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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 2015)
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • January 28, 2015 Polk County News NEWS IN BRIEF OBITUARIES Dick Allen Unruh April 19, 1939 – Jan. 7, 2015 Dick Allen Unruh, 75, of Monmouth died Jan. 7 after a lengthy battle with prostate cancer. He was born in Clatskanie to Alex and Katherine Unruh. He attended his first two years of elementary school in the Clatskanie area prior to the fami- ly’s move to Mon- mouth. Dick grad- uated from Model Ele- mentary School, part of Oregon College of Education, and later graduated from Central High School in 1956. He enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Ger- many; he received an honor- able discharge. Dick returned to Monmouth and pursued his college education, gradu- ating with honors. Dick was a talented musi- cian and played several in- struments. He excelled in percussion and pursued a full-time career as a drum- mer and drum teacher. He played with many bands and groups throughout the west- ern United States. After a brief stint working for the musicians union in Portland, he returned to Monmouth, where he resided until his death. He was an active partici- pant in community endeav- ors and gave freely of his time when called. He was a longtime member of the Ma- sonic Lodge and held office as worshipful master of Lyon, Rickreall and Jennings lodges and worthy patron of Adah Chapter Order of East- ern Star. He also held mem- berships in the Woodburn Masonic Lodge, and Little Falls and Grand Mound Ma- sonic Lodges of Washington, Salem Valley Scottish Rite, Multnomah Chapter No. 1 York Rite and Al Kader Shriners. He was honored to be appointed as grand chap- lain for Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons in Oregon from 2012-2014. Memorial service is Friday at Scottish Rite Temple in Salem. Contributions are suggest- ed to a charity of choice. Crown Memorial handled arrangements. Mary Louise Ridgeway June 26, 1921 – Jan. 25, 2015 Mary Louise Ridgeway, 93, of Salem, formerly of Sheri- dan, died Sunday in Salem. Adamson’s Mor tuar y, Sheridan, is handling arrangements. Christopher James Clothier Jan. 23, 1990 – Jan. 19, 2015 Christopher James Cloth- ier, 24, of Dallas died Jan. 19. He was born in Salem and lived most of his life in Dal- las. Chris graduated from Dal- l a s Hi g h School with the Class of 2008. He participat- ed in cross-country and was on the high school wrestling team. Chris enjoyed hunting, fishing, hiking, rock climbing and sky diving. He loved the outdoors and adventure. Some of his hobbies includ- ed beekeeping, archery, tak- ing care of animals and char- ity work. He was known as a bright, loving and caring person with a warm contagious sweet smile and great sense of humor. Chris was a loving and protective brother to his three sisters and a comfort to be around. Chris’ compas- sion for others led him to be- come a certified nursing aide (CNA) as he hoped to pursue a career in the medical pro- fession. He is survived by his fami- ly. Service is Wednesday (today) at 2 p.m. at Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center. Contributions are suggest- ed to be made to the local EASA Program of Polk Coun- ty, 503-623-9289, in the form of gift cards only (Visa, food cards, etc.) to help those who struggle as young adults. Dallas Mortuary Tribute Center handled arrange- ments. To send an online condolence: www.dallastrib- ute.com. Krystal Lenar McPherson Ferdig May 28, 1980 – Jan. 8, 2015 Krystal Lenar McPherson Ferdig, 34, of Falls City died Jan. 8 in Portland. She was born to Kenneth McPher- son and Shanna Calvo in Salem. S u r - vivors in- clude her brothers, Kenneth McPherson and Keinan McPherson; sisters, Lacey Mc P h e r s o n a n d A n g e l McPherson; grandmother, Lois Sallee; and extended family. No service will be held. Miriam Edwards Gilbert March 4, 1927 – Jan. 23, 2015 Miriam Edwards Gilbert, 87, of Boise, Idaho, formerly of Dallas, died Friday in Boise. She was born in north Idaho to Jack and Dora Ed- wards. The family moved in 1941 to southern Idaho, where Miriam attended schools. She was a cheerleader at Meridian High School and graduated in 1945. Miriam went to the Col- lege of Id a h o i n Caldwell, where she obtained a teaching certificate and met the love of her life, LeRoy “Gib” Gilbert. They were married in 1948. Miriam taught school in Hailey, Idaho, and at Lakeview in Nampa, Idaho. In 