2A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
On The Record
Dale D. Ware
1953-2019
Dale D. Ware of Th orn Bay,
Alaska passed away June 25,
2019.
Dale graduated from Cot-
tage Grove High School in
1971 and served in the United
States Navy.
Dale worked for Southeast
Road builders and PAPAC
Logging and Construction.
Dale called Th orn Bay, Alas-
ka home for 30 years.
Dale is survived by his
daughter; Jannette, Stepdaugh-
ter; Brenda, Stepsons; Curt,
Craig, Randy and Kenny; his
brothers Dick, Jerry, Randy,
Donald and several grandchil-
dren.
Dale was preceded in death
by his brother Roger.
No service is planned.
John Carl Yates
1949-2019
John Carl Yates, age 69, of
Springfi eld, Oregon, passed
away Th ursday, June 20, 2019.
He was born at Emanuel Hos-
pital on December 12, 1949 in
Portland, Oregon to parents
Robert and Ilene (Trunnell)
Yates. He married Debbie (Dix-
on) Yate January 20, 1981. Th ey
were married 21 years. John
graduated from Sheldon High
School in 1968 and worked as
a custodian and h andyman for
grocery stores and the DMV in
Cottage Grove. He was an avid
Elvis fan and model car col-
lector. He loved attending car
shows and show and shines.
John also loved shopping for
diecast cars at any local thrift
stores. He enjoyed family gath-
erings and traveling with the
family. John was a member
of the Lane Auto Modelers.
He was also a member of the
Special Olympics bocce team.
If you ever had a question for
john, he would respond, “that’s
fi ne”. Johns grandson Hugh is
the 6th generation on his fam-
ily’s farm, where John enjoyed
working in the hay fi elds and
tending to the animals. He is
survived by his stepfather Rob-
ert Grimes; daughter Angela
Yates; and Brothers Th omas
“Tom” Yates, and Robert “Bob-
by” Yates both of Eugene, Or-
egon and a grandson Hugh.
Th ere will be a private family
graveside at Fir Grove Ceme-
tery. Arrangements in the care
of Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
Chapel, Cottage Grove, OR.
Orville “Keith” Stiff
1929-2019
Orville “Keith” Stiff , a long-
time resident of Cottage Grove,
Oregon who resided in Spring-
fi eld for the last four years, died
on June 24 at the age of 90.
He was born in Boise, Ada
County, Idaho to Roland Ber-
trand and Ellen E. Patton Stiff
on 20 February 1929. He lived
in the Boise, Idaho area until
the family moved to Oregon in
1943. His family had deep roots
in Idaho and he was proud
of his maternal and paternal
grandparents’ pioneering spir-
it. He had fond memories of
living on the Stiff Homestead
in the Dry Creek area north of
Boise and of spending a lot of
time south of Marsing at the
Patton Homestead. At an ear-
ly age, his father Bert taught
him how to fi sh and hunt. He
helped his father pack in sup-
plies for the Forest Service up
to Yellow Pine, Idaho in the
summer. Keith loved that area
of Idaho and later in life Yellow
Pine became his home away
from home. He spent almost 20
years as Master of Ceremonies
for the Yellow Pine Harmonica
Festival and enjoyed jamming
with the other musicians while
playing his washtub.
Keith was a natural-born
storyteller and was the narrator
during the last several years for
Th e Blue Goose, an excursion
train in Cottage Grove. He en-
tertained thousands of guests
with stories about historical
sites along the tracks up to
Culp Creek and back. He loved
to reminisce about this time
and aft er retiring he traveled
all over the United States and
Canada to ride narrow gauge
and other steam excursion
trains.
Keith was a lumberman. His
fi rst experience in a mill was
before he graduated from high
school, when he took a job at
the Chambers Mill in Lorane
to help support his family. He
spent his entire working life in
mills with the exception of set-
ting pins in bowling alleys in
Boise and Cottage Grove, and
as a surveyor helper during
the construction of Dorena
Dam. Lumbering was natural
for Keith and in the 1950s he
became part-owner of Cottage
Grove Lumber Company. He
later worked for Leo Rickard
at Rickini Lumber in Saginaw,
then for Bohemia, Inc. as Yard
Superintendent until he re-
tired.
Keith was an avid sports-
man playing football and base-
ball in high school, even play-
ing a short time with the Drain
Black Socks. It was not unusual
to see him with two TV’s and
a radio by his easy-chair, as he
kept up with diff erent games
simultaneously. He loved to
bowl and was on the Master’s
team in Eugene. He also served
on the Eugene Men’s Bowling
Association as a board mem-
ber and president. He was an
outdoorsman who had a pas-
sion for rockhounding as well.
Many family vacations were
geared around the best rock
hunting locations. He passed
this hobby on to his children
and grandchildren.
