Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • April 13, 2016 9A
OBITUARIES
Lawrence Vern
Monagon
March 15, 1955 – Feb. 25, 2016
Lawrence Vern Monagon,
60, formerly of Monmouth,
died on Feb. 25.
He was born to Leslie
Lewis and Gladsie Huntley
Monagon in Johnson City,
N.Y. He moved to Phoenix,
Ariz., with
his family
when he
was
3.
F r o m
there, he
moved to
L y l e ,
Wash.,
later moved to the Beaver-
ton/Aloha area, where he
graduated from Aloha High
School.
Larry continued his edu-
cation at Oregon College of
Education (now Western
Oregon University) and re-
ceived his Bachelor of Sci-
ence degree in social sci-
ences in 1978. In 1981, he re-
ceived his Master of Science
degree at the University of
Portland.
Larry married Dawn in
Beaverton in 1979. They
raised their family in the
Beaverton area. In 1996, he
moved to Keizer to craft an
olive business. Larry contin-
ued to work full time for
Multnomah County until his
retirement.
Larry went on to a long
career in corrections. He
maintained his ties and con-
tinued to work on a tempo-
rary or part-time basis in the
corrections field after retir-
ing.
Larry grew up with six sib-
lings, Cindy and Sheila, and
Ivin (deceased), Lester,
Kenny and Eugene.
Larry was always willing
to help another, regardless
of the task.
He liked to travel, and ei-
ther went with friends and
family, or went to visit family
and fr iends. He never
backed down from new ad-
ventures: scuba diving, snor-
keling, bee keeping, growing
olives, or raising teenagers.
He liked to visit the muse-
um, or sit and visit with the
locals as he traveled.
He loved camping, fish-
ing, hunting, and hiking. He
appreciated wildlife and
liked to arrange a yearly
feeding and viewing of the
elk at the Jewel Wildlife
Refuge for family and
friends.
He volunteered with
many organizations, includ-
ing Oregon Hunter Educa-
tion, where he was selected
as Oregon Instructor of the
Year in 1995, Fishing Educa-
tion, Keizer Grange, Keizer
Elks, and St. Vincent School.
Contributions are sug-
gested to St. Vincent de Paul
School in Salem.
He was father to son,
Michael (Craig), and extend-
ed family.
Memorial celebration of
life will be from 2 to 5 p.m.
on May 1 at the Keizer Elks
Lodge.
Farnstrom Mortuary han-
dled arrangements. To send
an online tribute: Farn-
stromMortuary.com.
Victor Charles
Richert
Richert; brothers, Jerry and
Kenny Richert; 14 grandchil-
dren; and six great-grand-
children.
Funeral services were
held at the Valley Life Center
in Dallas. Interment was in
the Reedley Cemetery in
Reedley, Calif.
The Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center handled arrange-
ments. To send an online
t r i b u t e :
www.dallastribute.com.
Edith Werner
Vanderburg
April 9, 1925 – April 4, 2016
Edith Vanderburg, 90, for-
merly of Independence,
died on April 4.
She was born to Carl and
Helen Olson Werner in Nor-
folk, Va.
She met Neil Vanderburg
in San Diego in 1944. They
were married on June 10,
1945. They were married for
68 years.
T h e y
lived in La
M e s a ,
Calif., until
1 9 5 5 ,
when they
moved to
Corvallis.
Edith
and Neil moved to Inde-
pendence once their chil-
dren were grown. There,
Edith spent summers creat-
ing flower gardens. During
the winter months, she and
Neil enjoyed traveling and
rock hounding.
In 2012, they returned to
Corvallis, to a home where
family members were better
able to provide their care.
Her husband, Neil;
daughter, Joyce Commons;
son-in-law Thomas Com-
mons; and grandchildren,
Jessica Houck and Laurilee
Commons died before she
did.
Survived by Carol (Duane)
Bolster, David (Janece) Van-
derburg, Mary (Jack) Stone,
Pauline (Doug) Houck, and
Dawn Winokur; 10 grand-
children; and eight great-
grandchildren.
Memorial service was at
First Baptist Church in Inde-
pendence.
Farnstrom Mortuary han-
dled arrangements. To send
an online tribute: Farn-
stromMortuary.com.
Dennis Ashby
Spencer
Nov. 3, 1939 – March 27, 2016
Dennis Ashby Spencer,
76, formerly of Monmouth,
died of cancer on March 27
in Vancouver, Wash.
He was born in Morton,
Wash., to Evelyn (Betty) and
Ron Spencer.
