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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wallowa County Chieftain
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
OBITUARIES
Harry E. Kennison
Feb. 12, 1926 — Feb. 23, 2019
Ruth M. Tuski
Nov. 18, 1931 — Dec. 17, 2018
Daniel McGourty
Sept. 5, 1983 — Feb. 12, 2019
Harry E. Kennison died peacefully on February 23,
2019, at the age of 93. He was born and raised in Wal-
lowa, Ore., where his ancestors homesteaded in 1872
after traveling on the Oregon Trail.
A child of the Great Depression, he joined the Marines
as soon as he turned 18 and participated in battles at Oki-
nawa and Iwo Jima, where he was
one of the last lines of defense against
kamikaze pilots. After the war, he
returned to the Wallowa Valley, where
he became a saw fi ler at the local
lumber mill, and, in 1949, married
another Wallowa resident, Mary Eliz-
abeth Jackson Kennison. They were
happily married for 68 years until her
death in 2017.
At the mill, Harry steadily worked
his way up to a management role, Harry E. Kennison
eventually becoming general man-
ager of the Kinzua Corporation and holding patents
on hydraulic lumber mill machinery. He was so recog-
nized in his fi eld that the Oregon Board of Education
consulted with him regarding vocational training. After
many job-related moves to small towns across Oregon
and Washington (including Pilot Rock, Baker City, Hep-
pner and Omak), Harry and Mary settled down in Salem,
Ore., for their retirement. Many happy hours were spent
golfi ng at the Santiam golf course, visiting grandchildren,
and exploring exotic locales such as Fiji and Tahiti.
Harry was always passionate about sports, whether it
was receiving a football scholarship to Linfi eld College
(which he turned down in favor of serving our country),
coaching Little League and Babe Ruth baseball in adult-
hood, or ardently following Oregon State University foot-
ball, baseball and women’s basketball until his last few
days. He was preceded in death by Mary, their daughter
Janine Kennison, and son Kyle Kennison. He is survived
and greatly missed by his daughter Kara Kennison (and
husband James Baumberger), son Gary Miller (and wife
Jolene), six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren,
as well as countless other family members and friends.
He is remembered for his intelligence, good advice,
sense of humor, always doing the right thing, and for
being one of the best men we ever met. A memorial ser-
vice will be held in celebration of his life on Saturday,
June 8, at 3 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd,
800 Ellsworth Rd., Vancouver, Wash. Memorial dona-
tions in memory of Harry can be made to the KyleKenni-
son Scholarship c/o The University of Idaho Foundation,
875 Perimeter Dr., MS 3143, Moscow, ID, 83844.
Ruth Margaret Tuski passed away peacefully on Dec.
17, 2018, in Enterprise, Ore. Ruth was born on Nov. 18,
1931, in Baker City, Ore., to George Peter Murphy and Len-
nis Ruth (Wolfe) Murphy. Sadly, Ruth’s mother died shortly
after giving birth to Ruth and, as a result, Ruth’s early years
were spent with her paternal grandmother, Mary Murphy
of Wallowa, Ore. Her older sister, Pat,
in turn lived with her maternal grand-
mother, Cora Wolfe of Wallowa. Even-
tually, the two young girls joined their
father who had moved to Portland, Ore.
Upon graduation from high school,
Ruth returned to Wallowa, marrying
Buddy Dale Thomason in 1952. Ruth
and Buddy had two children, Dovey Jo
(1953) and Mark Kelly (1956). A tragic
logging accident out of Wallowa took
Ruth M. Tuski
Buddy’s life in 1957 at the age of 26.
In 1959 Ruth married Robert (Bob)
Nystrom and the couple moved to Milton-Freewater. Their
son Robert Eric was born in 1961. After their divorce, Ruth
again returned to Wallowa County where she purchased
Stockman’s Bar in Enterprise, owning it from 1969-1973.
Ruth always remembered her Stockman’s days with fond-
ness and enjoyed telling stories to friends and family about
that time.
In 1972 Ruth married Tom Long from Wallowa and
Tom became her sidekick at Stockman’s. They divorced in
1977, and then in 1979, Ruth moved to Bend, Ore. where
she enjoyed working as a caregiver for the elderly. In 1986
she married Jon Tuski and continued to reside in Bend
until retiring in 1999 and moving to La Grande, Ore. She
enjoyed her time in La Grande with many friends and was
actively involved in the Our Lady of the Valley Catholic
Church. She especially appreciated the priests of Our Lady
of the Valley. All during her life she remained close to her
aunt, Margaret McClain, and cherished the time she could
spend with Margaret until Margaret’s death.
