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
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Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
Low Cost
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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.