Polk County News
10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • March 16, 2016
OBITUARIES
Jean Louise
Countryman Smith
June 13, 1918 – March 7, 2016
Jean Louise Countryman
Smith, 97, died March 7 in
Forest Grove.
Jean was born on her par-
ents’ farm near Ontario. She
described herself as a care-
free kid who was encour-
aged to roam independently
around the farm and coun-
tryside on her horse. She
loved all animals and grow-
ing things. During her long
life, she rescued and be-
friended many injured and
lost animals.
After graduating from On-
tario High School, Jean
worked as assistant to the
school superintendent and
earned enough money to at-
ELAINE SARAH MEYER POPE
Feb. 4, 1923 - Feb. 26, 2016
Elaine Sarah Meyer Pope left her temporary
life behind and began eternal life with her
Savior on February 26, 2016 at the age of 93.
The youngest of two daughters born to
Louis Leo and Sarah Emma (Foster) Meyer,
Elaine was born on February 4, 1923 in Cam-
bridge, Nebraska. The family relocated to
Oregon in April of 1937 and settled in Inde-
pendence, where Elaine graduated from high
school in 1940.
In 1941, Elaine met Vernon Pope and they dated for about
a year before marrying in Dallas on December 30, 1942. They
were married for just over 72 years at the time of his passing
in 2015 — an incredible legacy!
Elaine was a dedicated wife and mother. In addition, she
worked various clerical jobs, and then as a teacher’s aide at
Aumsville and West Stayton Elementary schools.
Elaine was a longtime member of Bethel Baptist Church
in Aumsville. When she wasn't busy volunteering at the
church, Elaine enjoyed working on puzzles, baking, decorat-
ing cakes, bird-watching, gardening, and crafting. Elaine was
loving, patient, generous, and a friend to all.
These virtues, along with her mischievous sense of humor
will be greatly missed.
Elaine is survived by her son Dennis (Gloria) Pope of
Roseburg; daughters Marilyn Pope of Aumsville and Shirley
(Michael) White of Lebanon; 3 granddaughters and one great-
granddaughter. She is preceded in death by her husband Ver-
non; her parents; and her sister, Maxine Pope.
A celebration of Elaine's life will be held at Bethel Baptist
Church in Aumsville at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 19,
2016. At Elaine's request, she was interred at the Aumsville
Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Elaine's
memory to Bethel Baptist Church of Aumsville, or to the
American Cancer Society.
Arrangements by Weddle Funeral Services.
tend Oregon State College,
where she met Jim in 1939
during her freshman year.
She graduated in June
1943, with
a degree in
microbiol-
o g y, a n d
married
Jim right
after grad-
u a t i o n
when he
unexpectedly showed up for
a weekend leave from his
battleship, USS Pennsylva-
nia.
Jean spent the next three
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
six of her elder parents,
aunts, and uncles, 17 inter-
national students and their
families over many years.
Her children, neighbor
children, and grandchildren
loved to follow her around
and help her in her leg-
endary garden and pumpkin
patch, which was her respite
and her delight.
Jean is survived by her
husband, Jim; sister, Joan;
children, Gail, Jerry, Evan,
and Mark; 12 grandchildren;
and 28 great-grandchildren.
A celebration of her life
will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
at Christ Church, 412 Clay
St. W., in Monmouth.
Contributions are sug-
gested to Christ Church/The
Heifer Project, or to the Ella
Curran Food Bank.
Suzan Marie
Tucker-Sarver
July 1, 1960 – March 3, 2016
Suzan “Suzy” Marie Tuck-
er-Sarver, 55, of Dallas died
March 3 in Dallas.
She went to Yamhill-Carl-
ton High School and worked
in the restaurant business
and later in landscaping
maintenance in Washington
state.
Suzy set-
tled in
McMin-
nville and
Dallas after
her illness
progressed.
S u r -
vivors include her daughter,
Anna Cottom; parents,
Nancy Tucker and father,
Jim Tucker, with stepmother
Shirley Tucker; sisters, Becky
Schmiedel, Angie Tucker,
and Boni Tucker; one grand-
son; and extended family.
Celebration of life memo-
rial is April 9 at 2 p.m. at Cal-
vary Chapel in Dallas with a
reception to follow.
