6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 18, 2015
Polk County News
OBITUARIES
Carolyn B.
Lindbeck
Aug. 20, 1923 – March 1, 2015
Memorial service for Car-
olyn B. Lindbeck, 91, is Sat-
urday at 1 p.m. at the Chapel
of St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church in Salem.
Virgil T. Golden Funeral
Service in Salem handled
arrangements.
Florine Lillian
Gibson-Kent
Aug. 25, 1928 – March 8, 2015
Florine Lillian Gibson-
Kent, 86, of Dallas died
March 8 in Dallas.
She was born in Oakhurst,
Okla., to
Earl Victor
and Delia
Helena
Gibson.
Flor ine
graduated
f r o m
Daniel
Webster High in 1946, and
earned an HRT degree at
Chemeketa Community
College. She worked as a
Certified Nurse’s Assistant at
the Oregon State Hospital.
She married Jesse Lee
Kent on Sept. 26, 1946, in
Oklahoma.
She was a member of Dal-
las Seventh-day Adventist
Church. Florine volunteered
at H2O in Dallas for 14 years.
She enjoyed reading the
Bible, sewing, genealogy,
furthering her education
and helping others. She was
set apart by her sense of
humor, her positive attitude,
patience and sweet person-
ality. She loved her family,
and her dream was to go to
heaven.
She was preceded in
death by her husband, Jesse
Kent.
Survivors include her son,
Roy Kent of Mill City; daugh-
ters, Jewell Kent-Weston and
Elizabeth Kent-Miller, both
of Dallas; eight grandchil-
dren; and nine great-grand-
children.
Private interment will be
at Willamette National
Cemetery, Portland.
Farnstrom Mortuary in
Independence handled
arrangements. To send an
online condolence:
www.FarnstromMortuary.co
m.
Elbert ‘Al’ Gerald
Durfee
Oct. 19, 1932 – Feb. 10, 2015
Elbert “Al” Gerald Durfee,
82, of Milton-Freewater,
died Feb. 10 in Walla Walla,
Wash., from injuries sus-
tained in an auto accident.
He was born to Justus
Bennett Durfee and Wilva
Lenore Finch Durfee at
home in Pedee.
Elbert spent most of his
adolescence going to school
and working with his dad on
the family farm and in saw
mills. He worked many
hours on the tractor, singing
and yodeling while plowing
their fields. He and his dad
did custom farming for
other farmers. He learned
his strong work ethic from
his dad and mom.
His family lived in Pedee,
Lebanon, and Dallas, during
his childhood. He went to
schools in Dallas and gradu-
ated from Dallas High
School in 1950. He attended
Oregon Technical Institute
in Klamath Falls and earned
AMY DIANE STALNAKER
January 28, 1963 - Feb. 26, 2015
Amy Diane Stalnaker, 52, passed
away tragically on February 26th in Dal-
las. Amy was the much-loved daughter
of Beverlee and Harry Stalnaker. She
was born in Salem on January 28, 1963.
She attended elementary and middle
school in Salem. One of her favorite ac-
tivities was softball, which she continued
when the family moved to Dallas. She
completed her high school education
there and then attended college in Seat-
tle, earning an Accounting degree. She
worked for 16 years for the Oregon
Dept. of Revenue.
Amy had a great love of the outdoors
and thoroughly enjoyed hiking, camping,
walking on the beach and evening camp-
fires. She hiked with the Chemeketans
for several years. One of her most mem-
orable experiences was a trip to Banff in
Canada with a friend.
Amy had a fantastic way with animals. She had cats and
pigeons, but dogs were her favorite pets. Her first dog was
named Jazz. So that Jazz would not be lonesome, she got
Riley. When Jazz died, she thought Riley needed a friend, so
she got Pendleton. Just last month when Riley died, she got
a puppy and named him Cody. Although they miss Amy
now, Pendleton and Cody do have each other.
Amy was a great organizer, was always willing to help a
friend, and had a terrific sense of humor. She was a real peo-
ple person and enjoyed good times with friends and family.
She is survived by her parents and her brother, Scott Stal-
naker (wife Veronica); her Uncle Robert Roy (wife Beverly);
and several cousins. She was preceded in death by her
brother, Marcus Lee.