As Ruth’s health declined, and she sensed the end of her
life drawing near, her wish was to spend her fi nal days back
in Wallowa County, the home she loved so much. Her fam-
ily made this move possible, and she spent her remaining
days content and receiving exemplary care at the Wallowa
County Senior Living Center in Enterprise.
Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, husbands,
Buddy Thomason and Bob Nystrom and her son, Kelly
Thomason. She is survived by her daughter, Dovey Jo Col-
lins and son, Rob Nystrom, fi ve grandchildren and 11 great
grandchildren and numerous great great grandchildren.
Ruth loved to be around people and had many friends of
all ages. She enjoyed telling and hearing a saucy joke, was a
mean poker player, an excellent home decorator and a sharp
dresser. Her lively, fun and funny personality will be dearly
missed by those who were fortunate to know her.
Funeral services will be held at St. Katherine’s Catholic
Church in Enterprise, beginning at 10 a.m. on March 23. A
graveside service will follow at the Wallowa Cemetery. At
2 p.m. friends and family are invited to gather for a celebra-
tion of life and dinner at the VFW Hall in Enterprise. Those
wishing to make a donation in honor of Ruth can do so to
the Wallowa Valley Senior Living Center.
Lieutenant Daniel “FEY” McGourty, 35, died peace-
fully, after a three-year battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, sur-
rounded by family and friends in his Atlantic Beach home
on February 12, 2019.
Daniel was born on September 5, 1983, in Nampa, Idaho.
He is the beloved son to Ron and Celene Gay of Wallowa,
Oregon where Dan later grew up and
graduated high school. Daniel enlisted
in the United States Navy in 2003 and
became an Aircrewman, Rescue Swim-
mer. After being accepted to an Offi cer
Commissioning program, he graduated
from Old Dominion University in 2010
with a degree in Mechanical Engineer-
ing. Additionally, Dan received his
Wings of Gold in 2012 after complet-
ing Flight School and became an E2
Hawkeye Pilot. He married Alexandra Daniel McGourty
Ulrich McGourty, the love of his life,
who he met while deployed in Camp Buehring, Kuwait in
2007.
The Navy took the couple all over the world, from Guam,
to the East Coast and to the West Coast, until they settled
back in Atlantic Beach, Florida. Along the way, they added
three beautiful children, Randall Emma McGourty (9),
Molli Brown McGourty (7), and Gage Martell McGourty
(1). Dan was a cherished son, hell of a friend, the greatest
father, fi nest husband, and one damn good golfer and pilot!
A Military Memorial Service is scheduled for 11a.m.
at Atlantic Beach Country Club, Atlantic Beach, Florida,
with a Celebration of Life to follow later in the evening at
Atlantic Beach Brewing Company at 6 p.m. All are wel-
come to attend and celebrate Dan’s life. In lieu of fl owers,
Dan has requested that people donate on his behalf to fi nd
a cure for Ewing’s Sarcoma, the devastating disease that
took his life. Donations can be made at the following link:
https://www.curesarcoma.org/daniel-mcgourty/.
ABOUT OBITUARIES
News obituaries are a free service of the Wallowa County Chieftain. Obitu-
aries are accepted from family members or a funeral home. No handwrit-
ten obituaries will be accepted. Information submitted is subject to editing.
Obituaries that exceed 400 words will be referred to the advertising depart-
ment for paid memorials. Send obituaries by email to editor@wallowa.com;
fax to 541-426-3921 or mail to P.O. Box 338, Enterprise, OR 97828. Dead-
line to submit an obituary is 10 a.m. Monday for publication the same week.
Obituaries submitted after deadline will be queued for publication in the
next edition. Info: 541-426-4567.
IN BRIEF
Wild-land fi re
refresher class
The Eastern Oregon
Training Group will hold
the RT-130 Wild-land
Fire Refresher on April
13, 2019. It will be at the
5J School District Build-
ing, 2090 4th St., Baker
City.
This is a required class
for all federal and state
contractors.
Class will begin at
8 a.m. and the cost is
$100 in advanced or $120
at the door.
Registration can be
done at oregonfi retrain-
ing.com. Pre-registration
is requested.
All participants should
bring gloves for the prac-
tice shelter deployment.
Call Laurel Goodrich
with any questions at 541-
403-0907 or Jeff Sherman
at 541-519-6213.
Shed antler
fundraiser
The Nature Conser-
vancy is now taking appli-
cations from Wallowa
County organizations for
the opportunity to partic-
ipate in the 2019 shed ant-
ler collection fundraiser.
