2A • COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • JULY 11, 2018
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RECORDS
OBITUARIES
GOINS—Erwin Bernell
Goins passed away July 3,
2018, at his home in Curtin,
Ore.
He was born in Firest-
eel, S.D., on Aug. 2, 1933,
to Phillip and Grace (Holt)
Goins. His
family left
South Da-
kota
in
1935 be-
cause
of
the Dust
Bowl.
E r w i n’s
Erwin Goins
mother put
the family’s animals and be-
longings on the milk train
destined for Curtin.
At age 20, Erwin was draft -
ed into the army following a
two-year deferment aft er his
father’s death in a logging
accident. He served two
years at the Presidio in San
Francisco as a medic during
the Korean War.
He helped unload POWs
from incoming boats which
was an eye opener to this
young man astonished by
the cruelty of mankind.
While stationed in San
Francisco, Erwin met the
love of his life, Mardel
Howser. Th ey married in
1955 and were together for
58 years until her death in
2013.
Mardel and Erwin bought
acreage in Curtin where
they raised 10 children.
Erwin worked in local
lumber and plywood mills
for 30 years, half of that as
a millwright. He then “re-
tired” to run his Funny
Farm Orchards for another
30 years.
Many people knew and
loved Erwin for his deli-
cious fruits and honey, as
well as for his willingness
to share the gospel and his
love for his heavenly Father.
Although Erwin abandoned
the hobbies of his youth,
guitar playing and model
airplane building when he
and Mardel started their
family, he enjoyed helping
people through his skills at
metal fabrication and weld-
ing.
Erwin repaired logging
equipment, made trailers,
stoves, carts, racks and more
for friends and neighbors.
He is survived by his 10
children: Stanley Goins,
Marvin Goins, Clyde Goins,
Ramona Campbell, Jason
Goins, Cliff ord Goins, Eliz-
abeth Fitch, Agnes Hosey,
Rachel Sankokirchen and
Windell Goins; as well as
24 grandchildren and 10
great-grandchildren.
SWEARENGIN —Al-
exander
“Alex”
Curtis
Swearengin, 24, of Newport,
Ore., passed away July 2,
2018.
He was born June 21,
1994, in Lebanon, Ore., to
Stuart and Amy (Buzzell)
Swearengin.
Alex was a student in the
Aquarium Science Program
at Oregon Coast Communi-
ty College. He was a volun-
teer diver and loved giving
his time to the aquarium,
taking care of marine life,
the ocean and teaching oth-
ers how to care for it.
He also enjoyed hunting,
fi shing and being outdoors.
His son
was his
m o s t
precious
gift and
he loved
spend-
ing time
w i t h
Alexander
him.
Swearengin
Alex was an
Eagle Scout and PADI Dive-
master. He married Michae-
la Marie Edmunds on Aug.
4, 2012, in Dorena, Ore.
Alex is survived by his
wife, Michaela, of Newport;
his parents, Stuart and Amy
Swearengin; grandparents,
Janice and DeWayne Buz-
zell, and Jeralee Swearengin;
his son Landon Michael
Swearengin of Newport; his
sister, Jaydene; and brother,
Lucas Swearengin, both of
Cottage Grove.
A memorial service will
be held today, July 11, be-
ginning at 3 p.m. at the
Trinity Lutheran Church in
Cottage Grove.
Private burial will be at
Walker Cemetery.
A Memorial Fund has
been established at Banner
Bank. Contributions can be
made at the Cottage Grove
and Creswell Branches.
Arrangements by Smith-
Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel
in Cottage Grove.
FOX—Vince Fox, 68, of
C ott age
Grove,
d i e d
Nov. 4,
2017.
A cel-
ebration
of
life
will be
Vince Fox
from 1
to 4
p.m. on Satur-
day, July 14, at the Fin Hav-
en (Fox Farm), milepost 24,
State Hwy. 38, 12 miles west
of in Elkton, Ore.
Arrangements by Smith-
Lund-Mills Funeral Chap-
el in Cottage Grove. (HAS
PHOTO)
FULLER —Frederick
Harvey Fuller, 80, of Cot-
tage Grove, died June 29,
2018.
A celebration of life is
planned for a later date.
Arrangements by Smith-
Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel
in Cottage Grove.
BRUELY—Th eresa (Ter-
ry) Bruely passed away June
19, 2018, in Pendleton, Ore.
A celebration of her life
will be held June 30, begin-
ning at 2 p.m., at the Elks
Lodge in Cottage Grove.