Dennis was the second of
five boys.
He spent the majority of
his life in
Tillamook,
and gradu-
ated from
h i g h
s c h o o l
there in
1957. He
attended
Oregon College of Education
(now Western Oregon Uni-
versity) in Monmouth, ma-
joring in mathematics. He
graduated from OCE at age
21 and began teaching math
courses in schools in Lin-
coln City, Dallas, and Albany
before settling at Tillamook
High School, where he
worked for longer than 20
years.
D e n n i s re t i re d f r o m
Tillamook High School in
1992, and began teaching
part-time at WOU.
Dennis accumulated nu-
merous accolades over his
30-year career, including
many for coaching basket-
ball, baseball, and golf, as
well as for excellence in edu-
cation. He was an avid
music-lover and an accom-
plished pianist.
Dennis married Nancy
Brewer in 1961 (later di-
vorced) and had three chil-
dren, Dana, Eric, and Gavin.
In 1978, he married Carole
Anne Anderson, joining her
f o u r c h i l d re n , D a y n a ,
Michelle, Karena, and Re-
bekah, with his three, and
soon adding an eighth, Amy.
Dennis and Carole spent
their 37 years together rais-
ing their large family. Dennis
enjoyed taking his children
camping, and loved cruising
with Carole to see the world.
He enjoyed biking, garden-
ing, camping, disc-golf, and
annual golf trips.
Dennis was active in the
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, serving
many callings over the years,
including organist and pi-
anist.
Dennis is survived by his
wife, Carole; children, Eric
(Crystal), Dana (Dan), Gavin
(Michele), Dayna (Mike),
Michelle (Dave), Karena
(Adam), Rebekah (Brian),
and Amy; brothers, Bob
(Joanne), Gary (Pat), Mike
(Gloria), Steve (Tess); 25
grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Service will be at 11 a.m.
on May 21 at the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints in Vancouver, Wash.,
7101 NE 166th Ave.
Florence P.
‘Phyllis’ Gore
May 16, 1932 – April 3, 2016
Florence P. “Phyllis” Gore,
83, of Dallas, died on April 3.
She was born in South
Dakota to Phillip and Flo-
rence Van Schoonhoven.
S h e m a r r i e d Ve r n o n
Henry Gore in June of 1950.
Together they had two sons,
Vernon Phillip and Archie
Dale Gore. They were mar-
ried for 43 years.
Her interests included
family, gardening, and
painting. She had an incred-
ible talent for painting ce-
ramics and even gave les-
sons. She devoted much of
her time and energy as a
caregiver
to family.
Her hus-
band, Ver-
non Henry;
son, Ver-
n
o
n
Phillip; and
all of her
siblings died before she did.
She is survived by son,
Archie Dale Gore; two
grandchildren; and three
great-grandchildren.
Private service was held.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
Pearl Lucy Embree
July 22, 1919 – March 30, 2016
Pearl Lucy Embree, 96, of
Dallas, died March 30, at her
home in Dallas.
She was born in McTim-
monds Valley, south of Dal-
las, to Charles Henry and
Lucy May (Meekins) Bree-
den.
The family settled at
Bridgeport when Pearl was
12 years old.
She graduated from Dal-
las High School in 1937, and
from Oregon College of Edu-
c a t i o n
(now West-
ern Oregon
University)
in Mon-
mouth in
1939, with
a degree in
elementary
education.
She taught for 30 years in
schools in Sherwood and
Oakhurst, then at Whitworth
Elementary School in Dallas
before retiring from Falls
City Elementary in 1981.
Pearl married Norval Em-
bree on Dec. 20, 1941, in
Dallas, and moved to his
farm on Gardner Road. She
lived there for over 72 years
before moving to Dallas in
2014.
Pearl enjoyed reading,
sewing, gardening, crossword
puzzles, and travel. She and
Norval visited all the conti-
nents except Antarctica.
She was a longtime mem-
b e r o f t h e Br i d g e p o r t
Women’s Club, Bridgeport
Sunday School, a life mem-
ber of both the Dallas Chap-
ter of Pythian Sisters and Re-
tired Teachers Association,
and active in support of her
girls’ involvement in 4-H.
She was the first woman —
and second person — in Polk
County to be awarded a life-
time teaching certificate.
Her husband, six sisters,
four brothers, and two sons-
in-law died before she did.
