6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 25, 2015
Polk County News
OBITUARIES
Robert Dale
Flugum
July 1, 1938 – March 16, 2015
Robert Dale Flugum, 76,
of Dallas died March 16.
He was born in Albert Lea,
Minn., to Oscar and Emma
(Davidson) Flugum.
After high school, Robert
joined the Navy with his
best friend on the “buddy
system,” Charlie Scrabeck.
He spent
four years
in
the
Navy be-
fore taking
a job with
IBM in Los
Angeles.
I B M
trained
him. He
spent the
rest of his
c a r e e r
with them
as a customer engineer.
While working with IBM, he
was a volunteer IBM repre-
sentative at the Atlanta
Olympic Games.
He m a r r i e d B a r b a r a
Grimm in Fullerton, Calif.,
on Aug. 12, 1966.
Robert was very proud of
his Norwegian heritage and
his left-handedness. He en-
joyed singing in various
choirs, golfing and wood-
working, and he loved to
travel.
Survivors include his wife,
Barbara; children, David and
Kathy; brothers, Virgil and
Rolland Flugum; sisters, Fern
Wahlers and Irene Sletton;
and two grandchildren.
Service is Wednesday
(today) at 11 a.m. at Trinity
Lutheran Church in Dallas.
Private interment will be at
Willamette National Ceme-
tery in Portland.
Contributions are suggest-
ed to Trinity Lutheran
Church or Parkinson’s Re-
sources of Oregon.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Melody Dalene
Cobine Ciotti
Jan. 19, 1956 – March 3, 2015
Melody Dalene Cobine
Ciotti, 59, of Eugene died
March 3.
She was born in Salem to
Don and Dalene Cobine.
She married Mario Ciotti
on Feb. 14, 1981, and had
been married for 34 years.
Melody worked as a day
care provider for 30 years
and loved
children.
She en-
joyed crafts
and spend-
ing time
with her
grandchil-
dren and
family.
Survivors include her hus-
band, Mario; children, Da-
lene (Grant) Dugini and An-
thony Ciotti III; parents,
Don and Dalene Cobine; sis-
ters, Marian (Robert) Wallis
Fitts, Cindy Cobine Dale,
Wilona Cobine and Heather
Wallis-Lange; brothers,
Daniel Cobine and Landon
Wallis; and two grandchil-
dren.
Memorial service is Satur-
day at 2 p.m. at Trinity
Methodist Church, 440
Maxwell Road, Eugene.
Howard Wallace
DeGlow
April 1, 1924 – March 20, 2015
Howard Wallace DeGlow,
90, of Dallas died March 20.
Contributions are suggest-
ed to Benton Hospice of Cor-
vallis.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Frank J. Wells
July 30, 1921 – March 18, 2015
Frank J. Wells, 93, of Mon-
mouth died March 18.
He was born in Concord,
Mich., to Moses and Edith
Wells.
Frank went to high school
in Concord, where he met
Winifred
“Irene”
Cochran.
F r a n k
joined the
Navy in
1940 and
later served
in the Pa-
cific Cam-
p a i g n .
Frank’s first
duty as-
signment
was in Bre-
merton, Wash., and Irene fol-
lowed him to Seattle, taking a
job with Boeing. Frank mar-
ried Irene on Aug. 18, 1941,
in Seattle.
They traveled extensively
while Frank was in the Navy,
living in Guam and many
places along the West Coast.
He retired from the Navy
with the rank of chief petty
officer (DCC) in 1960. He
continued serving in the
Naval Reserves until retiring
again in 1970.
The family lived in Michi-
gan and California before
moving to Rickreall in 1962.
While in Rickreall, Frank
worked at the mill in Valsetz.
He later made lumber stick-
ers and shingle bands in his
private mill. He expanded
his business in 1968, relocat-
ing the family and mill to In-
dependence. He also worked
as a lumber broker. After re-
tiring from the lumber busi-
ness, Frank and Irene lived
in Woodburn, Lincoln City
and Florence before reset-
tling in Monmouth in 2001.
They attended Christ’s
Church Methodist & Presby-
terian United in Monmouth.
Frank was preceded in
death by his first wife, Winifred
Irene Wells, on June 25, 2004.
He later married Lorraine
Jones on July 10, 2005, in
Monmouth. They had lived
at Dallas Retirement Village
for the last two years.
Frank enjoyed fishing,
latch hooking and growing a
garden. He also liked to go
on Sunday drives.
Survivors include his wife,
Lorraine Wells; sons, Gary
Wells, Vernon (Nancy) Wells
and Barry Wells; sister, Bertha
Fleis; four grandchildren; and
seven great-grandchildren.
Family graveside service
will be at Willamette Nation-
al Cemetery in Portland with
full military honors.
A fellowship reception will
be held on April 3 from 4 to 6
p.m. at the home of Vern and
Nancy Wells.
Contributions are suggest-
ed to the Monmouth-Inde-
pendence Community
Scholarship Fund in care of
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center, which handled
arrangements.
To send an online condo-
lence: www.dallastribute.com.
Nigel Walter
Page
Jan. 12, 1927 – March 15, 2015
Nigel Walter Page, 88, of
Dallas died March 15.
He was born in Watford,
England,
to William
and Leah
(Barrett)
Page.
He mar-
ried Mary
Spang on
Dec. 23,
1965; they
spent the next 49 years to-
gether.
