Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • October 7, 2015
OBITUARIES
David John Hunter
May 23, 1945 – Sept. 27, 2015
David John Hunter, 70, of
Dallas, died Sept. 27 in Dal-
las.
He was born in Spokane,
Wash., to Don and Mary
Hunter. He was raised with
four siblings, Jim, Doug,
Dale and Nancy.
At an early age, he came
to a new
family in
Dallas,
Ralph and
Lillian El-
l i o t t . He
gained a
n
e
w
brother
and sister
too, Judy
and Bill El-
l i o t t .
D a v i d
loved liv-
ing on the farm, and some of
his happiest memories
came from the times he
spent there. During that
time he met his lifelong
friend and “brother” Bob
Meyers. At the age of 17, he
signed up and went into the
Navy in January of 1963,
turning 18 in boot camp.
In June of 1966, he re-
turned to Dallas. Later that
year, he met the love of his
life, Michelle Regnier. He
went home and told his
mom he met the girl he was
going to marry, after they
had a Pepsi together at the
Blue Garden. David and
Michelle were married on
June 29, 1968. After a few
months in Dallas, they
moved to Mentor on the
Lake, Ohio. This is where
their daughter Annette was
born in 1970. David worked
for Sears & Roebuck, and
Meyers dairy. In 1972, they
moved to Illinois where
David worked for C&A Daw-
son. In 1974, David and
Michelle had a huge tragedy
in their lives when their
daughter Hope was still-
born. This crashed David to
the core. In 1982, they
moved back to the Portland
area, eventually returning to
Dallas.
David worked driving
truck and in security for var-
ious places. In 1989, David
was forced to retire because
of his multiple sclerosis
(MS). Since that time he bat-
tled to live his best with his
loving wife Michelle by his
side. Michelle worked as a
nurse during the day and by
night at home caring for her
husband. In 2008, they
moved into Michelle’s mom,
Helen’s home to help care
for her for six years.
He was preceded in death
by his sister, Nancy; daugh-
ter, Hope; and lifelong
friend, Bob.
Survivors include his wife,
Michelle; daughter, Annette
(John); siblings, Jim, Doug,
Dale, and Bill; three grand-
children; and extended fam-
ily.
Service was Sept. 30 at
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center. Interment was at
Dallas Cemetery.
Contributions are sug-
gested to the MS Founda-
tion, hospice or Dallas
American Legion.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Michael David
Gardner
Aug. 29, 1948 – Sept. 26, 2015
Michael David Gardner,
67, of Dallas, died on Sept.
26.
He was born in Greeley,
Colo., to Claude and Shirley
Gardner.
Mike served in the Army
101st Air-
borne as a
paratroop-
er during
Vietnam.
M i k e
married Sandy Reed on Jan.
27, 1969, in Salem. They en-
joyed traveling in their VW
Bug and VW Bus.
After his military service,
Mike was a HiRISE steel-
worker. He helped construct
the KOIN Tower in Portland
and the Bank of Tokyo in
Seattle. Mike was featured in
the Architect Digest Maga-
zine for the highly technical
construction of the Mirrored
Ceiling at the Clackamas Ice
Skating Rink. Mike also
worked as a commercial car-
penter in Salem and Alaska.
Mike was severely injured,
while working in late 1980’s
and was unable to continue
working.
His sons were his whole
life. He had enjoyed the out-
doors and camping when
the boys were young. Mike
was an avid supporter of the
Dallas Dragon Football Pro-
gram. He always attended
his sons’ football games. He
continued to support and
attend games as long as he
could. He also was a mem-
ber of the Dallas Quarter-
back Club.
Survivors include his wife,
Sandy; sons, Kyle Gardner
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
and Brandon Gardner; sis-
ter, Kathy; brothers, John
and Patrick; and one grand-
daughter.
Family service was held
under the care of Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center.
Contributions are sug-
gested to the Michael Gard-
ner Memorial Fund in care
of the mortuary.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Robert Bruce
McAlpine
Wilsonville; son, Harold
Nees of Casablanca, Ariz.;
eight grandchildren; 17
great-grandchildren; and
one great-great-grandchild.
G ra v e s i d e s e r v i c e i s
Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at
Willamette National Ceme-
tery in Portland.
Contributions are sug-
gested to the American Dia-
betes Association.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
June 23, 1943 – Sept. 27, 2015
Robert Bruce McAlpine,
72, of Dallas, died Sept. 27 in
Salem.
He was born to James and
Janice McAlpine in Pasade-
na, Calif.
