2A | SATURDAY, JUNE 16, 2018 | SIUSLAW NEWS
T HE R ECORD
PASSENGER— Verne “Skip”
Passenger Jr., 68, a beloved
and devoted husband, father,
grandfa-
ther and
b r o t h e r,
passed
away June
3,
2018,
from con-
gestive
heart fail-
Verne “Skip” ure while
Passenger
surround-
ed by fam-
ily at Pete Moore Hospice
House.
He was preceded in death
by his brother, Brian; his fa-
ther, Verne; and his mother,
Evelyn.
Skip is survived by his wife
Jane; daughters Kaye and
Brooke; brother Brad; and six
grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Rylie,
Emylie, Logan, Dylan and
Jordan.
Skip was born June 4, 1949,
to Verne and Evelyn “Pete”
(Griffith) Passenger in Van-
couver, Wash. After their sec-
ond son, Bradley, was born,
the family moved to Florence
in 1952.
Skip lived in Florence for
more than 50 years.
His father opened a body
shop in Florence where Skip
later worked. During the
1950s, the family spent most
of its leisure time beachcomb-
ing and at the race track in
Glenada racing cars they had
built.
Skip joined the fire ser-
vice in 1972. After his father
passed away in 1996, Skip
served as Fire Chief for the
City of Florence until he facil-
itated the merger of the rural
and city fire departments to
form the Siuslaw Valley Fire
Protection District.
He served as Assistant
Chief until he moved to Eu-
gene in 2002.
Skip loved to drive log
trucks, chip trucks and fire
trucks. He worked hard at ev-
erything he did.
Skip served in the Air Force
for four years. He also served
on several boards in Florence
including the school board
and was a Port of Siuslaw
commissioner for four years.
Skip and his former wife,
Jerilyn Landwehr, had two
daughters: Brooke Stonelake
and Kaye Wheeler.
Skip and his current wife,
Jane, married in 2002 and
lived in Eugene.
In his younger years, Skip
enjoyed exploring on the
beach for glass floats and cut-
ting firewood with his dad.
He also liked to play golf,
hunt, fish, race cars, read and
work in the yard. In his later
years he loved sitting on his
porch watching the birds and
neighbors go by.
He had a big smile and a
very big heart.
A celebration of his life will
be held Friday, June 22, begin-
ning at 2 p.m., at Musgrove
Family Mortuary/West Lawn
Memorial Park, 225 S. Dane-
bo Ave, in Eugene.
In lieu of flowers, donations
made be made in Skip’s mem-
ory to the Pete Moore Hos-
pice House in Eugene.
Arrangements have been
entrusted to Musgrove Family
Mortuary. Sign the guestbook
at musgroves.com.
CLIFT— Patricia Lou Clift
was a great woman who lived
as she believed: Fiercely inde-
pendent, intelligent, complex,
honest, exceptionally charm-
ing, and most notably a pas-
sionate dog lover.
Born in 1935 to Allon and
Gladys Clift of Little Rock,
Ark., Patricia attended Little
Rock Central High School
and the University of Arkan-
sas. In 1957, she married
Monte Tubb and, over the
next six years, they had three
children.
The family came to Eugene
in 1966, when Monte took a
teaching position at the Uni-
versity of
O r e g o n’s
School of
Music. Pa-
tricia con-
tinued her
education,
earning
her bach-
Patricia Clift
elor’s de-
gree with
a teaching certificate from the
U of O.
In 1972, Patricia started the
Book & Tea Shop with two
other women.
The original location, at
24th and Hilyard streets in
Eugene (and later, relocating
to 19th and Agate), quickly
became a popular neighbor-
hood gathering place for the
over-30 crowd, hosting rap
sessions for women’s social
and political groups as well as
special events celebrating the
arts.
Patricia’s unique sense of
artistry and business were
reflected in the Book & Tea’s
lively upbeat and friendly at-
mosphere.
A resident of Florence since
1996, Patricia enjoyed living
in her ocean cabin with her
dogs, her garden and her pas-
sion for reading. She was well
known at the Farmer’s Mar-
ket, where she sold her succu-
lent pots.
She was unique and ahead
of her time; from the book-
store, to her handmade ce-
ment planters, her creations
were no doubt inspirations to
all who knew them.
Patricia died peacefully at
her daughter’s home in Santa
Rosa, Calif., on May 25, 2018,
at age 84 after living with can-
cer for 10 years.
She is survived by her be-
loved dog, Billy; and her three
children: Daven Tubb of Eu-
gene, Ore.; Lynette (Tom)
Batson, of Santa Rosa, Calif.;
and Brady Tubb of Smithfield,
N.C.
She was adored as “Gram-
mies” by Steven, Krista, Jes-
sica, Raleigh, Parker, Bran-
don and Sailor, and as “Great
Grammies” to Trae, Emma-
lyn, Jackson and Mason.
Patricia’s love for Oregon
and her dear friends there
were a source of great comfort
and joy.
A remembrance gathering
will be held Wednesday, July
4, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Friends
Meeting House, 2274 Onyx
St. in Eugene.