Please email Chad
Dotson at chad.dotson@
tnc.org for an applica-
tion or for more general
information.
Deadline to apply is
March 8, 2019.
Joseph students had a chance to get on
stage Feb. 8-9 at a drama camp sponsored
by Joseph FCCLA. Eleven 4th-6th grad-
ers participated in a two day camp put on
by Renee Seal, Layla Snyder, Elena Col-
lier and Emily Vargas and gave a perfor-
mance at the culmination, loosely based
on a scene from “Beauty and the Beast.”
During the camp, students took part in act-
ing lessons, set design and costume mak-
ing workshops.
Seal and Snyder wrote the script for the
play and headed up the acting portion of the
camp. Collier and Vargas were in charge
of making sets and costumes along with
assistance from the camp participants. The
four FCCLA members were motivated to
give children a chance to experience what
it’s like to be a thespian since Joseph no
longer has a formal drama program.
Jaidyn Zollman, who played Gaston,
said “It was fun to learn about acting.”
Townsperson, Gwen Bostedt was sur-
prised that when on stage “all directions
are backwards.”
Nicholi Fisher, born May 16, 1963, passed away on Feb.
26, 2019. A memorial service will be held on Saturday,
March 16, at the Nazarene Church on Grant street in Enter-
prise at 1:30 p.m.
MEMORIAL SERVICES
Gayle Schmeck
Aug. 28, 1950 — Oct. 25, 2018
A memorial service will be held for Gayle Schmeck on
Sat. Mar. 23, at 11 a.m. at the Enterprise Christian Church.
Schmeck passed away last fall on Oct. 25, 2018. A memorial
service was postponed until Schmeck’s family could attend.
FRONT ROW : Kylie Moore (Townsperson), Andy Nichols
(Townsperson), Bobby Nichols (Mr. Potts), Bella Herb (Chip)
MIDDLE ROW: Jaidyn Zollman (Gaston), Sarah Musia (Fork), Addie
Moore (Narrator and Townsperson, Livia De Melo (Belle), Hayden
Kissinger (Lumiere), Gwen Bostedt (Townsperson), Eva Moore
(Cogsworth)
BACK ROW: FCCLA Members Layla Snyder, Elena Collier, Renee Seal
Weather Forecast
The House of
Broken Angels
Courtesy of Weather Underground • wunderground.com
by Luis Alberto Urrea
T HE B OOKLOFT
Across from the courthouse in Enterprise
107 E. Main • 541.426.3351
always open at www.bookloftoregon.com • bookloft@eoni.com
ATHLETE
WEEK
This week’s athlete of ball standout,
School basket
goes to Wallowa High WHS senior filled both the
The
Christopher Nobles.
with his
for the Cougars but urt.
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an
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the co
fit in any position on
exceptional skill can coaches recognized Nobles’
ue
league
The Old Oregon Leag
by voting him as the ar.
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le
ta
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Pro onsore d b y
player of the ye
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OF
THE
les
Christopher th N e o we b ek honor
201 E. Hwy 82, Enterprise • 541-426-0320
www.edstaub.com
Nicholi Fisher
May 16, 1963 — Feb. 26, 2019
Joseph FCCLA drama camp
Now in Paperback
S
DEATH NOTICES
STUDENT
EMMA SALMON
Alternative Ed
of the
WEEK
Emma joined the Alternative
Education Classroom this fall
and has shown tremendous
growth in academics, self-
confidence, leadership and her
willingness to try new things!
She is a strong writer, amazing
game player and positive role
model. Emma’s smile is not
only infectious, but is a constant
encouragement to students, staff
and the entire Building Healthy
Families community!
Proudly sponsored by
The Student of the Week is chosen
for academic achievement and
community involvement. Students
are selected by the administrators
of their respective schools. Local Money Working For Local People
High Low
Conditions
March 14
35
18
Mostly sunny
March 15
39
20
Partly Cloudy
March 16
42
26
Cloudy
March 17
48
28
Mostly sunny
March 18
50
30
Sunny
March 19
53
32
Mostly sunny
March 20
50
31
Showers
Phases of the moon
Mar. 14
Mar. 20
Mar. 27
Apr. 5
1st Quarter
Full Moon
Last Quarter
New Moon
WALLOWA COUNTY SUNRISE & SUNSET MAR. 14–20
(from the U.S. Naval Observatory)
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
MON
TUES
WED
7:04
6:54
7:02
6:55
7:00
6:56
6:58
6:58
6:56
6:59
6:54
7:00
6:52
7:01