More
OBITUARIES,
Page 5A
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VICTOR CARL BLACK
years working as a microbi-
ologist for Cutter Laborato-
ries in Berkeley, Calif., devel-
oping the new miracle drug,
penicillin.
After the war, Jean and
Jim returned to Corvallis,
where she taught biology at
Oregon State; Jim taught in-
dustrial engineering. They
started their family life to-
gether.
Jean and Jim moved to
Monmouth in 1956, and
lived in their home on Sacre
Lane for 59 years before
moving to Forest Grove last
year to be closer to their
children. While in Mon-
mouth, Jean taught biology
at Oregon College of Educa-
tion (WOU) for 10 years. She
was extremely active in the
community and was a friend
and support to many.
She was known by all for
her love of nature, animals,
and people, and for her gen-
erosity.
She welcomed everyone
into her home and into her
family, including caring for
Dudley’s
Hearing Aid Service
541-741-2936
Curtis Dudley, serving better
hearing to Dallas and Polk
County going on 30 years.
• Start a better health and wellness
conversation today
• better hearing contributes to overall
well-being and quality of life
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than technology — it's a partnership
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Come see Curtis every Tuesday 10AM - Noon
at Dallas Senior Center, 955 SE Jefferson St.
“In Home” Service
Sept. 30, 1916 - March 9, 2016
VICTOR CARL BLACK, 99, a resident
of Dallas died Wednesday, March 9, 2016.
He was born on September 30, 1916 the son
of Roy and Pearl Black. Carl lived in Dallas
all 99 years except for duty in the Army dur-
ing the Second World War. Carl graduated
from Oregon Normal School (WOU) as a
teacher and taught in Halsey and Airlie in his
twenties.
In the 1940’s, he joined the Army and made 11 round trips
across the Atlantic to bring service men’s wives (and some
children) to the United States. His job was to keep them
busy and organized during those tours. His title was the Ac-
tivities Director.
Carl discovered Melba Henrickson in Dallas after his dis-
charge from the service. They were married in 1948. As new-
lyweds, they served as youth leaders in the First Christian
Church with the high school and college aged students.
Carl served as an elder in their church most of his adult
life. He was the Dallas Post Master for 25 years and also the
church treasurer for over 30 years. He also served as treasurer
for the Salvation Army and organized the “kettle schedule”
at Christmas time. He was active in Kiwanis, Polk County
Historical Society, Polk ARC, WOU Alumni, Post Masters
Association and worked on many Dallas festivals (such as the
Smileroo, Crazy Days, and always attended the Breakfast in
the Park). His volunteer work was extensive but he was not
interested in any “fanfare,” although he did receive the First
Citizen Award in 1987. Even after his children had graduated
he continued to attend high school football games in Dallas.
Carl enjoyed traveling, Sunday afternoon drives, beach
combing and collecting agates, gardening, fishing and espe-
cially helping others. He loved Dallas and also loved his fam-
ily. He was a wonderful grandfather and enjoyed having his
grandchildren come for visits. Every one of his grandchildren
have good memories of his “piggy back rides”…
even his great
grandson.
He could tell you the details of anything that had happened
in his long and fascinating life, if you could just wait a few
seconds. Even just before he died he was on a ride through
Dallas area remembering the names of the various people who
had resided in many of the Dallas homes and who had owned
what businesses. He cared a lot about Dallas and its growth.
He will be greatly missed.
Survivors include daughters Virginia Stensland and Vicki
Massey, grandchildren Jennifer and Karl, Ragan, Carl,
Bethany and Gabe, Lloyd (deceased), Kyle and great grandson
Jonathon. Also surviving is a brother Elmo Black.
Funeral services will begin at 11:00am Friday, March 18th
in the Dallas First Christian Church. Interment will follow
in the Dallas Cemetery. To leave a message or memory for
the family please go to www.dallastribute.com. The Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center is caring for the family.
BEVERLY “BEV” JEAN MATHEWS
June 24, 1930 - March 6, 2016
Our beloved mom,
Beverly Jean Mathews
(Bev) passed away peace-
fully on March 6, 2016
surrounded by family at
her daughter's home in
Independence, Ore. She
was 85 at the time of her
passing. Beverly was diag-
nosed with lung cancer in
January and wasn't afraid
to tell anyone she had
cancer and was dying.
This is the spirited, ener-
getic, loving, on the go at-
titude she maintained
these past several weeks.
