Smoke signals., January 15, 2016, Page 14, Image 14

14
S MOKE S IGNALS
JANUARY 15, 2016
Letters
Walking On...
Dear Smoke Signals:
We wanted to send our heartfelt thanks to all the individuals at the
Elders Activity Center who prepared the lovely meal served at my step-
father Paul Beard’s gathering on Jan. 5. The food was well-prepared and
the staff more than accommodating.
This also could not have occurred without the quick thinking of Paul’s
sister-in-law, Linda LaChance, who even though the facility was cooking
the meal also felt inclined to prepare even more food. Also the help from
membership for the Burial Fund, which defi nitely was helpful with my
mother, Sharon Beard’s, expenses. Adamson’s Mortuary also was very kind
and helpful in aiding in the organizing the aftercare arrangements as well.
Words are not enough to express the gratitude our family has for the
help the Tribe made available to us in this time.
Although I am very grateful for all these things, I would also like to
mention a few things regarding my experience making arrangements for
these affairs.
I do have one small concern. When I was dealing with these arrange-
ments, which I have never done before, I made the assumption to just
arrange for the Community Center with the kitchen. Originally, my aunt
Linda agreed to do all the meal prep and was to be issued the money for the
food by the Tribe. No one offered or informed me that the Elders Activity
Center may be available and would prepare the food as well. Instead, my
aunt told me that it was available. This was a much better alternative as
family should not be bothered so they can be part of the service. So after I
had already set up the announcements, I had to quickly get those changed
and family notifi ed of the location change.
I just wanted to express again everyone who I was in contact with was
defi nitely kind and polite and willing to help. But when a family is already
stressed and mourning the loss and dealing with arrangements, no one
wanted to be cooking for 100 people. We should offer these options as
someone like me who had never had to arrange this type of service before.
Again, the family of my mother, Sharon Beard, thank the Tribe for all
the provisions we were given in our time of need. God bless.
Respectfully,
Roxanne Teeter
Roll #1984
Five generations
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
Tribal Elder Sharon Beard, 74, left, Beard’s daughter Tribal Elder
Roxanne Teeter, 55, second from left, 1-month-old Onah Olivera-
Alonzo, middle, Teeter’s daughter Crystal Lanier, 38, second from
right, and Lanier’s daughter Celina Alonzo, 21, right, and Onah’s
mother, represent fi ve generations of one family. All fi ve have the same
middle name, Gayle, and they are all the oldest of the children in their
generations. They are part of the LaChance family.
James “Jim” Francis Feehan
May 6, 1933 – Dec. 28, 2015
Tribal spouse James “Jim” Francis
Feehan, 82, passed away peacefully
on the morning of Monday, Dec. 28,
2015, as a result of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease at Cherrywood Memorial Care
facility in McMinnville, Ore. He was
born in Dublin, Ireland, on May 6,
1933.
At the age of 20, Jim traveled by
boat to America with dreams of even-
tually reaching Alaska. Instead, he
fell in love with Oregon and settled
in Portland, where he worked for the
railroad until being drafted into the
U.S. Army. After his military service,
he began his 40-year career at the
Oregonian newspaper. He became
an American citizen on St. Patrick’s
Day in 1960.
While working at the Oregonian,
Jim met co-worker Barbara McK-
night at a Portland Buckaroos hockey
match. It is lost to history whether
the Buckeroos won that night. How-
ever, Jim had a victory when Barbara
agreed to accompany him to another
hockey game. They were married
in Portland on April 23, 1970. They
had two daughters, Kathleen and
Bernadette.
While Jim loved his adopted home
in the United States, he also prioritized maintaining a connection
with his Irish family, traveling to Ireland regularly. After retiring,
Jim and Barbara traveled throughout the West, also taking many
trips to visit Bernadette in Hawaii. His fi rst grandson, Dylan, was
born in 1991. His second grandson, Noah, was born in 2003 to be
followed by a third, Sean, three years later. As he had throughout
his life, Jim continued to prioritize his time with family.
He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara Feehan; daughters,
Kathleen George and Bernadette Feehan; son-in-law, Rick George;
and grandsons, Dylan, Noah and Sean. Jim is remembered as a lov-
ing, humorous and life-loving man and an epic storyteller. He was a
special husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend.
A funeral Mass was held Wednesday, Jan. 6, at St. Michael’s Catholic
Church in Grand Ronde. Interment in the Grand Ronde Cemetery was
followed with a fellowship meal at the Tribe’s Elders Activity Center.
In lieu of fl owers, donations to the Oregon chapter of the Alzhei-
mer’s Association are appreciated.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center cared for the family. To leave a
message or memory for the family, please visit www.dallastribute.
com.
Local schools also
closed for the day
MEETING continued
from front page
a two-hour late start for the fi rst
work day of 2016.
Tribal Facilities Supervisor Ty-
son Mercier said that sidewalks on
the Tribal campus were covered by
an inch of snow that was covered by
a layer of ice.
“If it doesn’t warm up, we’ll be
dealing with the ice all morning,”
Mercier reported early Monday
morning. “The Facilities team at
this juncture plans on doing what
we can as soon as we can.”
Grand Ronde Tribal Police Offi cer
Rod McAllister reported that High-
way 18 between Hebo and Grand
Ronde roads was packed ice with
sand and that many campus and
Tribal housing roadways were icy
and slick.
In addition, area school districts
from Salem-Keizer to Sheridan to
Willamina closed for the day, cre-
ating daycare problems for many
governmental employees.
With the temperature hovering
around the freezing mark and
light rain falling, General Manager
David Fullerton decided to call the
day a little after 8 a.m. to ensure
that Tribal employees did not put
themselves in danger by trying to
get to work.
Tribal governmental employees
returned to work on Tuesday, Jan.
5, when temperatures reached the
high 30s, which was warm enough
to melt most roadway ice on the
Grand Ronde Valley fl oor. n