A Celebration of Life is being planned for a later date.
Contributions may be made to Savin Juice Medical Dog Res-
cue at 8733 Ravena Dr. N, Salem, OR 97303.
a degree in automotive re-
pair.
Elbert worked for Joe
Card’s Service Station in Dal-
las.
Elbert enlisted in the
Army in 1953 and served his
country during the Korean
War at Fort Lewis, Wash., as
a combat engineer, private
first class, in Company C,
34th Engineering Battalion.
He was honorably dis-
charged in 1955.
Elbert married Helen Ann
Booth on June 16, 1956, at
t h e Un i t e d Me t h o d i s t
Church in
Sa l e m .
Early in his
career he
worked as
a mechan-
ic in La
Grande at
Hand Ford.
In 1961, El-
bert and
his family
moved to
Dayton,
where he
worked for another Ford
dealership as a mechanic
and later a parts man. He
was also a parts man for
Harvester Supply Inc. in
Dayton. In 1987, Elbert and
Helen moved to Milton-
Freewater, where he worked
at Pendleton Grain Growers
as a parts man until he re-
tired in 2009.
He enjoyed his family, fol-
lowing the sports teams of
his children and grandchil-
dren. He was known as
“Grandpa” to many kids in
the Touchet, Wash., commu-
nity where they lived. Elbert
had a great sense of humor
and a smile that lit up a
room. He was a devoted and
hardworking provider for his
family. He had a great appre-
ciation for the outdoors, en-
joyed traveling, photogra-
phy, hunting and fishing. He
also enjoyed reading west-
ern fiction and history
books.
Elbert was a member of
the Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation, the National
Rifle Association and the
North American Hunting
Club.
Following his wife’s death
he founded a scholarship in
Helen’s name through the
Touchet Educational Foun-
dation to honor her teaching
career and to assist Touchet
students pursuing a career
in education.
He was preceded in death
by his wife, Helen in 2003
and his brothers, Allen and
Cary.
Survivors include his
daughter, Teri (Jeff) of Mil-
ton-Freewater; sons, Stuart
(Laurie) of Touchet and Jess
(Regina) of Albany; sisters,
Donna Brennan and Lela
Gaither, both of Dallas;
brother, Elmer Durfee of
Lebanon; six grandchildren;
and six great-grandchildren.
At his request no service
was held. Celebration of El-
bert’s life is March 28 in
Touchet.
Contributions are sug-
gested to the Helen and El-
bert Durfee Educational
Scholarship Fund in care of
the Touchet Educational
Foundation, P.O. Box 272,
Touchet, WA 99360, or Provi-
dence St. Mary’s Regional
Cancer Center, 401 W.
Poplar, Walla Walla, WA
99362, or to a charity of the
donor’s choice.
Galen Lee Henry
Aug. 9, 1945 – March 6, 2015
Galen Lee Henry, 69, of
Lebanon died March 6 in
Lebanon.
He was born in Waldport.
He moved to Dallas as a
child and graduated from
Dallas High School.
In 1962, he joined the Na-
t i o n a l
Guard. He
received
his associ-
ate degree
in drafting
from Chemeketa Communi-
ty College and then a bache-
lor’s degree in theology from
Western Baptist Bible Col-
lege.
Galen pastored a church
in Crabtree until 1979, and
then went to work for the
phone company (currently
CenturyLink) and retired in
2011.
Galen married Sharon
Cauthorn on Sept. 27, 2002.
Galen enjoyed hunting,
fishing, aviation and civil
war history, golfing and
woodworking.
He was preceded in death
by two sisters.
Survivors include his wife,
Sharon; children, Aaron
Henry of Albany, Colleen
Henry of Sweet Home,
Shawn Henry of Newberg,
and Matthew Henry of
Lebanon; and brother, Rusty
Henry of Washington.
Me m o r i a l s e r v i c e i s
March 28 at 11 a.m. at Grace
Bible Fellowship Church,
33990 McFarland Road, Tan-
gent.
Hu s t o n - Jo s t F u n e r a l
Home in Lebanon handled
arrangements.
