Polk County itemizer observer., June 15, 2016, Page 6A, Image 6

Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 15, 2016
OBITUARIES
Marlene Mae
Chenoweth
May 1, 1931 – May 30, 2016
Marlene Mae Chenoweth,
85, of Dallas, died on May
30.
Marlene was born in In-
glewood, Calif., to Mae and
Ray Freed.
In 1949, Marlene married
Mathias Earl Chenoweth in
Inglewood. She worked at
Lockheed Missile Company,
where she retired after work-
ing for 35 years.
Survivors include sons,
Johnny E. Chenoweth, of
Fallon, Nev., and Jay D.
Chenoweth, of Dallas; five
grandchildren; and five
great-grandchildren.
Husband, Mathias Earl
Chenoweth; son, Jimmie R.
Chenoweth; sister, Eloise
Freed; and brother, Bud
Freed all died before she did.
At her request, no services
will be held. Farnstrom Mor-
tuary handled arrange-
ments.
Verna Mae
Standley Bartok
Nov. 17, 1923 – June 3, 2016
Verna Mae Standley Bar-
tok, 92, died June 3 in Lex-
ington, Ky., at the end of a
long decline.
ROBERT HAROLD THORNBURG
January 22, 1933 - June 6, 2016
Robert Harold Thornburg, age 83, of
Dallas Oregon, died peacefully on June 6,
2016 in Salem, Oregon surrounded by his
family. Born on January 22, 1933 in Ip-
swich, South Dakota, he was the son of
the late Harold and Ruby (Benson)
Thornburg.
Bob grew up in Aberdeen, South
Dakota and graduated from Central High School in 1950. He
was drafted into the United States Army and served honor-
ably in Germany during the Korean Conflict. Following his
military service, Bob attended Northern State Teacher’s Col-
lege and then moved to Hillsboro, Oregon where he married
his wife, Sarah. They moved to Salem, Oregon where he
worked as a Farmers Insurance Agent for nine years. He also
served as a volunteer Fireman for Marion County Fire Dis-
trict. Subsequently, Bob worked for 39 years in the wood
products industry as a successful and well respected Salesman
for Salem Equipment, Inc. Salesmanship was his passion and
during those years he traveled the Pacific Northwest, Alaska,
Canada and Europe.
He retired in 2008 and moved to Dallas, Oregon. Bob was
a loving, kind husband and father who was very spiritual and
put the needs of others first. Throughout his life Bob loved
outdoor recreation, ocean fishing, waterskiing,golf and pho-
tography. Also, he was fascinated with computers, from the
time they were available, and taught himself many new pro-
grams over the years. He was a patient learner; he kept up-
to-date with the latest technology and loved electronic
gadgets. Bob volunteered in his community where he and his
wife retired. He was loved and respected by those who knew
him and he will be deeply missed.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sarah Thornburg;
along with his son, Tom Thornburg and daughter, Pam Zullo;
four grandchildren, Kristin (Rian) Berg, Megan (Mike)
Ward, Jessica (David) Davis and Corbin Thornburg; two
great-grandchildren, Braden and Kylie; seven siblings, Jeanne
(Ralph) Huddleston, Esther (Herman) Lier, Marion Oslund,
John Thornburg, James Thornburg, Sharon (Jerry) Kilber
and David (Katie) Thornburg. He is preceded in death by
his son, Joel Thornburg, brother, Donald Thornburg and sis-
ter, Damaris Thornburg.
A family service will be held at a later date. We would like
to pay tribute to the caring staff of Salem Hospital 6th Floor.
They were there for Bob and his family. Contributions may
be made in memory of Bob to Oregon Veterans’ Home
Lebanon or a Charity of Choice.
Arrangements entrusted to Howell, Edwards, Doerksen
Funeral Home.
She was born in
Pierceville Township, Finney
County, Kan., to James Cleo
Standley and Beulah Mae
Kisner Standley.
She was raised on a farm
in Pierceville until moving to
Garden City, Kan. She met
her future husband, Air
Corps Cadet Albert Bartok,
at a USO
dance in
Garden
City. They
were mar-
ried in Fort
Myers, Fla.,
in June
1945.
They lived most of their
lives together in California,
then retired to Dallas. Verna
enjoyed music, gardening,
and genealogy.
She was an accomplished
pianist and violinist as a
teenager and young adult in
Garden City, becoming con-
cert master of her high
school orchestra.
She played and taught the
piano into her 60s.