On 28 August 1948, he mar-
ried Evelyn “Joy” Imel in Cot-
tage Grove. Th ey were married
for 66 years before her passing
on 19 January 2015. Keith met
Joy at Lorane High School,
where they both graduated in
1948. Th ey raised fi ve children:
daughter, Kay (Conley) Phil-
lips of Cottage Grove; daugh-
ter, Rhonda (Robert Kerrison)
Whetham of Fisher, ACT,
Australia; son, Dan (Umi) Stiff
of Tempur, Jawa Timar, Indo-
nesia; daughter, Debra (Tom)
Monsive of Cottage Grove; and
daughter, Toni (Bruce) Bevard
of Eugene. Keith is also sur-
vived by 10 grandchildren, 18
great-grandchildren and two
great-great-grandsons. He is
also survived by his sister, Nita
Bachelder of Springfi eld.
A graveside service was held
at 10:00 am on, Saturday, June
29th, at Fir Grove Cemetery in
Cottage Grove. In lieu of fl ow-
ers, donations can be made to
the Alzheimer’s Association.
Arrangements are in the care
of Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
Chapel in Cottage Grove.
Barbara Irene (Bobbie) Michaelson
Joey Deon Strebe
1924-2019
1969-2019
Barbara Irene (Bobbie) Mi-
chaelson of Cottage Grove died
on June 22, 2019, of complica-
tions from Alzheimer’s. She
was 95. She was born on Feb-
ruary 12, 1924 in Holtville, CA
to parents
Irene (Viele) and George
Hass. An important person
who raised Barbara and was a
father fi gure to her was Peter
D. Kuiper. Barbara graduated
from high school, and worked
for Western Union at Ft. Lew-
is, WA during WWII. Aft er-
wards she was a stay-at-home
mom. She enjoyed reading,
playing bridge, bowling and
crocheting. Barbara loved her
community. She was generous
in providing contributions to
the OLPH Catholic Church in
Cottage Grove, and the Cottage
Grove Hospital. She married
Clarence “Mike” E. Michaelson
on March 29, 1947 in Tacoma,
WA. She is survived by her
daughter, Pam Duff y and hus-
band, Dan, of Cottage Grove.
She was preceded in death
by her husband, Clarence E.
Michaelson, and sons Steven
and Kenneth. No service is
planned. Arrangements are in
the care of Smith-Lund-Mills
Funeral Chapel in Cottage
Grove.
Joey Deon Strebe of Cottage
Grove, OR died on June 8, 2019
at the age of 50. She was born
on March 25, 1969 in Arcata,
CA to parents Randy Cooper
and Jeri Hunter (McCutch-
eon). She attended Chemeke-
ta Community College in Sa-
lem, OR. She worked for U.S.
Bank for more than 20 years.
Joey enjoyed spending time in
nature with her family, friends,
and pets. She enjoyed plants,
animals, and rocks. She loved
to have gatherings and cam-
pouts at her house. Joey mar-
ried Jon Strebe on July 7, 2010
in Eugene, OR. She is survived
by her parents; husband, Jon;
daughters Jennett Hoch, Elissa
Ivie, and Ivory Stillman, all of
Springfi eld, OR; brother, Dax
Cooper of Jeff erson, OR; and
5 grandchildren. A Memorial
service will be held Saturday,
July 13, at 2:00 pm at Smith-
Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel,
Cottage Grove, OR.
Rose Marie Mootz, 88
1931 – 2019
Catholic Church in Cottage
Grove. For over twenty five
years, Rose was active in the
Janice Jean Neely
Altar Society, Catholic Daugh-
1927-2019
ters, the Society of the Sacred
Janice Jean Neely went
home to be with Jesus and her
twin sister Jean Janice on June
16, 2019 at the age of 92.
Jan was born along with her
twin sister Jean to Myrtle and
Roy Neely on February 12,
1927 in Grants Pass, Oregon.
Her forebearers were pioneer
settlers in the Grants Pass area.
She had many cousins that
she and Jean enjoyed playing
games with and picking wild-
fl owers.
Jan graduated from Grants
Pass High School in 1945
where she played on several
sports teams. She graduated
from the University of Ore-
gon in 1949. She received her
Masters Degree from the Uni-
versity of Washington. Her
fi rst teaching job was in Rose-
burg teaching Health and P.E.
In 1952 she moved to Cottage
Grove where she taught Health
and P.E. at Cottage Grove High
School. Jan developed the girls’
sports program. Her favorite
sport was tennis and her team
went to state several times. She
was named Teacher of the Year
by the South Lane Education
Association for 1971-72. She
eventually went into counsel-
ing and retired in 1987. Jan
was inducted into the Cottage
Grove High School Athlet-
ics Hall of Fame on April 10,
2010. Th en in April of 2012
the Coach Neely Fitness Trail,
a 2/3-mile loop trail was devel-
oped and dedicated to honor
her.
Jan and Jean were always
very close and aft er retirement
they lived together in their
house on the hill, traveled to It-
aly, Africa, Alaska and Hawaii
and hiked, camped, looked for
rocks and searched for wild-
fl owers. Th ey loved birds, ani-
mals and all God’s creation.