The Beverly Mathews
Hood River knows was
married to Dennis Mathews, the love of
her life for 35 years. Beverly worked as a
waitress in many restaurants in Hood
River. At the age of 76, she retired from
Bette’s Place after 27 years of service. She
loved working at Bette’s Place and the
customers over the years were like family.
Beverly was born June 24, 1930 in St.
Joseph, Mo., the only daughter born to
Goldie Alena Palmer and Moses Frank
Leslie. She had three brothers Frank Jr.,
Bob and Thomas. Beverly and her mother
Goldie were inseparable. Beverly started
her waitressing career during high school
at local restaurants. After graduating in
1948 from Lafayette High School, she met
Richard McDonald while working in her
Uncle Herman’s restaurant in Mound
City, Mo. Richard and Beverly were mar-
ried November 1949. They had 5 children
Carol, Sharon, Cindy, Joseph and David.
Beverly’s mother Goldie passed away and
Beverly took in Thomas, age 10 her
youngest brother and raised him along
with her children. Richard worked for
construction pipeline and moving from
job to job was constant. Married life
started in Missouri and brought the Mc-
Donalds finally to settle in Hood River,
Ore. in 1966. Richard passed away at the
age of 41 in 1970.
In 1972 Beverly was married to Forrest
Pfeiffer and moved with the 3 youngest
children to Mosier, Ore. When they di-
vorced, Beverly and the kids moved back
to Hood River where she resided for the
next 43 years.
Beverly loved to bowl and was on a
women’s league for many years. She loved
getting her hair done every Friday and en-
joyed receiving manicures and pedicures.
She loved to read — romance and myster-
ies were at the top of her list. In her later
years shopping —damn you QVC and
gardening brought her great joy. She loved
sitting on her back deck and admiring her
flowers and garden solar lights. Beverly
was a member of the River of Life Assem-
bly Church.
Beverly was a hard worker, very inde-
pendent and a little on the stubborn side.
She loved her family and friends. She
loved clothes and was always quite the
fashionista. For the past 3 years she loved
being part of the yearly Hood River
GALA fashion show.
Beverly is survived by her brother
Thomas Leslie Vancouver, Wash., daugh-
ters Carol Pfaff (Tom) Independence,
Ore., Cindy Cooper Independence, Ore.,
sons Joseph McDonald (Kathy) Clacka-
mas, Ore., David McDonald (Robin) The
Dalles, Ore., and son-in-law Douglas Dug-
gan (Sharon) Parkdale, Ore. She is also
survived by her 15 grandchildren, Sarah,
Stacie, Scott, Sybil, Sherry, Samantha,
Brooke, Kurtis, Beth, Mahlcolm, Michael,
Jodie, Jeff, James, Jon and their families
including 19 great grandchildren and 2 on
the way and her Cairn Terrier; Hannah.
She was preceded in death by her mother
and father, brothers Frank Jr. and Bob,
husbands Richard McDonald, Forrest
Pfeiffer and Dennis Mathews, daughter
Sharon Duggan, grandsons Glenn Twid-
well & Matthias Kamasz. Beverly leaves
behind many good friends in Hood Rover
and numerous relatives in the state of Mis-
souri.
Beverly’s family would like to thank
the following people that were a big part
of her life. Best friends Lila Mitchell,
Bette Walters, Francis Chambers, Gaye
Walters Jones, all her customers at Bette’s
Place, the wonderful ladies from Dream
Street Boutique, neighbors Joe Pounders
and Linda Guertin and her dear friend of
60 years Ola from Arkansas. The compas-
sion she received from Willamette Valley
Hospice of Salem was such a comfort to
her and her family. The family would also
like to thank Dr. Laura Starrett, Jack
Trumbull and the staff of Anderson’s
Tribute Center for the care and compas-
sion we have received during this time.
Memorials are encouraged to be made
to either; Hood River Special Olympics
or Willamette Valley Hospice — gifts can
be sent care of Anderson’s.
Services to honor and celebrate Bev’s
life are planned for 11 a.m., Saturday,
April 2, 2016 at Anderson’s Tribute Cen-
ter 1401 Belmont Avenue, Hood River,
OR 97031.
Please visit www.AndersonsTribute-
Center.com to leave a note of condolence
for the family.
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