Polk County News
10A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 31, 2017
Leon: Also helped maintain equipment and engines
Continued from Page 1A
He didn’t just try it. Leon
became a fixture for the de-
partment.
He remembers his first
— and only — forest fire.
He said that was when
he realized the danger of
wildland firefighting.
“The first big fire I went
to was a forest fire up by
Dutch Creek, just outside
of town a little ways,” Leon
said. “Three of us guys
went up the end of Parry
Road and down a canyon
toward Black Rock Road,
and the fire jumped over
our heads down to the
canyon ahead of us.”
They were supposed to
scout the fire and radio
back the location, but they
were surprised by how it
was moving and found
themselves in danger. The
MEGAN SYKES/for the Itemizer-Observer
Leon and his wife, Alice, with his award for 51 years of
service to the department.
guys he was with, under-
standably, decided to re-
treat to a safer spot. Leon
had contracted polio when
he was younger, so he
couldn’t move as fast and
was left behind.
“I had to go the long way
to get past the fire line,” he
said. “When I got back
down to Black Rock Road,
the fire chief back then
grabbed me by the collar
and put me in his rig and
then read me the riot act.
He never wanted to see me
on a forest fire again. I did-
n’t know the situation I was
in. I didn’t even know what
forest fires were in those
days because back where
we’re from, they didn’t have
such a thing.”
“We lived in the prairies.
We didn’t have trees,” Alice
explained.
That fire eventually blew
itself out, Leon said. He be-
lieves the town was lucky.
“If it had made that first
canyon, it would have been
in town,” he said. “It was
something interesting be-
cause, like I said, it was all
new to me at that time.”
Alice said she was afraid
for Leon on that call.
“It looked worse than it
was because it was all
smoke,” she said. “We were
smoked in.”
She added the fire de-
partment training and
meeting became Leon’s so-
cial life. He wasn’t one to
“go out with the boys,” she
said.
In addition to firefight-
ing duties, Leon helped
maintain the department’s
equipment and engines.
The crew has been success-
ful in that mission. There’s
a 1965 truck on the fleet
that’s been with the depart-
ment longer than Leon by
almost a year.
About 30 years ago, Leon
took the role of treasurer
for the department and
eventually switched to a
support role on calls.
Though Leon is experi-
encing physical limitations
that prompted his retire-
ment in April, he isn’t com-
plaining, and he looks for-
ward to attending fire
board meetings.
“Life has been real good
to me, all the way through,”
he said smiling.
Alice added her hus-
band’s dedication — and
patience and attitude to-
ward life — sets him apart.
“I’ll tell you this, he’s
probably one man in a
million. There ain’t nobody
like him,” she said, smil-
ing. “My mother used to
say, when they made Leon,
they threw away the pat-
tern.”
under the influence of intoxi-
cants.
• Maria Ramirez Alvarez, 25,
of Salem, at Independence
Hwy. and Boyd Ln. on May 22
for DUII.
• Gustavo Alvarado Facundo
Jr., 23, of Independence, at
Randall Way and S. 10th St. on
May 22 on a bench warrant for
failure to appear.
MONMOUTH
Arrests/Citations
• Terri M. Smith, 38, of Mon-
mouth, in the 200 block of Hef-
fley St. S. on May 13 on two
counts of having a dog as a pub-
lic nuisance.
up something wonderful
from his kitchen.
Ralph is survived by his
eight children: Michael
Rubrecht (Debra), Joseph
Rubrecht (Michele), Andrea
Clarkson (Mark), Cassie
Fummerton ( Joe), David
Rubrecht (Sara), Julie Hargis,
Russell Rubrecht (Amanda),
and Matthew Rubrecht
(Alyson); and 17 grandchil-
dren and nine great-grand-
children. He is preceded in
death by one grandchild.
A graveside service will be
held Saturday, June 3, at 1
p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic
Cemetery, 1775 E Douglas
St., Roseburg. To honor
Ralph’s memory, donations
can be made to the MDS
Foundation, 4573 S Broad
St., Suite 150, Yardville, NJ
08620.
Or if you are able, please
consider donating the life-
saving gift of blood.
The Dallas Mortuary Trib-
ute Center is caring for the
family.
To leave a memory or
message for the family,
please go to www.dallastrib-
ute.com.
Wayne Cooper
POLICE REPORT
Information for the police
report comes from law en-
forcement agencies. Not all
calls for service are included.
The status of incidents re-
ported may change after fur-
ther investigation. Individu-
als arrested or suspected of
crimes are considered inno-
cent until proven guilty.
—
DALLAS
Arrests/Citation
• Taina L. Sturdivant, 61, of
Dallas in the 1600 block of
Southeast Jonathan Avenue on
May 24 on charges of misde-
meanor strangulation and mis-
demeanor fourth-degree as-
sault.
• Tamara S. Gardner, 53, of
Dallas in the 500 block of
Southwest Levens Street on
May 22 on a charge of driving
while suspended or revoked.
INDEPENDENCE
Arrests/Citations
• Guadalupe Trujillo, 29, of In-
dependence, in the 100 block of
N. Polk S.t on May 20 for con-
tempt of court and on a warrant
for probation violation.