Robert married Judith in
July of 1971. They were best
friends for 44 years.
Bob was a talented and
successful building designer,
land developer and general
contractor for 40 years and
loved his work. He loved his
family and enjoyed nearly
every person he knew. Bob
was a member and high
priest of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
He dearly loved Jesus Christ
and His gospel.
He was preceded in death
by his brother, Steve.
Survivors include his wife,
Judith; son, Geoffrey; daugh-
ter, Lyssa; brother, James;
and three grandchildren.
Service was Monday at
the Dallas Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Interment was at Dallas
Cemetery.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments.
Darlene ‘Dolly’ M.
Thielsen
April 19, 1940 – Oct. 2, 2015
Darlene “Dolly” M.
Thielsen, 75, of Dallas, died
Friday in Dallas.
She was born in Michigan
City, Ind.,
to Leo and
M a r y
Spencer
Block.
S h e
worked as
a supervi-
sor
in
housekeeping for the Rouse
Company, retiring in 1998.
Dolly came to Dallas to live
in 2001. She married Jimmy
Ray Thielsen in Dallas on
Jan. 1, 2011.
Dolly was a member of
the Dallas Trinity Lutheran
Church. She enjoyed gar-
dening and bowling.
She was preceded in
death by a daughter, sister
and brother.
Survivors include her hus-
band, Jim of Dallas; daugh-
t e r, M a r y Ja c o b s o f
Dannie ‘Dan’ Ray
White
Sept. 29, 2015
Dannie “Dan” Ray White,
61, of Dallas, died Sept. 29.
He had a long battle with
cardio vascular disease.
He was
born in
Sacramen-
to, Calif., to
Jessie Lee
and Shirley
Ann White.
D a n
married
the love of his life, Patricia
Graves, 46 years ago. He had
a tremendous love for his
family and friends. Dan
loved life. He was a social
butterfly and would strike
up a conversation with any-
one. He always had a smile
on his face.
Survivors include his wife,
Patricia of Dallas; daughters,
Yvonne L. White of Dayland,
Ariz., and Willie Mae Preston
of Salem; sons, Dannie
White Jr. of Dallas and
Nicholas White of Junction
City; brothers, Willie and
Jessie; sister, Christine
Fuller; 14 grandchildren;
two great-grandsons; and a
large extended family.
Service was Tuesday at
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center. Interment was at
Restlawn Memory Gardens.
To leave an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Kenneth W.
Jacobson
Sept. 19, 1921 – Sept. 29, 2015
Kenneth W. Jacobson, 94,
of Dallas, died Sept. 29.
He was born in Vancou-
ver, Wash. Ken, also known
as “Jake” by some, had lived
in Dallas for 68 years. He
married Velda Fettis of Van-
couver on Sept. 11, 1942.
Ken graduated from Fort
Vancouver High School,
then attended Willamette
University where his studies
were interrupted by World
War II. Ken was a member of
the Willamette football team
that played against the Uni-
versity of Hawaii in Oahu on
Dec. 6, 1941.
The team was stranded in
Hawaii after the Pearl Har-
bor bombing.
Their experience has been
highlighted in various news-
paper articles, publications,
ESPN and an NFL Films
video including several in-
terviews with Ken. He enlist-
ed in the Army on May 9,
1942, and served until
March 5, 1946.
When his enlistment
ended, he continued his
studies,
graduating
f r o m
Willamette
University
with
a
business
degree.
He was
hired by
D a l l a s
S c h o o l
District in
1 9 4 7 ,
where he
was a teacher, coach, athlet-
ic director and school ad-
ministrator until his retire-
ment in 1983. He received
his master’s degree from
Oregon State University.
Ken had an amazing
memory and loved to recall
his life experiences begin-
ning with his Vancouver
childhood through present
day. He was devoted to his
family, students, players and
community.
He sincerely liked to see
young people succeed in
life. His children have fond
memories of camping at the
Metolius River and Scout
Lake as well as time spent
along the Oregon coast.
Ken lived a great life and
was a good sport in all
things, playing by the rules
and being a good role
model. He had considerable
appreciation for the simple
things, such as hitting the
golf ball straight down the
fairway, catching a fish and
spending time with his fam-
ily and friends.
He enjoyed traveling, his
miniature schnauzers and
his town, including both the
Dallas Retirement Village
and his family at Trinity
Lutheran Church.
He was preceded in death
by his wife, Velda in 2010,
and granddaughter, Kim in
2001.