Nigel was enlisted with
the Royal Air Force as a hy-
draulic mechanic and
worked on such airplanes as
the Spitfire and Super Ma-
rine Spitfire while in the
MICHAEL BAIRD BENSON
CLARENCE “RONALD” WILSON
May 22, 1957 - March 13, 2015
December 17, 1938 - March 12, 2015
Michael Baird Benson, 57, of Port-
land and formerly of Dallas died March
13, 2015 in Portland. Michael was born
May 22, 1957 in Salem to Bernard and
Darlene Benson of Dallas.
Michael graduated from Dallas High
School in 1975 and attended Chemeketa
Community College. Michael served in
the Army for seven years and received
the Army Commendation Medal.
Michael served in the US as well as Germany. His last posi-
tion was as a General’s personal driver. Upon his discharge
Michael worked for Pratigzer Industries Inc. and later for the
imaging department in the Salem Hospital for 13 years.
Michael established his own business, American Consumers
Services.
Michael was an avid oil painter and a creative graphics art
designer. He loved to travel and the highlight of his travels
was an extended vacation in Italy and Spain. Michael was a
kind and sensitive person.
Michael leaves behind his father, Bernard, of Dallas. His
siblings include Debbie Fast of Klamath Falls, Raymond Ben-
son of Salem, Sandy Mayer of Dallas, and Tina Scheer of
Vancouver, WA. He leaves behind numerous nieces and
nephews. Michael also leaves his former wife, Cheri Benson
of Salem. Michael was predeceased by his mother, Darlene
and sister Vicky, and son Ryan Benson.
A private tribute in Michael’s memory will be held at 2:00
pm at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland on July
24th with full military honors. Assisting the family is Virgil
T. Golden Funeral Service.
Ron was the first born to George
Cyril “Cy” Wilson and Lila Hamar Wil-
son on December 17, 1938, in McMin-
nville, Oregon. The family moved to
Monmouth, Oregon in 1945. Ron at-
tended Monmouth Elementary, now
called Campus Elementary. After ele-
mentary he attended Central High of
Monmouth and Independence where he
participated in numerous functions, let-
tering in three sports as well as Band,
Chorus, Drama, DeMolay, Beaver's
Boys State, and All Northwest Chorus
and Band.
After High School, Ron joined the
Navy and completed training for Air
Traffic Control. He saw the world on
aircraft carriers as well as two tours of
Vietnam. After twelve years in the Navy, he moved to the
Federal Government and the Federal Aviation Agency from
which he retired in 1995 as Chief of the Eugene Airport.
Ron is survived by his son Ron (Heidi) of Livermore, CA;
3 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren; brother Lynn of
Keizer; and companion, Jackie of Independence.
Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, April 23, 2015
at 2:00 PM at the Salem Eagles, 2771 Pence Loop SE, Salem,
OR. Farnstrom Mortuary is caring for the family. Memories
and condolences at FarnstromMortuary.com.
service. He and his wife
spent 35 years in Glendale,
Calif., where he worked as a
mechanical engineer. After
he retired, they moved to
Dallas and settled here in
2000.
Nigel was an active person
and spent a lot of time doing
things he loved and enjoyed,
such as fishing, boating,
kayaking, golfing, camping,
snow and water skiing, trav-
eling, gardening, and more
than 40 years of square
dancing.
Survivors include his wife,
Mary; daughter, Glenda
(Jack); and extended family.
Service was Saturday at
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Vera P. Fusano
May 31, 1917 – March 17, 2015
Vera P. Fusano, 97, former-
ly of Coos Bay, died March 17
in Salem.
She was born to William
and Ellen Hunt.
Vera worked for Smith
Wood Products in Coquille,
Evan’s Lumber Mill in Coos
Bay pulling green chain, at
the local
bowling
alley as a
w a i t re s s ,
and later
as a host-
ess at the
Elks Lodge
in Coos
Bay for 20
years. After Vera retired she
volunteered at the Bay Area
Hospital gift shop for 20
years. She made baby blan-
kets, booties and bonnets to
sell in the gift shop.
Vera had attended First
Presbyterian Church in
North Bend. She had a real
green thumb and enjoyed
flower gardening. Vera
moved to the Willamette Val-
ley several years ago to be
closer to her daughter.
She was preceded in
death by her brother, Lowell
Hunt.
She is survived by her
daughter, Patricia of Dallas.
Graveside service was
held Tuesday at Ocean View
Memory Gardens in Coos
Bay.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
condolence: www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
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Dwayne
Hutcheson
July 10, 1961 – March 18, 2015
Dwayne Hutcheson, 53, of
Independence died March
18 following a long illness.
He was born to Earl and
Margaret Hutcheson.
Dwayne grew up on the
Oregon Coast. He married
his teenage sweetheart, Jan-
ice, and to-
g e t h e r
they had
three chil-
dren: Keith
Hutcheson
o f Wa c o,
Te x a s ;
Tr a v i s
Hutcheson
of Monmouth; and Tayla
Hutcheson of Coos Bay; as
well as seven grandchildren.
He was preceded in death
by his brothers, Tony and
Tom Fawbush.
Dwayne’s passions were
family, music and sports. He
also was a father figure to
many other children.
He will be remembered
with two celebrations of life:
Saturday at 2 p.m. at his
home, 9875 Wells Landing
Road, Independence, and
April 4 at 2 p.m. at Allegany
Church, 66163 Church Road,
Coos Bay.
Farnstrom Mortuary, In-
dependence, handled
arrangements. To send an
online condolence:
www.FarnstromMortuary.com.
Obituary
Information
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. Infor-
mation 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. A flag logo is
used in the obituaries of people
who served in the armed forces.
Obituaries — like all informa-
tion submitted to the news de-
partment — are subject to edit-
ing for style, content and length.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
nadams@polkio.com.
For more information:
Nancy Adams, 503-623-2373.
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