She discovered genealogy,
and was proud to have her
work rewarded by accept-
ance into the Daughters of
the American Revolution on
the basis of the evidence she
developed.
She was preceded in
death by her husband, her
sisters Gladys Standley
Chase and Maxine Standley
Rodkin, and her grandson.
Survived by son Philip
(Kate) E. Bartok, of
Knoxville, Tenn.; and three
Salem
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grandchildren.
Services were held. She
will be buried next to her
husband. The Dallas Mortu-
ary Tribute Center handled
arrangements. To leave an
online tribute: www.dallas-
tribute.com.
Charles Morris
Claus
June 18, 1937 – May 25, 2016
Charles Morris Claus, 78,
of Whiteville, N.C., formerly
of Dallas, died on May 25.
He was born in Dallas to
Irvin and Katherine Claus.
He graduated from Dallas
High School in 1955.
He married Joyce Kay
Wenger, of Dallas, in 1959.
They moved to Whiteville,
where he became a supervi-
sor for Georgia Pacific.
Joyce died on July 17,
2004.
Survived by wife,
Mar yAnn Por ter-Claus;
daughters, Teresa Claus-
Banderford and Elizabeth
Claus; and three grandchil-
dren.
A memorial service was
held.
Laura M. Sternard
Aug. 14, 1915 – June 5, 2016
Laura M. Sternard, 100, of
Monmouth, died June 5 at
the Independence Health
and Rehab, in Independ-
ence.
She moved to Monmouth
from rural
Sturgeon
Bay, Wis. in
1994.
S h e
married
Oswald
( M i k e )
Sternard
on Oct. 21, 1939. Together
they had two boys and two
girls.
She loved to read and play
games, Canasta and walks
with the grandchildren. She
was a member of the Con-
gregation of Jehovah’s Wit-
nesses since the 1950s.
Oswald died in July 1958.
Her eldest son E lton
Sternard (Harriet) and
youngest daughter Lois
Peggy Johnson (Ken) also
died before she did.
Survived by daughter, Pa-
tricia Stee (Don); Michael
Sternard (Dorothy); eight
grandchildren, 12 great-
grandchildren, three great-
great-grandchildren and
many nieces and nephews.
She will be interred at
Bayside Cemetery in Stur-
geon Bay, Wis. Arrange-
ments are by Farnstrom
Mortuary. Memories and
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Bonita Lee (Cook)
Ryals
Darlene K. Randles
April 25, 1940 – April 26, 2016
Sept. 23, 1946 – June 7, 2016
Darlene K. Randles, 69, of
Washington, Ill., formerly of
Dallas, died on June 7 at her
home.
She was born in Delta,
Colo., to William Everett and
Irma Louise Pribble Crawley.
She married Bradley A. Ran-
dles in Dallas on Nov. 20,
1965.
Darlene was a homemak-
er and had
a balloon
delivery
business
in Dallas.
She was
preceded
in death
by her
parents.
Survived by husband,
Bradley Randles; children
Derrick Randles, of Calif.,
Christine (Kerry) Shampine,
of Vancouver, Wash., and
William (Kelly) Randles, of
Germantown Hills, Ill.; four
grandchildren; and brothers,
John Crawley, of Austin,
Texas, and Sam Crawley, of
Portland.
Memorials may be made
to the Multiple Sclerosis So-
ciety.
Cremation rites have
been accorded. Private serv-
ices will be held at a later
date with burial in Oregon.
Deiters Funeral Home
and Crematory in Washing-
ton is in charge of arrange-
ments.
To leave an online tribute:
www.deitersfuneralhome.
David Westly
Gardner
Jan. 26, 1952 – May 8, 2016
David Westly Gardner, 64,
of Angier, N.C., died on May 8.
He was the son of Kather-
ine Andrus, of Dallas. He
was born in Santa Rosa,
Calif.
David
joined the
Marines
after high
school.
He spent
four years
as an air-
craft me-
chanic.
After-
ward, he
studied
electronics
a
n
d
worked in the computer
field.
His job took him to North
Carolina.
David developed cancer
and died of pneumonia.
Survived by his mother,
Kay Andrus, of Dallas; sister,
Jamie Esquer, of Dallas, and
brother, Jeffrey Gardner, of
Oklahoma.
Bonita Lee Cook Ryals, 76,
formerly of Willamina, died
on April 26 in Richland,
Wash.
Bonnie, as she was known
to friends and family, was
born to Earl M. and Esther
(Morris)
Cook in
Polk Coun-
ty.
