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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2019)
2A | SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2019 | SIUSLAW NEWS On The Record Obituaries GEER—Raymond R. Geer, 89, passed away Oct. 2, 2019, in Florence. Ray was born Feb. 5, 1930, to William (Bill) and Adella Geer. Raised in Florence, Ray loved and played all sports, becoming one of Siuslaw H i g h S cho ol’s star ath- letes. That is where he met the Raymond love of Geer his life, Twyla Francisco, whom he married in 1951 — the same year he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After the war ended, he attended Berkeley Univer- sity and received a degree in Business Finance then moved his family back to Oregon, where he began to work as a salesman for U.S. Plywood. He loved the sales in- dustry because it allowed him to work face to face with a variety of people, be his own boss, challenge himself and compete with others… all of his favorite things! During this time he raised four children along with his wife Twyla, but they decided to make a life change in hopes of having better opportunities. So, in 1973, they moved their family to Arizona. He was hired at Anozira Ga- rage Door Systems and in- stantly became its leading salesman. Although he was offered the top manage- ment position, he declined so that he could continue doing what he loved: work- ing directly with the public helping to grow the com- pany and still control his earning potential. Later in life, Ray and his wife decided to start an elderly care home which they called The Care Affair. It gained the reputation of having the best food and warmest caregivers in the business, successfully op- erating until 1997, when Ray and Twyla decided to retire back to their home- town — specifically, back to his wife’s family home- stead on Upper North Fork Road in Florence. They walked the proper- ty in search of the perfect spot to put their new house and then turned it into a home. Ray built a huge front porch for his wife to host porch parties, a large two-car garage and a big back porch. Together they created beautiful flower beds, a vegetable garden and took care of their new outdoor pets: the deer and birds. Ray was an honest, hard working man with a kind heart. He loved sports, es- pecially football! He also enjoyed playing chess, cribbage and pinochle. He was known for his hearty laugh, for his sense of hu- mor (as well as for being a jokester), his love of food and for being a great sto- ryteller. Ray was preceded in death by his wife, Twyla; brother Warren Geer; and son, Scott Geer. Ray is survived by his son, Kim Geer; daughters Rochelle Baliz, Shannon Nivilinszky (and her hus- band Barry Nivilinszky); as well as four grand- children: Shane O’Brien, Nichole Aramapakul, Brandon Nivilinszky and Jordan Nivilinszky; plus four great-grandchildren: Bryce O’Brien, Ayla An- thony, Cora Nivilinszky and Kyden Nivilinszky. His love for his family, friends and country was what made him the happi- est. No words can express how much we will miss our Dad, Papa Bear, Grandpa and dear friend. KELLY—Sharon L. Kel- ly, 76, formerly of Florence, passed away Oct.18, 2019, in Albany, Ore., where she had resided for the past 15 years. Sharon was born Dec. 25, 1942, in Portland, Ore., to Wil- liam and L aVira F a n - drey. The family moved to Eugene, O r e . , Sharon Kelly w h e n she was a young child. Sharon then graduated from South Eu- gene High School in 1961. She went on to graduate from the Eugene Techni- cal-Vocational School in 1963 with a degree in prac- tical nursing. Sharon married Ramon (Monty) Deardorff on Feb. 15, 1964, and the couple was married for 35 years. In 1977, they moved to Florence, Ore., where the two co-owned Siuslaw Au- tomotive & Towing until 1999. She enjoyed caring for the family horses with her daughters as well as help- ing others. Sharon was a member of PeaceHealth Hospital Auxiliary as well as the Florence Police De- partment Auxiliary. Sharon graduated from the Police Reserve Acade- my on June 13, 1996. She became a reserve police officer for the Florence Po- lice Department, where she stayed until her retirement. Sharon is survived by her three daughters: Lau- rie (Rob) Morton, Deb- bie (Ron) Beatty and Kim (Steve) Davis; six grand- children: Justin (Gretchen) Morgan, Aaron Morgan, Brad Davis, Myranda Da- vis, Stephen Davis Jr., and Brigett (Ethan) Jones; and five great-grandchildren: Grant, Brett, Devyn, Levi and Maverick. At her request, no formal services will be held. AAsum-Dufour Funer- al Home is handling the arrangements (www.aas- um-dufour.com). MILLER —Marilyn Miller, 77, passed away Oct. 23, 2019, in Florence. Born June 1, 1942, in Dallas, Texas, to parents Jeanne Vical and Hugh Milton M i l l - er, the Amer- i c a n South- west was Mar i - lyn’s first Marilyn Miller home — living in D e nton , Texas, and then Albuquer- que, New Mexico where she graduated from high school. She spent one year of high school in Auckland, New Zealand, and anoth- er at Siuslaw High School, where she was a cheerlead- er. She also studied at the University of New Mexico. Following her interest in the business world, she worked as Office Manager at Roberts Corporation in Albuquerque, and then as executive secretary to the company president of Ten- neco in Bakersfield, Calif. From 1977 to 1982, she was vice-president of Benefit Systems in Santa Monica, Calif., where she managed employee stock option plans (ESOP), pen- sion plans and defined benefit plans. At that time, Benefit Sys- tems was the second