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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, May 27, 2017
OBITUARIES
JOHNSON—Robert LeRoy
Johnson was born in Woodland,
Calif. on June 27, 1926. He
quietly passed away May 6,
2017, in Auburn, Calif., near
the home of his daughter, Kim
Swayze.
Bob grew up in Woodland
and Petaluma, Calif., where he
graduated from Petaluma High
School. After service in the
U.S. Navy, Bob married, raised
a family and had a successful
career in insurance sales in
Petaluma. Bob was an agent for
Metropolitan Life and later
Don Ramatci Insurance.
After catching a trophy size
54-lb salmon in the Siuslaw
River, Bob and his wife, Mary
Lou, decided to move to
Florence.
Bob was a great outdoors-
man and when not out fishing
volunteered in the Oregon
STEP program. Bob was an
avid golfer and a member of the
Florence Elks Club.
Bob was a proud veteran of
the U.S. Navy, serving in both
World War II and the Korean
War. In 2014, he was honored
by the Oregon Honor Flight
and traveled to Washington
D.C. with a contingent of
WWII vets.
Bob is preceded in death by
his wife of 67 years, Mary Lou
Johnson; his parents Roy and
Elsie Johnson of Petaluma; and
a sister, Betty Fraley of
Lakeport, Cali.
He is survived by his sister,
Darlene Derby, of Florence;
son Robert Bradley Johnson of
Orlando, Fla.; his daughter Kim
Johnson Swayze of Colfax,
Calif.; and his grandson, Evan
Johnson Swayze of Colfax,
Calif.
B L A L O C K — Wa l t e r
“Lance”
Blalock
died
Thursday, March 9, 2017, at
Peace Harbor Hospital.
Lance was born on May 27,
1941, in Denver, Colo., to
Woodrow Blalock and Thelma
(Kochenower) Blalock. He was
the middle child of three chil-
dren. His older brother, Larry
Blalock, along with his
younger
sister,
Paulette
POLICE LOG
(Blalock) Larson, and his par-
ents all preceded him in pass-
ing.
Lance attended Adams City
High School where he was not
only a schol-
ar
but
excelled in
track
and
field, hold-
ing both the
long jump
and
pole
vault records
more
Walter Blalock for
than
25
years. In the Junior Olympics,
he silver medaled, almost mak-
ing it to the Olympics.
Upon graduation at the age
of 17, he joined the U.S. Navy.
He briefly toured Europe on his
way to his first assignment in
Reykjavik, Iceland, after which
he was stationed in the Florida
Everglades serving as a Naval
Intelligence officer intercepting
and decoding Russian commu-
nications.
After receiving an honorable
discharge, he returned to
WEATHER DATA
D ATE
Florence Police
May 23
Dispute was reported in the
700 block of Quince Street.
Theft was reported in the
800 block of Highway 101.
Theft was reported in the
2300 block of Oak Street.
Child neglect was reported
in the 3800 block of Spruce
Street.
Dispute was reported in the
91000 block of Highway 101.
Hit-and-run accident was
reported on Bay Street.
Theft was reported in the
3600 block of Highway 101.
Accident, without injury,
was reported in the 5900
block of East Glenada Road.
May 24
Child neglect was reported
in the 1100 block of Hemlock
Street.
May 25
Trespass was reported in
the 2400 block of Highway
101.
Death investigation was
conducted in the 1000 block
of Ninth Street.
May
May
May
May
May
May
May
H IGH
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
56
58
65
63
61
69
78
Rainfall
Month: 6.31”
L OW R AIN
46
43
41
42
48
45
46
0.95
0.07
0.00
0.00
0.01
0.00
0.00
Week: 1.03”
Year: 68.31”
Courtesy of Roger Cunningham
Voice Your Opinion!
Colorado
and
attended
Colorado School of Mines,
subsequently gaining employ-
ment with Chevron Research as
a chemical engineer.
In 1968, Lance hired on with
IBM and worked as a field
engineer for 30 years. He took
an early retirement in 1998 and
spent the next 14 years full-
time RVing with his wife,
Carole. They travelled to 48 of
the 50 states, Canada and
Mexico, playing golf and visit-
ing as many National Parks as
possible.
Many wonderful summers
were spent at a cottage they
purchased on Prince Edward
Island, Canada, and many win-
ters were spent in Myrtle
Beach, S.C.
Lance was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s Disease in 2007.
Upon receiving that devastat-
ing news, he and Carole trav-
elled to Florence, where they
settled in 2009.
He continued to golf, fight-
ing both the Parkinson’s
Disease and the accompanying
dementia for the next 10 years.
He fought a valiant fight.
Lance is survived by his lov-
ing and devoted wife, Carole;
his son, Troy; his daughter
Tanya (from a prior marriage);
four beautiful grandchildren:
Talia, Brody, Adam and
Candice; one great-grandson,
Noah; a soon-to-be-born great-
granddaughter, Alyce; and
numerous uncles, cousins,
nieces and nephews.
Lance will be inurned with
honors at Eagle Point National
Cemetery in Medford, Ore., at
10 a.m. on June 16, after being
sealed to his wife Carole at the
Medford Temple of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints on June 15.
Lance is sorely missed. He
was a wonderful, loving man.
The Lord be with you and
may you rest in peace.
“When I have holed my final
shot, let all the bad strokes be
forgot.” May he finally get that
elusive hole-in-one.
Meet the brightest Central Coast startups!
Th is year, RAIN launched the
Mid-Coast’s fi rst-ever Pre-Ac-
celerator programs for startups
located between Lincoln City and
Florence. Join us at the Coastal
Demo Day where our 11 graduat-
ing companies will take the stage
to showcase their startups!
Food, Beer and Wine Provided
Free registration closes on June
13; $12 to register aft er June 13
Coastal Demo Day
Wednesday, June 21
5 – 8:30 PM
Florence Event Center
Food, Beer and Wine Provided
Register for Free by June 13
at http://bit.ly/raincoastaldemoday
• Networking
• Food, beer and wine provided
• Keynote by Sam Gross, CEO/Cofounder of Chef Mel’s
(chefmels.com)
• Business pitches from the Pre-Accelerator companies
• Learn “What’s Next” for the Mid-Coast’s entrepreneurial
ecosystem
Florence
EDITOR@
THESIUSLAWNEWS.COM
As a tribute to all of the brave men and women
who have fallen in service to the United States,
I encourage everyone to connect with our local
VA centers where there is always a great need for
volunteers. Th ere is so much we can do to show
our appreciation to our veterans – or just lend a
helping hand – right here on the Oregon Coast!
Please do not hesitate to contact our offi ce for
more information on recent legislation that
helps protect and support our state’s veterans.
Call (503) 986-1705
or email sen.arnieroblan@state.or.us.
Senator Arnie Roblan
Democrat - District 5 - Coos Bay
www.oregonlegislature.gov/roblan