1957, they adopted a baby boy, who was the “apple of their eye,” and named him Christopher. In 1968, the family moved to Dallas, where Miriam and Gib both worked for the school district. After Gib died, Miriam moved back to Boise and lived there until her death. She was preceded in death by her husband, LeRoy; son, Christopher; and sister, Jack- ie Edwards. Survivors include her sis- ter, Joan Williams of Boise; three grandchildren; one great-grandson; and extend- ed family. Service is Monday at noon at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 5009 Cassia St., Boise. Interment will follow at 3 p.m. at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise. Contributions are suggest- e d t o G o o d S h e p h e rd Lutheran Church or a charity of choice. Summers Funeral Homes, Boise Chapel, handled arrangements. To send an online condolence: www.summersfuneral.com. Sam Guida June 5, 1937 – Jan. 22, 2015 Sam Guida, 77, of Pedee died Thursday in Pedee. He was born in Tampa, Fla., to Delores and Sam Guida. Sam graduated from Jef- ferson High School and in 1955 went into the Air Force, where he spent time sta- tioned in England and North Africa. He lived in a variety of places in California and Ore- gon in- cluding L a k e Ta h o e, Sunnyvale, R o g u e River, Cor- vallis and M o n - mouth, and then settled in Pedee, where he designed and built a home in 1983. Sam beat the odds with a challenging type of Leukemia and lived five years longer than was expected. That gave him much more time to enjoy and appreciate his family, grandchildren and friends, plus a chance to add a few more travels. He and his wife, Judy, trav- eled to Asia, Mexico, Central America and Europe, as well as taking RV trips throughout the western and southwest- ern parts of the U.S. Sam loved building proj- ects, working with stained glass, reading and exercise of all types, including biking, weight lifting, yoga and run- ning. He enjoyed having lively discussions with friends. He had a wonderful sense of humor that lasted up to the very end. He took not much of anything too seriously. Sam worked in the elec- tronics field for most of his career and retired in 1990 from Hewlett-Packard in Corvallis. He then received his real estate license and worked in Corvallis for five years as a Realtor. He thought retirement was great. Survivors include his wife of 31 years, Judy; brother, Joe Guida of Houston; children, Matt (Amanda) of Bremer- ton, Wash., Tony and John (Gina), all of Houston; four grandchildren; and extend- ed family. Me m o r i a l s e r v i c e i s March 7 at 11 a.m. at Pedee Memorial Church. Contributions are sug- gested to Medical Teams In- ternational or Heifer Inter- national. Farnstrom Mortuary, Inde- pendence, handled arrange- ments. To send an online condolence: www.Farn- stromMortuary.com. Man arrested on sex abuse charges MONMOUTH — Monmouth Police arrested a 50-year-old transient Jan. 18 on sex abuse charges after an incident report- ed recently in the 300 block of Whitesell Street West. Peter Robert Furman, who told police he was living in a rock quarry in Salem, was charged with first-degree sex abuse for al- legedly subjecting a minor to sexual contact. Police believe Fur- man may have had contact with other minors. Furman, who reportedly left the residence on foot, was later found and arrested in northeast Salem Anyone with more information regarding this investigation or other information about Furman is asked to call Monmouth Police at 503-838-1109. Salem Police Department and Polk County Sheriff’s Office as- sisted with the arrest. Fire ‘Wall of Honor’ induction set DALLAS — The Dallas Fire & Emergency Medical Services will hold its inaugural induction of its Wall of Honor on Thursday at the Dallas fire station, 915 SE Shelton St. The induction ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. and the inaugu- ral class includes Delbert Fredricks, Curt Lamb, Pete Peters and Harpy Bovard, who will be honored for their “exemplary lifetime service to the Fire and EMS Department and the community.” The event is open to the public. For more information: 503-831-3530. Independence seeks input on parks INDEPENDENCE — The city of Independence will host an open house Thursday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. for citizens to discuss the future of city parks. Draft plans for every city park, including the entire riverfront, will be presented. City staff will propose a variety of improve- ments that would be completed