largest ESOP administration firm in the U.S. While her years in the Southwest initiated her to deserts, mountains and warm beaches, it was the Northwest that she truly loved — specifically the Central Coast of Oregon — where the family spent many summers at Siltcoos Lake. At the end of 1982, Mar- ilyn moved to the North- west for good. In 1985, she opened Coastal Answer- ing and Business Services, a full -service secretarial business which she owned and operated until 1996 — first on Maple Street in Old Town and lastly on Oak Street. She built a substantial and loyal clientele serving many Florence businesses. She retired from her busi- ness and eventually worked part time for three years at Grocery Outlet. As a long-time resident of Dunes City, Marilyn was active in local government, serving seven years on the Dunes City Planning Com- mission, five of which she served as a chairwoman; as Dunes City Councilor for four years and three years on West Lane Planning Commission as chairwom- an for three of those years. She actively lobbied for clean water and shoreline protection as well as sus- tainable development and guardianship of Oregon’s unique share of Nature’s bounty. Marilyn was also active in a variety of community organizations. She was a past board member of Siu- slaw Area Women’s Center (now SOS). She helped in the establishment of a safe- ty house in Florence for abused women and the be- ginnings of Florence Food Share. She and her friend, Gini James, helped organize and run the Focus Four hotline. She served as vice presi- Anniversary Come join family and friends to celebrate Dan and Vivian Stinger’s 70th wedding anniversary on Saturday, Nov. 2. The cele- bration will be at the West Woahink Meeting Hall, from noon to 4 p.m. No gifts please, and snacks will be provided. We will also be celebrating Dan’s 90th birthday! OPEN ENROLLMENT ENDS DEC 7 FEARLESS IS KNOWING YOU HAVE THE RIGHT MEDICARE PLAN Choose a plan that gives you the service, reliability and value you expect. With a wide variety of Medicare plans to choose from, you can have: Clarification Premiums as low as $0 $0 prescription deductible (generic tiers) $0 primary care copay Dental, vision and hearing benefits In front page story “Climate Debate Cont- nues Within Community” (Oct. 23), Mike Allen was identified as a member of the Florence Climate Al- liance; Allen is affiliated with the Siuslaw Climate Alliance, although he is not currently a member of the group. $0 medical deductible Chiropractic and massage benefits $0 annual physical exam Acupuncture and naturopathy benefits $0 fitness membership Over-the-counter drug allowance Call to schedule an appointment or for more information Call to schedule an appointment or for more information Abel Insurance Agency Abel Insurance Agency 875 Hwy 101, Florence, OR 97439 541-997-3466 875 Hwy. 101, Florence, OR 97439 • 541-997-3466 Licensed independent agent for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. Licensed independent agent for Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon. Weather Data D ATE Oct.15 Oct.16 Oct. 17 Oct. 18 Oct. 19 Oct. 20 Oct. 21 H IGH 57 57 58 58 54 54 60 L OW 42 50 47 45 47 47 53 R AIN 0.00 0.73 0.74 0.05 0.31 0.09 0.00 Courtesy of Roger Cunningham LIVE FEARLESS Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon is an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association REGENCE.COM/MEDICARE REG-110336-19/09-OR1-AEP ©2019 Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon Regence is an HMO/PPO/PDP plan with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in Regence depends on contract renewal. Regence complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-800-541-8981 (TTY: 711).ͩNj졿ƧưǷ̹ůɄġNJ뼷ǷĻŗы͘ȦīДҶՎ˖Ө뼶ɐٍǖ 1-800-541-8981 (TTY: 711). Y0062_AGFLR20_M Want more news? TheSiuslawNews.com dent of the Florence Coor- dinating Council and was nominated in 1993 for the Florence Area First Citizen award. She was a mem- ber of Coastal Consensus Group, the Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol and a longtime member of So- roptimist International of Florence and Florence Area Democratic Club. Marilyn enjoyed trav- eling and took many trips back to Albuquerque and Santa Monica, as well as Mexico and Europe. In keeping with her devo- tion to the Northwest, she traveled to both Barrow, Alaska, and Lake Banff, Canada, each on a Summer Solstice during the first de- cade of this century. She was an avid reader and enjoyed trying to out- wit crossword puzzles. Marilyn enjoyed cele- brating holidays with fam- ily and friends, always con- tributing her well-known and irresistible pumpkin pies. Marilyn, you were a big part of the Florence com- munity and you will be missed. We specialize in helping people get along with people CAFA, a mental health agency, now has a branch open in Florence Counseling for individuals, couples & children; neurofeedback; & group classes including parenting & emotional intelligence development Location: 491 Laurel Street Florence, Oregon 97439 Lori is a Contact: 541-686-6000 ex. 561 long time LoriM@Cafaweb.com Florence www.cafaweb.com resident MISSING PLANTS: Who ever picked up the potted plants left at Muriel O. Ponsler Memorial State park on 9/11, please contact the Lane County Sheriff ’s office to return them. No questions asked! Autumn Falling Leaves Bazaar St. Mary Our Lady of the Dunes Catholic Church Saturday, November 2 9:00AM - 2:00pm Gift Baskets Arts & Crafts Religious Jewelry Pie by the slice Sweet Shoppe Raffl e Gifts Books & Plants 85060 Hwy. 101 One Mile South of Bridge