Survivors include his
sons, Steve (Barb), and Eric
(Cindy); daughter, Jill (Bill)
Zatwarnicki; and two grand-
daughters.
Service is Thursday at 11
a.m. at Dallas Trinity Luther-
an Church. Visitation is
Wednesday (today) from 9
a.m. to 3 p.m. at Dallas Mor-
tuary Tribute Center. Private
interment will be at the Dal-
las Cemetery.
Contributions are sug-
gested to the Dallas High
School Booster Club or to
Trinity Lutheran Church in
care of the mortuary.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
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Karen Klein-
Moellenberndt
Feb. 10, 1951 – Sept. 25, 2015
Karen Kelin-Moellen-
berndt, 64, of Dallas, died
Sept. 25 in Dallas following a
long illness.
She was born in Hen-
n e p i n ,
Minn., to
John and
So p h i e
Klein. The
Kleins lived
in Illinois
w h e r e
K a r e n
spent most of her early
childhood.
Karen married David
Moellenberndt on Dec. 12,
1986.
After David retired from
the state of California, they
moved to Polk County in
2002, where they lived on a
very rural, peaceful five
acres in Cooper Hollow.
They began an association
with the Polk County Histo-
ry Museum that lasted until
her health began to fail.
Karen was a shy person,
but one who enjoyed social-
izing with friends with
whom she was comfortable.
She was a multi-talented
person who excelled at
whatever task she attempt-
ed. She was a talented and
innovative cook, seamstress,
gardener, artist, ceramist
and jewelry designer.
Before she became ill and
retired on disability, she
worked for Sacramento
County Mental Health De-
partment as an accountant.
She had also been a long-
haul trucker with her previ-
ous husband and was later a
horse trainer.
She enjoyed traveling and
visiting family in the Mid-
west and East Coast. A major
love was going to casinos
and gambling. She almost
always won, and several
times made enough to seri-
ously affect their taxes.
She was preceded in
death by her sister, Kath-
leen.
Surviving is her husband,
David, of nearly 29 years.
She was his best friend and
will be so missed.
Contributions are sug-
gested to Willamette Valley
Hospice, 1015 Third St. NW,
Salem, OR 97304 and/or to
The Polk County History So-
ciety P.O. Box 67, Mon-
mouth, OR 97361.
Harland Chester
Buhler
Oct. 16, 1928 – Aug. 13, 2015
Harland Chester Buhler,
86, of Honey Brook, Pa., died
Aug. 13.
He was born in Dallas to
Cornelius and Martha Buh-
ler.
Harland graduated from
Dallas High
School in
1946 and
then served
two years
in the Navy
as an elec-
tronics
specialist.
After the
N a v y, h e
enrolled at
Oregon
State Uni-
versity and
worked with Inter-varsity
Christian Fellowship, The
Navigators, and lettered in
wrestling.
He graduated with a
Bachelor of Science degree
in fish and game in 1952. He
also attended Multnomah
School of the Bible, where
he met Doug Coe with
whom he lived and worked.
That relationship and min-
istry grew and continued on
and off for the next 60 years.
T h r o u g h Fe l l o w s h i p
Foundation ministry, Har-
land worked in Bermuda at
Willowbank where he met
Sheila, the love of his life
and his wife of 50 years.
To continue in his min-
istry work, they moved to
Pennsylvania and later to
Maryland. In the early years
to make ends meet, Harland
worked on and off in con-
struction, helping build the
Metrorail subway and Wolf-
trap Pavilion.
Harland had a servant’s
heart, which was not only
displayed through his work
but also through his interac-
tions with friends and fami-
ly. He was a man who dedi-
cated his life to doing the
Lord’s work and humbly
lived his faith daily.
His talent for being able
to fix almost anything meant
that sometimes he agreed to
help others when it may not
have been so convenient to
him or Sheila.
In 2011, after 45 years
working with the Fellowship
Foundation, Harland retired
and he and Sheila moved to
Honey Brook, Pa., to be near
their daughter, Mary and
husband, Colin and their
three grandson. They quick-
ly made friends and loved
spending more time with
the boys.
Harland enjoyed his re-
tirement years spending
time in his garden plot,
working in the woodworking
shop and working out in the
gym with a personal trainer.
He enjoyed not having to cut
grass, rake leaves or shovel
snow and looked forward to
their annual holiday to
Phoenix, Ariz., each Christ-
mas to enjoy the winter sun-
shine with son and daughter
in-law, David and Lesley.
Continued on Page 9A