GRAY—Th omas Joseph
Gray, 77, of Lorane, died
July 2, 2018.
No services are planned at
this time.
Arrangements by Smith-
Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel
in Cottage Grove.
Early release of inmates decreased by more than
50 percent after levy passage, says Sheriff ’s Office
In February of 2018, the
Lane County Sheriff ’s Of-
fi ce added 50 jails beds to
local capacity, increasing the
number from 317 to 367.
Th is was the fourth in-
crease in jail bed capacity
since the passage of the Pub-
lic Safety Levy in 2013, and
it’s had a positive impact on
the number of early releas-
es, or capacity based releas-
es (CBRs), from the Lane
County Jail.
In the fi scal year prior
to the passage of the Pub-
lic Safety Levy (FY 12/13),
over 5,000 inmates were
CBR’d from the jail due to
lack of funded jail beds.
Some of these inmates
were charged with violent
felonies and Measure 11
crimes.
Th e initial addition
of levy funded jail beds
(2013-2016) decreased the
number of CBRs by over
60 percent, and eff ectively
ended the early release of
those charged with violent
felonies and Measure 11
crimes.
BIRTH
Cesi Yaneth and Sergio
Anibal of Cottage Grove
welcomed a baby boy on
June 27 at PeaceHealth
Sacred Heart Medical
Center-RiverBend.
(Cesi Yaneth y Sergio
Anibal dieron la bien-
venida a un nino el 27 de
junio en PeaceHealth Sa-
cred Heart Medical Cen-
ter-RiverBend.)
Since the increase in lo-
cal jail capacity in February
2018, the Sheriff ’s Offi ce has
seen an-other signifi cant
decrease in CBRs compared
to the same time period in
2017.
From February 2017 to
May 2017, the Lane County
Jail CBR’d 912 inmates due
to lack of funded jail beds.
Th is year, with 50 more local
jail beds available, CBRs for
the same four-month peri-
od in 2018 decreased to 366
(from 912 in 2017).
With just a few days left
in the fi scal year (FY), the
jail is on track to CBR less
than 1,700 inmates for FY
17/18 compared to 2,440
CBRs for FY 16/17.
“While we are still releas-
ing inmates due to capacity,
they are fewer in number
and far less dangerous than
the inmates who were being
charged with violent felo-
nies that were being released
before the levy,” says Sheriff
Byron Trapp. “We are proud
to continue to report mea-
surable impacts provided
to the community from the
Public Safety Levy and are
extremely appreciative of
the community’s con-tinued
support.”
Funeral & Memorial Planning
e Funeral & Memorial Planning e Cremation Options e
Cremation Options
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& Memorials & e Memorials
Cemetery Options e
Monuments
Cemetery Options
Please Celebrate the 4th of July Safely!
123 South 7th,
Cottage Grove, Oregon
th
123
South
7
,
Cottage
Grove, Oregon
541-942-0185 •www.smithlundmills.com
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www.smithlundmills.com
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Charles Leon Smith
1933-2018
Charles Leon Smith was born on March
10, 1933 to Charlie Lewis Smith and
Mollie Mae Ash Smith whom both pro-
ceeded him in death. He was also Pro-
ceeded in death by his granddaughter
Hope Edmunds and son Charles Smith
Jr, brothers Joe Bray, Ben Bray, William
“Tommy” Bray and son-in-law Dana
Edmunds. Sisters Pearl Ash, Ruby Hall,
Libby Smith, June Owens, and Goldie Ross. Charles met the love
of his life Dorthy Shelton and they were married March 14th,
1953. Those left to cherish his memory are: His wife Dorthy
Smith, his children Patricia Smith, Barbara Edmunds, and Dan-
ny Smith and his wife Dondi Smith. His Grandchildren Cheryl
Smith-Engholm and her husband Ron Engholm, Tina Smith, Ja-
son Smith and his wife Tracy Smith, Marcus Edmunds and his
wife Shawn Edmunds, Leanna Edmunds, Michaela Swearengin
and her husband Alex Swearengin, Trenton Thompson, Brisen
Messerli and her husband Farren Messerli, Falen Smith, and
Trinity Smith. His great Grandchildren Serena Bishop, Shelby
Hendricks, Tyler Thompson, Landon Swearengin and Nicholas
Smith. Celebration of life to be held at 36715 Shore View drive
on July 29 th at 1:00 PM.
Allen Eugene Hand
1958-2018
Allen Eugene Hand of Eugene, OR
passed away on Friday, June 15, 2018 at the
age of 60. He was born in Eugene to parents
Donald and Mildred (Wagner) Hand. He
grew up in Cottage Grove and graduated
from Cottage Grove High School in 1976.