over the next 20 years, said Shawn Irvine, Independence economic development director. A few new parks will be proposed as well. Irvine said Thurs- day’s presentation is the result of taking input from the commu- nity during the first phase of the parks master plan. The open house will be in the Riverside Rooms at the Inde- pendence Civic Center, 555 S. Main St. Dallas receives budgeting award DALLAS — The city of Dallas has been awarded the Govern- ment Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the U.S. and Cana- da’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. The award was for the city’s 2013-14 budget and recognizes “the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting.” In order to receive the award, a governmental agency’s budg- et must meet nationally recognized guidelines to serve as: a pol- icy document, a financial plan, an operations guide, and a com- munication device. Sheriff seeking reserve deputies POLK COUNTY — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting reserve deputy sheriff applications for the reserve academy that starts in November. Applicants must be 21 years of age and will be required at a minimum to pass a written test, interviews, criminal back- ground check, psychological evaluation, physical fitness test and drug screening. Applications for the position are now available online at http://www.co.polk.or.us/ru/volunteer-opportunities-polk- county and select the volunteer application. The application deadline is Feb. 13 at 5 p.m. Send the completed applications to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 850 Main St., Dallas. For more information: Detective John Williams, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, 503-623-9251. City of Dallas to host ‘citizen’s academy’ Itemizer-Observer staff report DALLAS — The city of Dallas is hosting its first “cit- izens academy,” a six-class seminar designed to offer citizens an overview of how the city operates. The academy is free and is an opportunity to be- come familiar with the serv- ices provided by the city and to meet the staff re- sponsible for providing them. Those interested in par- ticipating need to register online at www.ci.dallas.or.us by Feb. 13. The first class is Feb. 19 and will cover the history of Dallas, city management and leadership, and local budgeting and finance. The next five classes are sched- uled every two weeks. Session two, on March 5, will provide an overview of the city infrastructure and its maintenance. On March 19, at session three, city staff will cover leisure activities available, including the Dallas Public Library and parks. Session four, on commu- nity development, sched- uled April 2, is dedicated to land-use planning, econom- ic development, building safety, urban renewal and the Dallas Aquatic Center. Session five, April 16, will explore Dallas’ public safety agencies, including police and fire and emergency medical service depart- ments. The final session on May 4 will have academy partici- pants meet the Dallas City Council and an academy “graduation.” To register or for more in- formation about session schedules and topics: www.ci.dallas.or.us. Obituary Information Salem 412 Lancaster Drive NE Salem, OR 97301 (503) 581-6265 Low Cost Cremation & Burial Funerals & Memorials Simple Direct Cremation $495 Simple Direct Burial $550 Traditional Funeral $1,975 Discount priced Caskets, Urns and other Memorial items. Privately owned cremation facility. Locally owned and operated by Oregon families. “Polk County’s ONLY Family Owned Funeral Homes and On-Site Crematory” www.ANewTradition.com Obituary information must be submitted by 4 p.m. on the Monday before publication to be included in the newspaper. Most funeral homes handle obituary information and pro- vide it to the newspaper. How- ever, information can also be submitted directly from family members. Color and black-and-white photos can be submitted, but photos will only be published in black and white. The Itemiz- er-Observer uses a flag logo in the obituaries of people who served in the armed forces. Obituaries — like all infor- mation submitted to the news department — are subject to editing for style, content and length. Information can be brought or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob- server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas, OR 97338, emailed to nadams@polkio.com, or fill out the online form at www.polkio.com. For more information: Nancy Adams, 503-623-2373.