Esther H. (Kroeker)
Eckert
Oct. 9, 1930 – March 12, 2015
Esther H. (Kroeker) Eck-
ert, 84, of Dallas Thursday in
Dallas.
She was born in Goessel,
Kan., in Marion County, to
Klass E. Kroeker and Agan-
thena E. Harder.
Esther attended school in
Inman,
K a n . ,
S a l e m ,
Aumsville
and West
Salem and
graduated
from the
We s l e y a n
Methodist Academy in Mil-
tonvale, Kan., in 1949. She
met Rex L. Eckert (her future
husband) during her senior
year of high school.
She returned to West
Salem where her parents
lived. She worked for the
state of Oregon Unemploy-
ment Department. In 1951,
the family moved to
Hutchinson, Kan., where Es-
ther worked for Bankers Life.
In August of 1952, she
married the love of her life,
Rex in the Nazarene Church
in Hutchinson.
Rex was in the Air Force
and on his way to his duty
station in Denver at the time
they married. They traveled
extensively in the United
States during his service
time. Esther worked during
this time. In 1956, their first
child was born and Esther
choose to be a full-time
mother.
When Rex was discharged
they returned to Kansas
where Rex worked with his
father in home remodeling
in Salina, and then returned
to farming in Niles, Kan. Es-
ther also helped at the farm
during this time. In 1964, the
family left the farm to help
their former minister of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church
in Madison, Wis., to organize
a new church in Anchorage,
Alaska. Esther was very in-
volved in the Anchorage
Rescue Mission, the 5 Days
Clubs, Child Evangelism Fel-
lowship and with teens at
the church.
Activities that she greatly
enjoyed were salmon fish-
ing, clam digging, berry
picking, snow machining,
cross-country skiing, hiking
and various craft activities.
Esther and Rex spent two
years traveling in an RV and
Sudoku Solution
then settled in Dallas, where
they designed and built their
home and attended the
Evangelical Bible Church.
She is preceded in death
by her sister, Margaret.
Survivors include her
husband, Rex; sons, Steven,
Ray, and Kenneth Lee
( Tammy) Eckert; three
grandchildren; and one
great-grandchild.
Graveside service is today
(Wednesday) at 10 a.m. at
Dallas Cemetery. Memorial
service follows at 11 a.m. at
the Evangelical Bible Church
in Dallas.
Contributions are sug-
gested to Northwest
Nazarene University for the
Rex and Esther Eckert Schol-
arship.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Hazel Darlene
Johnson
Oct. 2, 1928 – March 10, 2015
Hazel Darlene Johnson,
86, of Monmouth died
March 10
in Salem.
She was
born to Hal
and Marie
Clary in
Highland,
Kan. She
was known
by her mid-
dle name of Darlene, which
she thought was a prettier
name than Hazel.
Darlene met Warren C.
Johnson in Independence
when they were both very
young as neighbors. Years
later after Warren went into
the Air Force, Darlene and
her father moved back to
Kansas. While Warren was
on leave in 1944, he went to
Kansas and they were mar-
ried. They later moved back
to Oregon in the late 1940s
settling in Monmouth,
where she was a homemak-
er.
Darlene enjoyed garden-
ing, hunting, camping and
sharing her faith in God.
She was preceded in
death by her husband, War-
ren; daughter, Theresa
Reyes; brother, Robert Clary;
sister, Elsie Benitz; and three
grandchildren.
Survivors include her
daughter, Patricia Arreola of
Salem; son, Warren C. John-
son Jr. of Salem; sister, Betty
Ballant of Rancho Cuca-
monga, Calif.; 11 grandchil-
dren; and 14 great-grand-
children.
No service will be held
and burial will be private.
Celebration of life with the
family is planned for a later
date.
Farnstrom Mortuary of
Independence handled
arrangements. To send an
online condolence:
www.FarnstromMortuary.co
m.
Michael B. Benson
May 22, 1957 – March 13, 2015
Michael B. Benson, 57,
died Friday.
Service will be held at a
later date.
Virgil T. Golden Funeral
Service in Salem handled
arrangements.
More
OBITUARIES,
Page 5A
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