Bonnie
attended
F e r n
School in
first grade
with her sister, Anna Ruth
Cook, as her teacher.
She graduated from
Willamina High School in
1958 and attended OCE
(now Western Oregon Uni-
versity) in Monmouth. Bon-
nie had a long and distin-
guished career working for
US Bank. She and her hus-
band, Dave Ryals, lived in
Hermiston for many years
and loved to go boating on
Wallowa Lake.
Dave died before she did.
Ryals is survived by ex-
tended family and friends.
There will be a potluck me-
morial at her high school re-
union on Aug. 18 in Willami-
na. The public is invited. For
more information, call 503-
838-2922. Memorial dona-
tions may be sent to Silver
Cloud Cat Sanctuary in
Walla Walla, Wash.
Robert Lee
Johnson
June 21, 1929 – May 26, 2016
Robert Lee Johnson, 86, of
Dallas died on May 26.
Bob was born to Elmer
and Ethyl Johnson in On-
tario.
He married Gloria Ander-
son in On-
tario. They
were mar-
ried al-
most 67
years. She
died in
May 2015.
H
e
worked for E.J. Bartells from
1961-1993. He will always be
remembered for being a hard
worker. He was Gloria’s pri-
mary care giver when she had
a debilitating stroke.
They raised and showed
Arabian horses. He loved
good music and anything
sports, especially the
Mariners.
Bob and Gloria have five
children Randy Johnson,
Dann (Sue) Johnson, Kim-
mie (Al) Burmaster, Brigette
(Jeff ) Yates, Jauna (Dale)
Cole; 12 grandchildren; and
13 great-grandchildren.
Memorial service will be
at Grace Community
Church in Dallas on Satur-
day at noon.
Stewart Lee VanLaningham
Feb. 4, 1945 - June 10, 2016
Stewart Lee VanLaningham, 71, passed valiantly and
bravely into the arms of Our Heavenly Father on June 10,
2016 with his wife, Paige and Pastor Bob and Becky McMil-
lian at his side. Lee was born in Oklahoma and moved to Cal-
ifornia as a six month old babe in the arms of his mother, Joy
VanLaningham. His father Orville was stationed in the Navy.
Lee was well loved by all his family but in particular by his
maternal grandparents, Pearl and Stewart Lawrence of Exeter.
Lee grew up in Woodlake, CA, graduated Woodlake High
School and was immediately drafted into the US Army. After
basic he was shipped to Vietnam where he bravely served
from 1966 to 1967. Lee served with honor and valor as a com-
bat infantryman in the 1st Infantry Division, The Big Red
One. In his service he was wounded and received the Purple
Heart among other meritorious awards. Lee returned home
to attend Fresno State University. After many years of dis-
tance from his experiences in Vietnam he eventually became
a strong and quiet advocate for other veterans from Vietnam
to contact and get help from the VA.
Lee became employed in various positions with the County
of Tulare, California, eventually becoming a Probation Officer
where he truly found his calling as a mediator/facilitator run-
ning group sessions with juvenile offenders. While at Proba-
tion Lee met and married Paige Rambow on July 31, 1991.
They moved to Oregon. As he described it, "a little bit closer
to Heaven". Lee became employed by Oregon Youth Author-
ity where he, again, could make use of his tremendous talent
working with juvenile offenders. His "aw shucks, kick the dirt
cowboy" personality made him the best in his field.
Lee and Paige voraciously enjoy camping together. Lee en-
joyed team roping and raising cattle. Lee is the consummate
"camp cook" cooking on cast iron over the open campfire.
No indoor cooking for him.
Lee is survived by his wife, Paige, his daughter, Lizzy (Hud)
Rose and grandson, Wyatt; son, Luke (Melissa) and grand-
sons Nate, Colton and Quinn; stepdaughters Whitney
(Chuck) Nevels and granddaughter Maddy Rose; Amy (Paul)
Arevalo grandchildren Tyler, Isabella and Kade; and Katy
Flood grandchildren Kiley and RJ; his sister Kay (Arlin) Bid-
well and his father, Orville. He is preceded into Heaven by
his mother, Joy and his brother Zane.
God broke the mold when he made my Cowboy. There
will never be another. Along the path God chose for him he
gathered an unfathomable number of good friends and mere
acquaintances all remembering him for his easy going interest
in where they were from and what they did.
A graveside service will be held Friday, June 17, 11 am at
Hilltop Cemetery, Independence. Farnstrom Mortuary is tak-
ing care of arrangements. Memories and condolences may be
shared at FarnstromMortuary.com.