17 Clear Jan. 12 30 21 Snow showers Phases of the moon Jan. 9 New Moon Jan. 16 Jan. 23 Jan. 31 1st Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter WALLOWA COUNTY SUNRISE, SUNSET JAN. 6-12 The Student of the Week is chosen for academic achievement and community involvement. Students are selected by the administrators of their respective schools. (from the U.S. Naval Observatory) TUES MON SUN SAT FRI THUR WED Jan. 12 Jan. 11 Jan. 10 Jan. 8 Jan. 9 Jan. 7 Jan. 6 Rise: 7:29 Rise: 7:28 Rise: 7:28 Rise: 7:28 Rise: 7:28 Rise: 7:27 Rise: 7:27 Set: 4:21 Set: 4:22 Set: 4:24 Set: 4:25 Set: 4:26 Set: 4:27 Set: 4:28