LaDUKE— Ganun LaDuke
passed away at home in Wal-
terville,
Ore., sur-
rounded
by family
members
on May 14,
2018.
S h e
was a lov-
ing wife
Ganun
LaDuke
to
John
LaDuke.
Ganun
was born April 18, 1938, in
Cleveland, Ark., to Tommy
and Alpha McNew and was
the third of six siblings.
She moved to Oregon in the
late 1950s and married John
LaDuke on May 22, 1970, in
Eugene.
They lived in Florence un-
til 1977, when they moved to
Walterville, Ore.
Ganun loved gardening,
canning, feeding the lo-
cal birds and animals, rock
hounding and beachcombing.
One of her fondest memories
was one night in the early
1970s, her and John found
over 100 glass fishing floats
while driving their old Ford
Bronco on the beach between
the South Jetty and Siltcoos
outlet.
They spent many, many
hours driving the beach.
She is survived by her hus-
band of 48 years; six children:
Rick Berry of Jasper, Ore.;
Debbie Mead of Springfield,
Ore,; Pam Card of Florence;
Angela Bartus of Sublimity,
Ore.; Kim Herber of Pow-
ell Butte, Ore.; and Bloise
LaDuke of Salem; 10 grand-
children, six great grandchil-
dren and numerous nieces
and nephews.
She will be lovingly remem-
bered by all who knew her.
No service is planned.
In her memory, donations
can be made to the Cascade
Raptors Center, 32275 Fox
Hollow Rd., Eugene, Ore.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
MARTIN— John O. Martin,
91, of Florence, died June 7,
2018, with family close by.
J o h n
was born
March 5,
1927,
in
Brenton,
Tenn.
John was
proud of
his mili-
tary
ser- John Martin
vice during
WWII, doing service and be-
ing honorably discharged in
both the U.S. Marines and the
U.S. Navy.
He was proud that he joined
the service under-aged at 17
to fight for his country. After
the service, he was a manager
of several types of businesses.
He was a police officer for 10
years, followed by being a pro-
prietor of a bar and a tavern.
John is survived by his life
companion Lillian Peters-
en; her daughter, Elaine; son
Ron Martin; two sisters, var-
ious nieces and nephews;
and other children he raised:
Jerry Porter, Bruce and Mark
Manning, as well as 26 grand-
children, great-grandchildren
and those who just called him
“Pa-John.”
John loved life, outdoors
and family.
He’s going to be greatly
missed by all.
Service will be held Satur-
day, June 23, beginning at 1
p.m., at Deadwood Pioneer
Cemetery.
NICHOLSON— Thomas C.
Nicholson, 62, of Florence,
passed away June 11, 2018.
A memorial celebration will
be held at a later date.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements.
BUCKLEY— Leonard Buck-
ley, 89, of Florence, passed
away June 13, 2018.
Arrangements are being
held through Burns’s River-
side Chapel Florence Funeral
Home.
MILLER— John C. Miller,
84, of Florence, passed away
May 19, 2018.
A memorial will be held on
Saturday, June 23, beginning
at 1 p.m., at the Florence Elks
Lodge.
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Florence Funeral Home is in
charge of arrangements
FLORENCE AIR ACADEMY
AND THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
Take to the Skies
July 30th – August 10th • For Teens 6th – 12th Grade.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Lane County is
partnering with Aero Legends for the 2nd Annual
Florence Air Academy.
The Florence Air Academy, led by COLs (Retired) T.F.
“Sam” Spayd and Terry Tomeny, will be a two-week course
teaching Boys & Girls Club members the principles of
aviation and information on careers in the aviation industry.
Classes will include a tour of the Coast Guard Helicopter,
flying Remote Controlled planes, piloting drones, and the
chance to fly one-on-one with an instructor pilot! The
Academy activities will be a combination of classroom study,
interspersed with hands-on activities and flight operations.
There is no cost to Boys & Girls Club of Western Lane
County members. All expenses for members are paid by
Aero Legends Biplane Rides. Teens not already a CLUB
member can join for a $25 membership fee and $50
Program fee.
Date & Hours of Operation: The course will be conducted
on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for two consecutive
weeks, July 30th – August 10th. Class time will be 0800 -
1200 and 1300 – 1500. Lunch will be provided by The Boys
& Girls Club.
' N!O
'
N ! O
Instructors: Sam Spayd is a former USAF and Commercial Airline Pilot with over 50 years of flying experience in aircraft ranging from the C-47
to the C-5A to Boeing 747/777’s worldwide. Terry Tomeny is a former USAF and Lockheed Martin Test Pilot and current Flight Instructor with over
45 years of flying experience in aircraft ranging from Reno Air Racers to F-16 Fighters to C-17 Transports.
GREAT FUTURES START HERE.
Don’t Delay! REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS JULY 16!
ONLY 20 SPOTS AVAILABLE SO SIGN UP NOW!
OF WESTERN LANE COUNTY
HELP US, HELP THEM
541-902-0304 www.bgcwlc.org