• Kathleen Mary Golden-
Phillips, 51, of Placentia, Calif.,
in the 100 block of N. Gun Club
Rd. on May 22 for driving
OBITUARIES
Nina Irene Wells
Matthews
Dec. 26, 1933 – May 13, 2017
Ni n a Ire n e We l l s
Matthews, age 83, died Sat-
urday, May 13, 2017, in Las
Vegas.
She was born Dec. 26,
1933, in Slater, Wy., to John
Clarence and Phoebe
Hirschy Moon.
On April
26, 1953,
she mar-
ried Gor-
don Com-
m o d o r
We l l s i n
Stevenson,
Wash. He
p re c e d e d
her in death on Aug. 6, 1986.
In 1991, she married
Robert Donovan Matthews
in Buena Vista. He preceded
her in death in June 1998.
Nina grew up in
Wyoming, moving with her
family to Independence
when she was 7.
She was married at 19,
then later earned her Bache-
lor’s Degree in Art and Edu-
cation, and eventually her
Master’s Degree.
She loved teaching school
and was a hard worker. She
raised sheep and wove with
the wool from the sheep she
raised on the Wells family
farm.
After she retired from
teaching school, she volun-
teered as a tutor for strug-
gling youth.
As a faithful Christian, she
enjoyed teaching Sunday
School and working with the
youth. She enjoyed reading,
fishing, and painting.
Survivors include her son,
Stan Wells, of Logandale,
Nev.; daughter, Susan Wells,
of Helendale, Calif.; seven
grandchildren; nine great-
grandchildren; and one sis-
ter, Mary McKern, of Salem.
She was preceded in death
by two sisters and three
brothers.
Memorial Services were
held Saturday, May 20, 2017,
at 2 p.m. at the United
Methodist Church in
Mesquite, Nev. Interment
will follow on Saturday, June
3, 2017, at 1 p.m. in the
Buena Vista Cemetery in
Buena Vista. Friends and
family are invited to sign the
online guest book at
www.moapavalleymortu-
ary.com.
Ralph H. Rubrecht
Nov. 17, 1934 – April 25, 2017
Ralph passed away on
April 25, 2017, with his fami-
ly around him.
He had battled with
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
(MDS) for six short months,
and it had
recently
progressed
to Leu-
kemia.
He will
always be
remem-
bered as a
loving and
caring fa-
ther.
Ralph
was born
in Vin-
cennes, Ind., to Louis and
Veronica Rubrecht on Nov.
17, 1934.
He was the fifth of seven
children: Louis J. (deceased),
Barbara Ramsey, Elizabeth
Schultz, Bernard, Susie
Berberich and Pat Pieroway.
He graduated from Mon-
roe City High School in
Monroe City, Ind., in May
1953.
After graduation, he
joined the Navy and re-
ceived training as an avia-
tion machinist mate.
While stationed at his last
duty station, McGuire Air
Force Base, in Trenton, N.J.,
he meet he first wife, Ber-
nice Cingcade.
In August 1962, they and
their three small children,
Michael, Joseph and Andrea,
left Indiana and moved to
Roseburg to be closer to Ber-
nice’s family. Their fourth
child, David, was born in
their new home state.
In 1970, Bernice passed
away after a brief illness. In
1971, Ralph married Shirley
Hargis and they blended
their two families, growing
from four children to six —
three sons and three daugh-
ters, adding her daughters,
Cassie and Julie.
Later, Ralph and Shirley
would have two more sons,
Russell and Matthew. Shirley
passed away in December of
1988.
After moving to Roseburg
with Bernice, Ralph worked
for a number of small busi-
nesses in the area for several
years while going to night
school to learn to weld.
He worked at Hanna
Nickel Mine in Riddle as a
welder from 1966-1971.
In 1972, he went to work
for Douglas County Public
Works and worked there for
25 years until his retirement.
After retir ing, Ralph
moved from Roseburg to
Dallas.
He enjoyed spending his
time gardening with his veg-
etables and flowers, tending
to his apple and pear trees,
and working on projects
around his home.
He also enjoyed driving
the back roads through Polk
Country year-round, stop-
ping at vegetable stands
during the summer.
He liked bluegrass and
country music, and he en-
joyed summer camping
trips with his children and
grandchildren.
Most of all he loved hav-
ing his children and grand-
children visit.
He would prepare deli-
cious meals for these occa-
sions. Thanksgiving will not
be the same without
Dad/Grandpa Ralph serving
Dorothy Latdrick
May 30, 1965 – May 21, 2017
Dorothy Latdrick, 51, of
Dallas, died at her home
May 21. She was born on
May 30, 1965, in Portland.
A memorial service was
held May 27 in the Willami-
na VFW Hall. Dallas Mortu-
ary Tribute Center handled
arrangements. To leave an
online tribute: www.dallas-
tribute.com.
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Aug. 31, 1930 – May 22, 2017
Graveside service will be
Wednesday (today), May 31,
at 2 p.m. in Dallas Cemetery,
Dallas.
Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center handled arrange-
ments.
Billy R. Trussell
April 17, 1930 – May 24, 2017
Billy, 87, died May 24 in
Sublimity. Services will be
held at a later date. North
Santiam Funeral Service,
Stayton, handled arrange-
ments.
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Salem, OR 97301
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