Pearl is survived by her
daughters, Ruth Hargreaves
and Letha Randall, of Salem,
and Penny Marlene
(Michael) Cox, of Rickreall;
four grandchildren; two
step-grandchildren; six
great-grandchildren; five
step-great-grandchildren;
one sister; and extended
family.
A celebration of life will
be held at 2 p.m. on April 23
at the First United
Methodist Church in Falls
City. A reception will follow.
Private interment will be in
the Smith section of Fircrest
Cemetery in Monmouth.
In lieu of flowers, dona-
tions be made to the Casey
Eye Institute at Oregon
Health & Science University
in Portland for macular de-
generation research:
www.ohsucasey.com.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center/Bollman Funeral
Home handled arrange-
ments.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
James Otis ‘Jim’
Foster II,
June 16, 1926 – April 1, 2016
James Otis “Jim” Foster II,
89, of Dallas, died April 1, in
Dallas.
He was born in Dallas, to
James and Meda Thiesies
Foster.
He was a member of the
Dallas High School Class of
1944. Jim was drafted out of
his first semester at
Willamette University.
He trained as a photogra-
pher in the U.S. Army Air
Corps and
flew recon-
naissance
in B-25s off
the Califor-
nia coast.
On Dec.
27, 1947,
he married
Florence
“Betty”
B oy d s t o n
in Dallas.
Jim worked
in
the
Valsetz Mill for a couple of
years before getting hired at
Pacific Power & Light as a
lineman.
Joyful Sound Hearing
312 Main Street • Dallas
• Hearing Testing
• Hearing Aids
• Service
Call today for your
FREE Consultation
Mark Sturtevant
503-623-0290
Personally involved
and invested in the
Dallas community
Welcoming new patients.
Most insurance health plans accepted. Also a Moda preferred provider.
Aug. 14, 1945 – March 29, 2016
Victor Charles Richert, 70,
of Dallas, died March 29 in
Keizer.
He was born in Reedley,
Calif., to Talmon and Hilda
Warkentin Richert.
He farmed before becom-
ing a long-haul truck driver.
He also
drove log
trucks. He
retired
f r o m
W h i t e’s
Hauling
and Farm
LLC divi-
sion. For the past 47 years,
he lived in Dallas. He was a
member of the Valley Life
Center. He enjoyed fishing,
hunting, scrapping metal
and working around his
house.
His son, Charles; father,
Talmon; and sisters, Judy
and Martha “Susie” died be-
fore he did.
Survived by daughters,
Heidi Hicinbothom and
Chrystal Ellis; son, John
Richert; mother, Hilda
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
Salem, OR 97301
(503) 581-6265
Low Cost
Cremation & Burial
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.
www.ANewTradition.com
~ Polk County’s ONLY Family Owned Funeral Homes ~
He worked for PP&L from
1950 until he retired in 1986.
He was a member of the
International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers for 65
years.
Jim served his community
as a volunteer for the Dallas
Fire Department from 1957
until retiring at the rank of
battalion chief in 1992.
Jim was also a member of
the Carl B. Fenton American
Legion Post No. 20, Benevo-
lent and Protective Order of
the Elks No. 1950 Independ-
ence Elks Lodge, past mem-
ber of Dallas Kiwanis, and
past member of the Dallas
Planning Commission.
Jim received the Dallas
First Citizen award in 1975.
He was also a past board
member of the Southwest-
ern Polk County Rural Fire
Protection District and
served on the budget com-
mittee until his death.
Jim was a member of the
Dallas Evangelical Church in
Dallas for many years and
taught Sunday school, as well
as being active as an usher.
For the past several years,
he attended the Evangelical
Bible Church in Dallas.
He enjoyed bowling.
Jim was an outdoor en-
thusiast and enjoyed fishing,
hunting and camping. He
was an avid gardener and
took pride in his roses.
His wife, Betty, died on
Dec. 20, 2015. His sister,
Dorothy Tilson, and brother,
Theodore Foster also died
before he did.
He is survived by his sons,
James Otis Foster III, of Dal-
las, and Philip John Foster,
of Medford; two grandchil-
dren; and two great-grand-
children.
Funeral ser vices will
begin at 1 p.m. on Thursday
in the Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center. Vault interment
will follow in the Dallas
Cemetery.
Memorial contributions
may be made to the Dallas
Fire Department Harpy Bo-
vard Scholarship fund or
James2 Community
Kitchen, or to the charity of
choice in care of Dallas Mor-
tuary Tribute Center.
To send an online tribute:
www.dallastribute.com.
See OBITUARIES,
Page 5A