He married Stacy Fagnani on October 7, 2000. He had owned
his own business in graphic design for the last 10 years of his
life. Allen was full of life and made a difference to all who
knew him. He was caring, amazing, loving, and had patience
for anyone or anything. He was always willing to go above and
beyond for people. He had a positive outlook on life and was
known for his sarcastic sense of humor. Allen enjoyed sports,
especially Seattle Seahawks football. He also enjoyed movies,
bike riding, camping, and reading. He was a handyman, and
there wasn’t anything he couldn’t fi x or make. But his biggest
love and enjoyment was spending time with his family. Allen
is survived by his wife of 17 years, Stacy Hand of Eugene;
daughter Erin (Kenny) Damon of Springfi eld, OR; son Derik
(Brooke) Hand of Cottage Grove; daughter Brittnee (David)
Davis of Eugene; son Ethan Hand of Eugene; brother Robert
(Becky) Hand of Cottage Grove; loving nieces Hadley and
Taylor; nephew Mikey; and grandchildren Zander, Madelynn
and Ryder. A Celebration of Life and Barbecue Reception will
be held at 2:00 PM on Sunday, July 15, 2018 at Richardson Park
Campground, 25950 Richardson Park Rd, Shelter 3, in Junction
City, OR. Arrangements are in the care of Smith-Lund-Mills
Funeral Chapel in Cottage Grove.
Philip Norman (Pete) Ekelund
1925-2018
Philip Norman (Pete) Ekelund died June 24th, 2018 at the Courtyard at
Mt. Tabor Assisted Living Center of complications of stroke and heart failure.
Pete was born in Aitkin, Minnesota on January 22, 1925 to parents Rich-
ard and Ethel Ekelund. His youth was spent on the farm in Aitkin County, due
to health issues (allergies and asthma) he moved to be with his Uncle Walt and
Aunt Florence Ekelund in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Before entering the U.S. Navy in 1942, Pete worked with the Civilian
Conservation Corps in upstate Minnesota and was always willing to share
stories of hard work and youthful adventures from those times.
During World War II (1942-1946) Pete served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacifi c Theatre. He
served on Troop Transport during the Alaska Campaign, a minesweeper during the Tarawa Inva-
sion and other small island campaigns. He also served on a Destroyer late in the war during the
Iwo-Jima and Okinawa Campaigns.
While waiting in San Francisco for his destroyer to complete construction he met, wooed and
married Dorothy I. Walisch in April of 1944. Following his discharge in 1946 he moved Dorothy
and family, Ricky and Kathy, to Cottage Grove, Oregon to begin a 60-year life “Up Mosby Creek”.
Life was good and he honed his skills as a mechanic, welder and fabricator for Dale Harris’
shop and Georgia Pacifi c. After 30 years, he was to become the Division Master Mechanic.
In 1952, Pete and Dorothy were blessed with “Susie” their last addition to the family (unless
you consider the many black labs accumulated as family).
After a rather abrupt retirement (Georgia Pacifi c sold the Springfi eld Division in 1985), Pete
worked on a couple of mechanic projects welding and fabrication, and helped his son Rick form
and build a commercial fi shing business on the Oregon/California coast. At age 70 years, using his
mechanical and fabrication skills, Pete, along with his son Rick, and brother Ralph, constructed a
new 50 ft. fi shing vessel, the FISKINN II. This new vessel was fi shed by the family for many years.
Pete’s wife Dorothy died in July of 2004 and Pete decided in 2006 to sell the family homestead
and move to Portland where he spent 12 years with a new companion, Jeanne Young. These years
were blessed with many trips to Central Oregon, Minnesota, Florida and Alaska to visit and fi sh.
His last year was plagued with health issues, but he maintained the hope of seeing his beloved
lakes again. He will be sorely missed at our camp fi res, but his presence will always be felt.
He is survived by his family, Rick and Jackie Ekelund, Kathy Ekelund Slater, Doug and Sue
Pershall, 10 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.
Pete’s loss leaves only Herman and Harry (the twins) of his large family of 6 brothers and 1
sister.
Graveside services will be held for all interested friends, associates, and relatives at the Brum-
baugh Cemetery in Cottage Grove, Oregon on July 12, 2018 at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of fl owers, con-
sider a donation to Trinity Lutheran Church in Cottage Grove, Or. or Portland Rescue Mission in
Portland, Or.