Th ey cared for their moth-
er who continued to live in
Grants Pass, taking turns driv-
ing back and forth, oft en over
treacherous, icy roads to honor
their mother’s wish to stay in
her own home. She fi nally ac-
quiesced and moved to their
home where she died one day
short of her 100th birthday.
Jan was a member at Riv-
erside Community Church of
God for all her years in Cot-
tage Grove. Aft er retirement
Jan and Jean became a force
at the church. Together they
developed a beautifully orga-
nized Wednesday night pro-
gram for children called Bible
Explorers. Th e emphasis was
on Bible memory work and
understanding. Jan was church
treasurer for several years,
served on the board and main-
tained an unending interest in
the budget. Jan and Jean sang
in the choir for many years. Jan
worked in the church library
and led a Sit and Be Fit exercise
class in her eighties.
Jan lost her beloved twin,
Jean, in 2009. She moved to
Magnolia Gardens in Decem-
ber 2013 and enjoyed her life
there very much. She was very
active leading exercises oft en,
playing Bingo, Skipbo and go-
ing on many of the excursions.
Jan loved sports all the days
of her life. She always had a
competitive spirit. She played
badminton at 4th of July BBQs,
racquet in one hand, cane in
the other and hiked some of
the Bohemia Mountain Trail
in her 80’s. She maintained an
avid interest in TV sports, es-
pecially tennis and Duck foot-
ball.
Janice Jean Neely was an
amazing woman who will be
remembered and missed by
many.
A celebration of life will be
held Saturday, July 20, 2019 at
2:00 PM at Riverside Commu-
nity Church of God, Cottage
Grove. Arrangements in the
care of Smith-Lund-Mills Fu-
neral Chapel, Cottage Grove,
Oregon.
Heart, and the Saint Vincent
De Paul Society as well as oth-
er ministries for the church.
She performed many acts of
mercy to help those in need.
Rose was an active member of
Rose Marie Mootz passed
Al-Anon for many years where
away peacefully at home. Rose
she helped bring hope to those
was born to her loving parents
in despair.
Charles and Marie Dvorak in
Rose is survived by her
South Gate, California. Rose
children Pat (Julie Campbell)
was the youngest of three chil-
Mootz, Yelm, Washington; Me-
dren.
linda Denson, Springfield, Or-
Rose graduated from Cal-
egon; Chuck (Laurie) Mootz,
ifornia State University at
Cottage Grove, Oregon; Joseph
Los Angeles with a degree in
(Shannon)
teaching. As her first teaching
Grove, Oregon; Margie (Rick)
assignment, Rose taught first
Lawler,
grade in Kettleman City, Cal-
Matt (Arlene) Mootz, Canyon
ifornia for mostly children of
Country,
migrant farm workers.
(Stacie) Mootz, Cottage Grove,
Mootz,
Portland,
California;
Cottage
Oregon;
Mark
In 1953, Rose married James
Oregon; Monica (Kevin) Yoss,
Thomas Mootz. Rose and Jim
Cottage Grove, Oregon; Jim
produced nine children in
Mootz, Jr, Bentonville, Arkan-
Norwalk, California before
sas. Also surviving are twenty
moving to Oregon in 1968.
two grandchildren and thir-
They settled their family on a
teen great-grandchildren. Ros-
forty acre ranch south of Cot-
es’ sister Mildred Stock lives in
tage Grove on the banks of the
La Habra, California.
Coast Fork of the Willamette
Rose was preceded in death
River where they lived for the
by her parents Charles and Ma-
next thirty two years before
rie, husband James, her broth-
moving to a home in Cottage
er Gene, her son in law John,
Grove.
her granddaughter Skyla and
All her life Rose was a nur-
grandson Matthew.
turing and kind teacher of
The family wishes to thank
young children. She taught
Hospice of Sacred Heart for
first grade at Blue Mountain
their guidance and support.
School from 1969 to 1974
Also, many thanks to all of
and at London School from
Rose’s caregivers for the won-
1974 to 1991. Rose loved her
derful care provided for her in
own children, grandchildren
her last months. In lieu of flow-
and
ers, please consider donating to
great-grandchildren.
They were continually in her
Saint Vincent De Paul.
thoughts and prayers. She
A Rosary will be held at
encouraged them in all their
7pm, Friday, July 5th at Our
endeavors and loved to be sur-
Lady of Perpetual Help Cath-
rounded by her family.
olic Church in Cottage Grove.
Rose loved gardening. Rose’s
Funeral services will be held
gardens produced much of the
at 11:30am, Saturday, July 6th
food for her young growing
at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
family. She produced many
Catholic Church. Services will
wonderful flower and food gar-
be followed by a reception. A
dens throughout her life.
private burial will follow the
Rose and Jim were devout
reception. Arrangements made
Catholics and active members
by Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral
of Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Chapel.
Final
Arrangements
Handled with Care
• Cremation Options
• Memorial & Funeral Planning
• Monuments & Memorials • Cemetery Options
• Family Owned & Operated
123 South 7th • Cottage Grove, Oregon
541.942.0185 • smithlundmills.com
